December 1^st-3_^rd, 2011

10^th international  fair of entrepreneurship – BIZNIS BAZA 2011

10^th International  Fair of Entrepreneurship – Biznis Baza 2011 was held on December 1 – 3 2011 at Belgrade Fair. The objective of this manifestation is a promotion of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial spirit. It is a place of gathering of entrepreneurs, their associations, local authorities, national, regional and international institutions.
We have presented ourselves together with our 12 member associations and other chambers from the region: Slovenian Entrepreneurial Chamber, Banja Luka Chamber of Commerce, and Istra County Chamber of Commerce.

December 2^nd, 2011

SME FORUM AND MULTILATERAL MEETINGS

Serbian Association of SME, with the support of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce and CONFAPI – Italian Confederation of small and medium industries, organized the Forum of network members and multilateral meetings of businesspeople.
The network, which so far had nine member association from Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Sweeden, Finland, Bulgaria and Albania, was joined by two new members: Montenegro Business Alliance and Business Confederation of Macedonia.
The event was opened by the President of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce and Honorary President of SA SME, PhD Milan Jankovic, who reminded that the focus of the support to SMEs is based on four pillars, education, direct linking of SMEs, promotion and assistance related to the access to finances. Mr. Filiberto Martinetto, the member of CONFAPI"s Board, presented his institution and the network. Mr. Fabio Corsi, Italian Trade Commissioner, spoke about economic cooperation between Serbia and Italia. Mr. Ognyan Kirilov Siderov, Counsellor for Economic and 
Regional Cooperation, Bulgarian Embassy expressed his wishes for successful meetings. Mr. Slobodan Radović Krušo, President of Montenegro Business Alliance, expressed great satisfaction with access to the network and announced that MBA will host the next Forum in 2012. Mr Mile Boškov presented Business Confederation of Macedonia. Mr. Aleksandar Radulovic, FDI Advisor in Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency and Ms Violeta Jovanovic, Executive Director of National Alliance for Local Economic Development, spoke about export possibilities and importance of regional cooperation.
The second part of the Forum was dedicated to multilateral meetings. More than hundred companies from Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Slovenia had the opportunity to meet potential business partners and start new projects. The participants evaluated B2B meetings very successful.

November 20^th-21^st, 2011 

8^th VIENNA ECONOMIC FORUM "THE ECONOMY AS AN ENGINE OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT”

Regional Cooperation in the Danube region and the Black Sea region, as an important factor of success and economic development, is the topic that gathered together large number of representatives of the governments, relevant ministries, governmental and non-governmental organizations and multinational companies from Europe and the region, at the Vienna Economic Forum that was held in Vienna (Austria), eight time in a row, in Palais Niederösterreich, on November 20-21, 2011.
President Dr. Erhard Busek and Secretary General Ambassador Dr. Elena Kirtcheva had the great pleasure to open the Forum              
After extensive preparation and a series of conferences and meetings, the European Commission adopted the final document of the Strategy and referred it for adoption to the EU Council of Ministers. Finally, on 24 June 2011 the EU Council adopted the conclusion calling all relevant actors to take an active part in the implementation of the Strategy, thus formally concluding the Strategy adoption process. The Strategy is being implemented by 14 countries in the Danube region, out of which 8 countries are members of the EU. The Danube Strategy has 11 important areas, ant the priority area is supposed to improve mobility and multimodality of the railway, road and air transport.
Vienna Economic Forum was organized in three sessions and two workshops with the following topics: The economy as an engine of the regional development, the Danube Strategy – how to develop the region, Tapping the potential of the region – responsibility for the economic and social development, Secure financing as a precondition for the realization of the regional projects, The Danube strategy and the Black Sea region.

October 11^th, 2011

THE CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN WEEK OF SMES

European Parliament hosted more than 800 delegates participating at Central Conference of European SME week. European SME Week represents a large campaign which promotes entrepreneurship through entire Europe, according to the objectives of Small Business Act. This year the SME week manifestation is being held in 37 countries with more than 1200 registered events on national, regional and local level. Belgrade Chamber of Commerce regularly contributes to this manifestation for the past few years, by organising the events that promote entrepreneurship, with the subjects crucial for the development of SMEs.
The most important European SME institutions participated at the Conference, such UAPME, BusinessEurope, Eurochambers, etc.

October 10^th, 2011

The representatives of the Association of Tourism and Catering of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce participated in the meeting of tourism associations from Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in Banja Luka, on October 6-9. Tourist organization of Banja Luka hosted this event. The attendees had the opportunity to exchange their opinions, present the ideas for the cooperation and potential mutual projects, and to visit important tourist destinations in Banja Luka. The most important conclusion was that it is hard to survive on the market alone, and that tourist associations should join their forces and create integrated tourism product of the region.

October 10^th, 2011 

PROMOTION OF THE COOPERATION OF BELGRADE AND SERBIAN ECONOMY WITH AUSTRIA

H.E. Ambassador of Austria PhD Clemens Koja and commercial counsellor Mr. Andreas Haidentaler visited Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was the opportunity for both sides to define form of further cooperation. The representatives of the Chamber informed the guests on current economic situation in Serbia. Several member companies, mainly form construction industry and ICT presented their activities, related to the appearance of Serbian companies on Austrian market.

October 8^th, 2011

Montenegrin Ministry for Information Society and Telecommunications and "Business Link" company organized 18^th Festival of IT achievements "INFOFEST 2011 – MATURITY EXAM". The event took place in Milocer, Montenegro, on October 2-8.
’’Previous generations did not have much to say about computers, communications, Internet... If put in adequate context,    those phenomena definitely present civilization and developmental value, not less important than any other historical phenomenon. This year, INFOFEST sends a message that the attitude towards state-of-the-art technologies is an authentic exam of maturity in every responsible society", said Mr. Milan Mrvaljevic, Director of the Festival. He also emphasized that we have to make an effort to understand each other and to spread messages from this type of event, so that our society pass this exam as soon as possible.

October 8^th, 2011

EU FUNDS FOR SMEs

The training EU Funds for SMEs was held in Belgrade Chamber of Commerce on October 7-8. Training was organized with the support of BSN Academy, and the focus was on FP7 and CIP programs, dedicated to SME sector, for non-refundable grants.
This program was created according to specific methodology, adjusted to capacity building, information exchange and knowledge promotion in companies. The aim of this training is to help SMEs in Serbia to understand how to prepare necessary documentation and apply for grants.
This was the first in the series of trainings on this and similar topics. 

October 5^th, 2011.

On October 5^th, Belgrade Chamber of Commerce hosted bilateral meetings between representatives of Lodz and Belgrade companies. The central discussion of plenary session was dedicated to the development of economic cooperation between two regions. The institutions signed Cooperation agreement in order to promote the collaboration between chambers.
Besides members of business delegations, the meeting was attended by the President of Lodz Chamber of Comerce and Industry, Mr. Witold Gerlicz, the representative of the Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Janus Misaluk.  Secretary General of Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Ms Ivana Zeljkovic, representatives from Serbian Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Ms Stanka Radan and Serbian Ministry of Finances, Mr. Zoran Vucic, informed the attendees on bilateral cooperation between two countries and advantages and potentials for investments in Serbia (free trade agreements, free zones, etc). The plenary part was followed by bilateral meetings. Our member companies had the opportunity to meet Polish business (food industry, textile industry, energetic, catering).

September 29, 2011

REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON EXPORT FACTORING

Belgrade Chamber of Commerce organized, together with international association Factors Chain International (FCI), Regional conference on export factoring. More than 100 factoring companies participated at the Conference, as well as banks, exporters, and authorities from Serbia and abroad. The participants were pleased to have the opportunity to get acquainted with the cooperation with FCI and, due to participation of its Secretary General, Mr. Jeroen Kohnstamm, with the way of functioning of "two-factor" system. This conference will undoubtedly contribute to the promotion and better understanding of this financial instrument, presently important for SMEs and exporters. 

September 28, 2011 

SECOND QUALITY FORUM IN SERBIA 

Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with distinguished certification company Quality Austria and Quality Austria Centre, Austrian Agency for Development and CIN organized, on September 28^th 2011, 2^nd Quality Forum in Serbia. More than 150 attendees had the opportunity to get acquainted with the newest, quality-related trends, best practice cases and world experiences related to quality and standardization. Through the presentations, interactive exposes and discussion, speakers tried to demonstrate the importance of integrated management systems, which are seen as a precondition for efficient organisation and processes of EU integrations of Serbian companies. Several companies shared their experiences in ADA Project, such as: Ambar d.o.o; Meggle Srbija d.o.o, ZZ “Poljoprivrednik”. Companies FRIKOM AD, FRUVITA d.o.o., ROAMING ELECTRONICS d.o.o. talked about their integrated management systems.

September 21, 2011

  REWARD „MY CHOICE 2011”

"My choice" is a reward presented by Serbian consumers to favorite domestic products and brands. The objective of this action, organized by the association "My Serbia" and the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce is to reveal the most trusted brands in Serbia. The unique criterion for award granting is a number of consumers' votes. The mission of "My choice" is to identify the most popular domestic brands in 19 categories and thus promote companies' investment in quality increase of goods and services.

For further information, please visit www.mojasrbija.rs

September 21, 2011

BELGRADE HOSTELS

Chamber's Association of Tourism and Catering organised a meeting with the representatives of Belgrade hostels. Considering that this form of tourist accommodation is becoming increasingly important in Belgrade, interesting not only to young, but also to business people, the Association proposed the establishment of a Group for hostel industry within a Chamber. There are in Belgrade around 50 hostels with 3000 beds. The representatives used this opportunity to discuss main problems related to the hostel industry, such as the absence of adequate legislative.

September 21, 2011

The Association of IT companies and Entrepreneurs' Union organised the seminar "Google business communication and cloud services for more successful business" on September 21^st 2011. The secretary of IT Association Mr Dusan Rakic emphasized that new services open new perspectives and ways for the promotion of SME business operating and for the better communication. Nebojsa Skenderovic, Chief Executive Officer/Founder (Nesk WebArt) and Boris Teodosijevic, General Manager, spoke about up-to-date e-mail communication services and resources, HR, project and document management through cloud services. 

September 20, 2011  

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FRIENDLY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 2011

Beijing Chamber of Commerce organized the international conference of friendly chambers of commerce that gathered over 50 participants from 27 countries. Secretary General of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, Ms Ivana Zeljkovic has accepted the invitation and participated at the conference, with the intervention "The role of chamber system in global era of new relations". She emphasized that repeating market changes and economic crises seek for a strong chamber system, which presents authentic service for companies, both large, multinational companies and SMEs.  She also talked about Serbia's way toward EU integrations, and our economy, today faced with many challenges and need for stronger competitiveness, industrial capacity building and stronger export potentials. Support from friendly chambers would be of great importance in this moment. The vice-president of World Chambers Federation, Mr. Mustafa Mansur, participated at the conference, as well as high management from chambers of Paris, Moscow, Oslo, Huston, Brazil, Holland, Malaysia, Australia, Bucharest, Geneva, etc. The participants signed the Beijing Consensus on Cooperation. According to the Consensus, chambers of commerce will make effort to increase both at national and local level, the competitiveness of global economy and contribute to the growth and economic recovery.

September 14, 2011

COOPERATION BETWEEN ACADEMIES OF INNOVATIVE SCIENCES IN SERBIA AND RUSSIA

Meeting of the representatives of Russian and Serbian Academies of Innovative Sciences was held on September 14th in the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. Russian scientists, led by representatives of the Ministry for Science and Education in the Russian Federation presented their technological accomplishments, and on that occasion the two academies signed the Cooperation Agreement.
The cooperation will consist in joint scientific researches and projects and their placing on both markets as well as students exchange programs.

September 13, 2011

BELGRADE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOINS THE TASK GROUP "SERBIA-OHIO"

In order to improve inter-governmental relations and cooperation between companies in the Republic of Serbia and State of Ohio, Serbian Government established Task Group „Serbia-Ohio“. 
The main goal of this group is to improve cooperation between educational, economic, cultural and other relevant institutions in Serbia and Ohio.
Economic cooperation is especially important in the period of recession, and special attention will be paid to companies and search for potential business partners through several B2B meetings in Serbia and Ohio.
In that sense Belgrade Chamber of Commerce is recognized as an important partner for establishing business contacts between the leading companies in Belgrade and the capital of Ohio, Cleveland.

September 12, 2011

STEEL EXPORTERS FROM TURKEY VISITED BELGRADE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Belgrade Chamber of Commerce was visited by representatives of the Association of steel exporters from Turkey, Mr. Mehmet Eyuboglu, from "EE BATI" company and Mr. Siyami Kirca, from "Promeks" company. Both companies are leading business operators in the field of steel industry in the Istanbul region, and export to over 40 countries in the world. 
On that occasion representatives of Turkish companies said they see Belgrade as important strategic point and logistic center for further development of their business operations in Central Europe. Although Serbian market is not a large one, Belgrade could, due to its strategic position, become an important basis for further delivery of goods to Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Russia, etc. As agreed at the meeting, Belgrade Chamber of Commerce will provide Turkish business operators with relevant business information and assistance in organization of B2B meetings.

September 8 – 9, 2011

BELGRADE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE'S DELEGATION PARTICIPATED AT 44^th INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURIAL FAIR IN CELJE, SLOVENIA

Belgrade Chamber of Commerce traditionally organized business delegation, which participated at International Entrepreneurial Fair in Celje. This year, sixteen entrepreneurs visited the fair, participated at regional south-east Europe business meetings, and had more than 70 meetings with potential business partners. 
International Entrepreneurial Fair presents the most important event of a kind in this region, with 1.700 participants from 36 countries (2011 data). As every year, the central events were bilateral meetings, with the representatives from more than 180 companies from Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Serbia. The main sector of cooperation are renewable energy in construction industry, electro and metal industry, wood processing, etc.