Held a regional meeting for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises with representatives of international donor organizations - RAS, JICA

A regional gathering of organizations supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia was held in Belgrade, with the presentation of the best practice of mentoring in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises from the countries of the region, within the project "Establishment and promotion of mentoring services for MSMEs in the countries of the Western Balkans, Phase 2, 2017-2020" implemented by the Development Agency of Serbia (RAS) with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in which high representatives of the Embassy of Japan, the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation participated (JICA), the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, the Development Agency of Serbia, mentors and representatives of regional agencies from Serbia, as well as representatives of partner organizations from the Republic of Srpska, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2,600 companies in Serbia went through the mentoring service in four cycles. The event was opened by: Katarina Obradović Jovanović, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, Radoš Gazdić, Acting. the director of the Development Agency of Serbia and Tetsuya Tsubota, advisor at the Japanese embassy in Belgrade. Special awards were also given for the development of mentoring in Serbia and the Balkans for the past 15 years. JICA consultant Takaša Kimura presented certificates to Ana Žegarac and Srđan Beljan from the international cooperation sector of the Development Agency of Serbia.

At one place, with the aim of improving mutual cooperation, representatives of international organizations that are donors to Serbia gathered and exchanged their experiences. The following spoke on the panel: Aleksandar Pavlović, USAID project for a competitive economy; Tanja Cupać, GIZ project for the development of the private sector; Goran Radojevic, EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) IPA project "Advisory for small business"; Karl-Heinz Jah, EUBID, IPA project "Support of the European Union to the development of business incubators in Serbia"; Olivera Kostić, EUPRO, European Union support program for the development of municipalities; Maximilian Fodinger, project "Support for participation in EU programs"; Ljiljana Ršumović, Swiss Export Promotion Support Program (SIPPO); Ana Žegarac, director of the international cooperation sector of the Development Agency of Serbia; Takashi Kimura, JICA project "Establishment and promotion of mentoring services for MSMEs in the countries of the Western Balkans, Phase 2, 2017-2020". The moderator of the panel was Gaku Funabashi, Senior Advisor of JICA Headquarters in Tokyo. In the second part of the event, examples of good mentoring practice from the region were presented, where it was pointed out that the key to success is the user's trust in the mentor and mutual cooperation.

Good practice from the region was presented by: Merima Avdić Topić, "Hayat d.o.o" - user of the mentoring service and mentor Amela Ikić Suljagić, from the "Sarajevo Regional Development Agency - SERDA" from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; user of the mentoring service Marko Bošnjak, "Monting Energetika d.o.o." and mentor Dražen Bošković from the "Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises Trebinje" from the Republic of Srpska; Mirjana Babić, "Olivmont d.o.o." and mentor Ivana Tomašević, "Business Center Bar" from Montenegro; Dragica Veljanoska, "Letera Design" and mentor Mimoza Popovska from the "Agency for Business Support Ohrid" from North Macedonia; Nadezhda Kolašinac, "Novatex d.o.o." and mentor Nataša Jovanović, "Regional Development Agency Zlatibor" from Serbia.