LINKING UP THE DIASPORA AND ITS MOTHER COUNTRY THROUGH THE “LINK UP! SERBIA II” PROJECT

30. October 2020.

Меdvedja - In the office of Nebojsa Arsic, the President of the Municipality of Medvedja, a meeting was held with the Director of the Center for the Development of Jablanica and Pcinj Districts, Dragana Belenzada, who, along with her associate, presented all the possibilities that the "Link Up! Serbia II” project provided. The meeting was also attended by Dejan Simic, the coordinator for local economic development of the municipality of Medvedja.

„Link Up! Serbia II“ is a project funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation with the aim of strengthening and encouraging entrepreneurship with and through the Serbian diaspora in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, facilitating access to knowledge, business networks and financing. The national partner in the project is the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, while the project is establishing a business hub of the diaspora, in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Development Agency of Serbia and the regional development agencies.

The municipalities in South Serbia will be provided with technical support by the Center for the Development of Jablanica and Pcinj Districts, which has started the implementation of the project “Link Up! Serbia II“.As part of the project, visits to all local self-governments of the Jablanica and Pcinj districts are planned in order to present the project and gather information that is important for potential investors from the diaspora, as well as to map direct investments from the diaspora.

As part of the project, a Technical Assistance Package was prepared, which is designed to provide our diaspora with all important information when investing in the municipalities, as well as investment opportunities in which the diaspora could invest, with the institutional support of the local self-governments.

6 regional development agencies will support the “Link Up! Serbia II” project with grants and technical support by December 2020.

The project contains 4 parts: support to small and medium-sized enterprises by mentoring towards internationalization; support to the cities and municipalities in attracting and achieving successful cooperation with the diaspora; support for direct cooperation between the diaspora and the companies and cities in Serbia; support for the organization of successful business meetings in Serbia and the diaspora.

Source: South Serbia Info Center and Coordination Body