Bureaucracy SAILING AHEAD IN SERBIA
Bureaucracy
What does give her a headache is the country’ s bureaucracy— a bureaucracy so abundant and complicated that it discourages domestic and foreign investors not only in Serbia but the whole region of south-east Europe. A recent picture, uploaded on facebook, by an entrepreneur was most telling of the state of starting-up in the Balkans— He published a photograph with two sets of papers. One thin, that showed the number of documents needed to start a business in Germany and the other almost ten times as thick, showing how many documents one needed to open up the same business in the Balkans.“ In our region, a complicated bureaucracy is a classical problem. One always needs to be prepared for that sort of a challenge,” says the Serbian entrepreneur.
What keeps the Serb going is a thought that is etched in her mind.“ I strongly believe if one is persistent and dedicated, the solutions will come. I think every entrepreneur should surround themselves with experts from various sectors to whom they can talk to at any given moment and get the best results,” Svetlana advises. On some days Svetlana has a 10-hour workday; the work of the entrepreneur never actually ends, she is quick to add.“ On the other hand, it is a great incentive.” problem with the education system in Serbia, regarding encouraging entrepreneurial spirit, in her opinion is, that it doesn’ t prepare the youths for challenges they would be faced in business. This makes it difficult for individuals to step into a world of business and successfully wade through the global competition.“ This problem should be nipped in the bud. From the beginning, girls and boys should be motivated to do big things. They should be taught that trying and hard work is crucial not just for business but also for personal success,” she says.
Svetlana has big plans for her company.“ We want to increase the number of inspiring projects. We are also hoping our project‘ Floating Hotel with Catamarans Apartments’, which had a good response from potential clients— mostly restaurant entrepreneurs and foreigners who love nature, will do well. We are on the search for investors for this project.”
Encouraging Entrepreneurship
Serbia has many financial and support programmes for women offered by the state as well as different associations. But Svetlana reveals that she has neither received any help from the state nor the local administration. But with the number of international clients her firm boasts of, it is no wonder she doesn’ t need that extra push from the state.“ In the sense of support,’ Association of Business Women in Serbia’ helped me the most,” says Svetlana.
She advises to women, when it comes to business, to be persistent, start with small steps, and believe in them. The
Interiors by Svetlana Mojic
Ivana Domitrović is a journalist based in Zagreb, Croatia. She works for the Croatian news site Dnevnik. hr. For more details you can reach out at idomitrovic @ yahoo. com Photo courtesy: http:// saltandwater. rs
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