A public call for free mentoring services for micro, small and medium-sized companies, entrepreneurs, clusters and cooperatives was issued through the participation in the Program of a standardized set of services for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, which is implemented by the Development Agency of Serbia (DAS). The public call is open until June 1, 2019. 

Mentoring is a free service that provides comprehensive customer support through an individual approach. The mentoring process is carried out according to the methodology of the Development Agency of Serbia (DAS), developed in cooperation with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Mentoring helps the owner or director of a company recognize the key point of potential of his business, and with the help of mentoring, the beneficiary develops and implements an action plan aimed at improving his-her business results. 

Mentors have a professional experience in working with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. They come from 16 accredited regional development agencies and are certified by the Development Agency of Serbia, in cooperation with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. 

So far, about 2,000 beneficiaries have used the mentoring service in Serbia. According to the data, these companies registered a cumulative increase in their operating profit by 15%, compared to the previous year. 

Eligible to participate in the Program are micro, small and medium-sized companies, clusters and cooperatives that meet the following requirements:

1. The newly established businesses – not older than 3 years from the date of publication of the call;

2. The existing businesses – registered before March 2016; 

3. Clusters;

4. Cooperatives.

The public call, the instructions and application forms are available on the DAS website, www.ras.gov.rs , as well as on the websites of the accredited regional development agencies.  

For more information, all interested parties may contact the Development Agency of Serbia by sending an e-mail to mentoringssu2019@ras.gov.rs  or by dialing 011/3398 809.

Source: Development Agency of Serbia and Coordination Body