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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

EBRD announces investment in SMEs sector

Belgrade, 5 August 2013

Assistant Minister of Finance and Economy Nina Samardzic said today that the main concern of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia at the moment is financing their survival, and not investing in development.

Speaking at a roundtable on the role of development funds and additional sources of financing for the SMEs sector and entrepreneurs in Serbia, held at the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, Samardzic said that the SMEs and entrepreneurs mainly worry how to provide salaries to employees and settle obligations to the state.

She said that the majority of the newly established companies in Serbia close their offices in the first three or four years, noting that that is the crucial time when they need help to survive.

Assistant Minister of Regional Development and Local Self-Government Dejan Radulovic said that the latest research showed that only five percent of people can be entrepreneurs, and added that Serbia has 330,000 businesses, with micro-enterprises being the most numerous.

Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Matteo Patrone recalled that this financial institution has so far invested more than €3 billion in Serbia, and that it was mainly focused on the public sector, but that in the future it will switch to private sector and SMEs.

Patrone confirmed that the EBRD plans to invest between €1 million and €10 million for the financing of projects of small businesses, and added that, besides financial assistance, successful development and survival of SMEs require advice and help with their business and financial plan.