Since the opening by SPARK of BSC offices in Kragujevac (Serbia), Zenica (Bosnia-Herzegovina) en Bar (Montenegro), there has been a positive exchange of information between the different offices. People are currently assisting each other in the same region where they fifteen years ago tried to kill each other.  Moreover, all parties are members of the South East European Network of Start-up Incubators (SENSI), which was established in 2006 under the supervision of SPARK Tuzla (Bosnia-Herzegovina).  This growing network consists of more than twenty members from Slovenia to Macedonia. SENSI brings different cultural backgrounds together and provides its members with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences within the context of business start-ups. They also collaborate with universities from all over South-East Europe, local governments and the local business world. 

BSC Bitola partners with the university of Saint Clement in Ochridski and its School of Technology which provides them with housing, the local Business Bureau, the Office for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and the regional entrepreneur support centre. Aside from this cooperation with regional partners, they also help Western companies to invest in the Balkans. And this has already resulted in a modest success for one of last year’s winners. ‘When Sander Jansen of the Dutch IT company Clockwork came to Macedonia to visit, he was particularly impressed by one of our winners, Aleksander Kirac, who is in the process of building a small IT company. He asked for Aleksander’s portfolio and immediately offered him a trial assignment! If they like the result, he will definitely receive more orders!’ Rozita enthusiastically explains about this new, international success of BPC.

A well-oiled promotion campaign

Now that the goals of the first year have been accomplished, it is time for a new BPC. While BPC has primarily been promoted in a professional manner in the Bitola region, people from other parts of Macedonia are also encouraged to participate. Today, promoting BPC in Prilip is on the agenda, a small town 40 kilometres from Bitola. We leave with a team of seven volunteers, who do receive a financial remuneration for their efforts. On the central square, the well-known yellow booth is set up. The volunteers are easily recognisable in the streets by their signature yellow T-shirts and hats. In the crowded shopping streets in the larger cities of Netherlands, people are mostly fed up with the numerous advocates of organisations such as for example Amnesty International, the various newspaper salesmen and book clubs. Yet, in Macedonia this type of marketing is a relatively new phenomenon and it results in a run on the booth. “That’s  due to the beautiful women!” jokes Tomislav. At first people primarily older people are the ones taking a look. While they do not belong to the target group, they nevertheless receive and explanation and a flyer. After all, they might very well interest their children to participate. After the first excitement has died down, young people come to take a look. The image of a “money machine” together with a slogan stating that, while there is no such thing in and of itself, one can most certainly create one, is enticing. It stimulates the curiosity and ambition to improve one’s situation in a country characterised by severe unemployment and an average monthly income of a mere € 150,-.

While the women remain at the booth, Tomislav and volunteer Milan plaster the city with posters in order to inform those who have missed the booth about the competition. After a few hours, 70 people have left their information and expressed an interest in the competition. People may not win; perhaps their idea for a business remains just that. However, it is a start. They at least are thinking about a new concept and will have the opportunity to attend trainings and workshops. And perhaps, they will have more luck the next year as a result of their newly acquired knowledge.

"In five years I will have earned the title of CEO"

Krste Karceski (23) and Jasmina Mrskovska (23) successfully participated in the business plan competition. Their business plan involves the creation of a business identity: how to add a brand to the market. Their third place win grants them access to a micro credit of a maximum of € 10.000,-, free registration of their new company, the opportunity to consult with professionals and office space for an attractive fee. While these competitors should most certainly be pleased with their third place win, Krste is inherently competitive and had hoped to win first place. His somewhat appropriately arrogant demeanour and quick come-backs seem to be perfectly suited for the business world. “In five years I will have earned the title of CEO, and I will only be involved in management tasks! By that time, the goal will be to have ten employees,” he jokes with a serious undertone.

Jasmina studied at the Technical University in Bitola, where the BSC office is located. She saw the posters and, following a meeting with the staff members, she decided to participate in the competition. Even though it is just the two of them, they are not afraid of a battle for power. “I know what it is like to run a company with multiple owners. My father’s business has three owners. We each have our own tasks. I am responsible for the logistics while Jasmina tends to the production,” says Krste.

The importance of creating and maintaining a strong and extensive network is perfectly illustrated by BCS. The organisation is led by locals, but its roots are in Amsterdam. The diversity of partners and wealth of influential interested parties immediately resulted in a large assignment for Krste and Jasmina. The mayor of Prilep, a small city located nearby Bitola, invited them to pitch their skills to a range of companies that included the distributor of one of the largest beer brands: Prilep Beer. “His recommendation allowed us to introduce ourselves to these companies,” says Jasmina. All winners were also invited to attend a reception at the Dutch embassy in Skopje. This is where they met several Dutch companies, resulting in some potential orders and useful advice about hiring employees. For instance, how does one recognize an applicant’s qualities?

At the end of our interview, Krstes’ telephone rings. It is a company that produces plastic bags for other businesses, and it is calling in an order. Not a bad start for a company that does not even have any office space yet.

“At first I was primarily attracted to the beautiful ladies!”

The extremely tall 25 year old Goran Angelkovski is focusing on the IT market. His business plan for New Media Cooperation (NMC) was awarded with sixth place in the BPC. Goran is not new to the IT market as he has worked for several other IT companies before starting NMC. NMC will focus on computer repair, system installation and web design. Currently he is just dealing with the logistics since his office is not ready yet. The eventual starting date of his company depends on the availability of his office space.

Goran is a cheerful young man who first learned about BSC through one of its street promotions. “At first I was primarily attracted to the beautiful ladies!” he jokes, before continuing more seriously, “My idea was already sufficiently developed to be put into motion. In this, BSC Bitola has performed a stimulating role and has speed up the process. I have the necessary knowledge, daring and intelligence to turn this into a success.” Goran has received a credit of € 4000,- and it is expected that he will make a profit of three to four-thousand euro in the first three years. How things will look in five years? “By then I will be retired and lying on a beach with a nice cocktail! Haha, I am just joking. By that time, I hope to have a medium-sized company with several office spaces and 10 to 16 employees.”

"Ït started as a hobby"

First place was awarded to Aleksander Kirac (25). The production of honey has been a  tradition in his family for over fifty years. “It started as a hobby. I have been working with bees from the age of twelve. Now I would like to start my own company,” he explains. Aleksander has received a loan of € 10.000,- and will have two-and-a-half years to pay it back. The plan is as follows: Aleksander will expand his capital by buying beehives from other bee keepers. He currently has sixty beehives, but his plan is to increase this number to 110. In five years he hopes to have increased his business capital to 250 beehives. One beehive produces around 25 kilograms of pure honey each year. The entire honey production in the first year will amount to approximately ten ton. Part of this will be produced in his own hives; the rest will be bought from other bee keepers for processing. He will thus be involved both in the production as well as in the trade of honey.

But Aleksander’s ideas do not stop here: He wants to launch a new product as well. It’s a combination of butter and honey, to be used on bread, for instance; a perfect breakfast item for hotels. He also plans to export his honey products eventually. However this is a long-term goal. “I only want to start exporting my products when I am able to produce enough. My vision and ambition are first to launch a recognisable Macedonian honey brand before considering exporting my products. In any case, I hope to be a market leader in the Bitola region within five years.”

The target audience for his product are hotels and stores. Aleksander does not doubt that he will be successful. “I did not receive first place just because of a good business plan, but also because of my new, cheap way of packaging the product. I plan to have three employees during the first two-and-a-half-years. Once I have paid off my loan and my company is thriving, I will be able to hire an additional two workers. By that time, I expect to make a net profit of € 3.000,- a year, of which the largest part will be invested in more beehives and new machinery.”

Aleksander was first made aware of BPC through his good friend Tomislav, who works as project coordinator at BSC Bitola. “I had already planned to start my own business in the honey industry, but without BSC this would have been far more difficult. The various trainings in market forces, management and in how to write a business plan have really helped me,” he recounts.