Article and photo's by Jeppe Schilder

The Serbian region has known many population groups. The Celts were the first inhabitants of this regions, The Illyrians arrived four centuries before Christ, followed by the Romans three centuries before Christ. It was not until the sixth century after Christ that Slavic groups came to the region which has been converted from 879 into Christianity. During the leadership of  Stefab Dušan (1346 - 1355), Serbia was characterised by a booming economy. However, this completely collapsed after his death. In 1389 the Turks defeated the Serbians during the battle at Kosovo Polje, which was followed by 500 years of Islamic dominance. An uprising in 1815, led to a process of independence that was finally fulfilled in 1878. 

The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serbian led to an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian state in 1914, which marks the beginning of the first World War. After the war, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Serbia en Kosovo were amalgamated into the Kingdom of Serbians. This monarchy did not last long, as it became Yugoslavia in 1929. 

In March 1941, Yugoslavia became a part of the fascistic Tripartite Alliance. This led to a military coup, followed by immediate withdrawal from this Alliance. Germany reacted to this development by heavy bombardments on Belgrade. The Communistic Party, which was led by Josip Broz Tito, freed the country en seized power in 1945. The monarchy was officially history and Yugoslavia became a federal republic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro en Macedonia received a republic status. Yet, since this was denied to Kosovo and Vojvodina, they became autonomous. Regional differences would later lead to the call for increased autonomy by Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo and Vojvodina as a form of resistance to the Serbian dominance.

In 1986 the nationalists pleaded for a Great-Serbia­. This doctrine was later taken over by Slobodan Milošević who, at that time, was the leader of the Communistic party. Later on, this would lead to a gruesome war, resulting in the falling apart of Yugoslavia. Kosovo was left out of consideration yet during the mid-nineties Albanese rebels started their attacks on Serbian targets. This would eventually lead to the attempt by Serbia to ethnically clean Kosovo from its Albanese population. The international community reacted to this process with  bombings on Serbia in 1999, which lasted three months.

In 2000 presidency elections were held in Serbia, which were won by the opposition leader. Vojislav Koštunica. Milošević did not acknowledged the results, yet after demonstrations and the acknowledgement of the electoral results by Russia, his last support evaporated. Koštunica restored Serbian’s ties with Europe and acknowledged the cruelties that took place in Kosovo. Serbia became a member of the United Nations, and in April 2001 Milošević was definitively out.

The last years have once more been tumultuous times for Serbia. The first democratically chosen minister-president Zoran Đinđić, who is responsible for the extradition of Milošević, was murdered in 2003, presumably by paramilitaries from the Milošević era, who belonged to criminal organisations. The elections of the past years have shown a division between pro-European and radical parties. A coalition between both parties have been inevitable. Following the one-sided independence declaration of Kosovo on February 17th 2008 riots erupted in former Belgrade. Minister-president Koštunica left the coalition and new elections were organised.

Young people clearly have a preference for Europe, while the elderly and people from rural areas favour to support the radical parties. The latest elections in 2008 resulted in a victory for the pro-Europe party of Boris Tadić. However, they did not form a majority, which makes the future very uncertain.

Business Start-up Centre Kragujevac

BSC Kragujevac is celebrating its first year anniversary. The three employees Nebojsa Simic, Biljana Grabez and Verica Koracevic are proud of their achievements. All goals have been fulfilled within the first year and BSC is entirely accepted in the local community. A big advantage is that all three employees have a long professional relation. “Before becoming active for BSC, each of us worked for USAid  on similar projects”, says Veronica. As a result  of this they are familiar with the possible difficulties and know how to react to these. Furthermore, they both know each other’s capacities and qualities and consequently they are a good team. This is shown clearly when one looks at the relaxed working ambiance: We will do it together!!

A look at the former year shows many successes but also a vast obstacle. This hindrance was the consequence of a poor cooperation with a local bank, which was responsible for the payment of micro credits. The process is the following. Spark provides a substantial amount of money that will be used to deliver micro credits. Yet, to realise these micro credits, what is needed is a cooperation with a local organisation since it is unlawful for a non-financial organisation to provide loans. It is for this reason that all BSC offices work together with local banks. ´After BSC Kragujevac was realised we searched for a local bank. We found a good partner in Micro Development Bank (MDB). Everything seemed to be in order and we remitted the money for the first ten winners. But to our surprise not long after this transfer we received the news that their contract with the commercial bank was expired! As a result, we could not provide the winners with their money!” says Nebojsa. This was a big surprise to  BSC Kragujevac and resulted in a significant delay for the entire project. Because they could not deliver loans, new businesses could not be set up either. Besides this delay it also had a negative influence on the credibility of the BSC. The participants completed their tasks, after which BSC should take the next step. “We have been waiting quite some time for the availability or refund of our money. We will send a letter today, stating a deadline. If they do not give in, this is seen as a breach of contract which will lead to the immediate termination of our cooperation”, says a rather frustrated Nebojsa. Yet, it solely seems to be a matter of time as a new partner has already been found. AIK bank is willing to take over the task. They offer better conditions such as a lower interest rate and a simple application procedure. In addition to this, IAK delivers the loans themselves. “The money BSC has available functions as a guarantee”, explains Nebojsa.

From the 24 applications, the Jury chose fourteen winners. Nine of these winners have asked for a microcredit and many applicants show interest in making use of the office spaces and consultations.  Cooperation is taking place with the municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, universities, local companies and the regional centre for economic development. Why does BSC fulfil an important role in Kragujevac? As a result of their methods, jobs are being created which stimulates the economic development. The training provides additional knowledge  “When I was still working for USAid I noticed there was a great need for these services. It is not solely the money we have available that people are interested in, but they also want to get to know how the business world actually functions, says Verica. 


The trainings are almost always fully booked. The past year we had approximately 400 contestants, which has almost doubled to 700 contestants this year. After the first year, it became clear that BSC Kragujevac also needs to focus on smaller communities. “In Kragujevac everything is reasonably well organised. On the other hand, very little happens in the smaller municipalities even though there are many ambitious young people who would like to follow the trainings,” explains Nebojsa.

Dizajn Studio Box

On the second floor of a building in the centre of Kragujevac, Dizajn Studio Box (DSB) was set up on February 2008. The glass roof in the hall gives the impression that the summer temperatures can be quite high. Two desks, three chairs and a BSC award hanging on the wall: This company has capital, creativity and vision.

Dizajn Studio Box exists of two friends: the 33 year old Miroljub Matavic and Lazar Dimitrijevic who is 27. Both have graduated as graphical designers and were among the best students of their year. While other design businesses focus solely on one aspect of the company’s identity, Dizajn Studio Box provides the whole package: they design a logo, provide envelopes, business cards, stationery, etc. “In the past, companies did not value the importance of graphic design. Currently, this is changing as it receives more attention and people start to see the importance of visual identity. We deliver a so called book of standards, the whole picture,”  says Miroljub.

Unfortunately they both lack knowledge of the English language and they are more artists than businessmen. Verica explains why they still have to learn a lot when it comes to doing business.  “We gave them the assignment to develop the new promotion campaign of BPC. As agreed on, they would deliver the material such as flyers and posters on Monday. This was not a problem until they told us they would have everything finished two days later than planned, as this would have been to late for us. Nevertheless, in the end they did manage to finish everything on time. We try to clarify and explain that a sustainable relationship with one’s customers and the meeting of appointments and deadlines is crucial for the company’s existence and growth.”

Since it’s registration at the beginning of February 2008, DSB has received numerous large assignments, amongst others for a metal recycling business and a transport business. The current turnover is already € 4.000,- a month, of which 40% is profit. Their main costs consist of printing costs, rent and electricity. The capital of the company is their creativity. Next to designing they want to be the proud owners of a  printing business. “Then the entire picture will be completed. We will then be able to provide for the complete process, from the moment the customer arrives at our office with his wishes, until the moment we deliver the final product .”

Euromarket.co.yo

Following a case study at the university concerning online shopping,  Obrad Turmovic, Brank Ratkovic  en Slavisa Vasilevic  did additional research. The 25 year old students in economics studied sites such as amazon.com, and shortly after Euromarket was born. Online shopping is a new concept in Serbia, with Euromarket being it’s market leader.

Euromarket works together with small and medium large companies.  “We help them find new markets, by functioning as an in-between. In the beginning we would approach these companies ourselves, but currently an opposite trend is taking place: Companies  approach us with the question whether they can join Euromarket!” says Obrad. The total turnover is currently a good € 6000,- a month. Twenty percent of this money goes to Euromarket, which is  € 1200,-. “These €1200,- are practically pure profit because as an internet company we rarely have costs.  We can work from our homes and the only costs we have come from taxes and the internet and phone connection When we receive an order, we forward it to the relevant business. They will then send the order by mail, the money is paid to the mailman and at the end of the month we receive our share of the amount.”

Euromarket is one of the few business that did not use a microcredit. They simply did not need it. They did attend all trainings, which seemed very useful. “We went from selling 600 products in the period before October 2007, to 6000 products after having finalized the last training in January 2008!” Additionally, the possibility to get free consultation was also very useful. “We recently received an order from Singapore and we had no idea how to export this product. Our professor at the university could not give us proper advice on this matter. However, a consultant offered help by telling us what we had to do.”

Where Euromarket will be in five years? The men are carefully optimistic, but hope to cover the entire European market around that time. “The World of online shopping is very profiting especially since the costs are so low. In other parts of the world, many products are already sold through the internet, but in Serbia we have not yet reached this level. Within the context of online shopping, we hope to be at the same level as the rest of Europe in five years.”

"I would like to build an additional room but I'm still waiting for a license"

Erdoglija, the company that Aleksander Jovanovic (32) took over from his father who retired, repairs circular saws, that are being used for wood and metal working in the furniture industry. Additionally, Erdoglija offers various workshops concerning metal working. While the business has been closed for a short period of time, currently it is back in business in full swing. Aleksander heard about BPC from his friends. Even though his company already existed and was doing well, he decided to participate. “A credit will be very useful as I can use it to extend my business. I would like to buy a new machine. For this, I demanded a credit of €10.000,-, of which I finally received €8.000,-. Moreover I would like to build an additional room, but I am still waiting for a license” he explains. Erdoglija  has two employees and is currently making a profit of €1.000,- a month. Once the new machine arrives he hopes to double his profit and to hire and additional employee. “My customers are mainly furniture factories, that are all located near Kragujevac, so I believe there is definitely a market for this business. These furniture factories need both metal and woodcutters to produce furniture and we make sure that these tools are sharp."