Regional conference CONNECT 2022, organised by the Slovenian Business Club (SPK), Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Srbija (PKS), and Business Network International, with support of the Embassy of Slovenia to Serbia, was held on 21st October in Belgrade.
CONNECT 2022 was an opportunity to observe and discuss key aspects of the business environment in the region, highlight the challenges of cooperation between micro and small businesses with large systems, exchange experiences in business and present examples of good practice. The event also had two special goals – looking at perspectives for further improvement of business between Serbia and Slovenia, and direct networking of the companies present, which took place during facilitated breaks between panel discussions.
Branislava Simanić, Director of the Entrepreneurship Sector of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Danijela Fišakov, President of the Slovenian Business Club, Vladimir Cerović, Director of BNI Serbia and Jernej Pirc, Director of BNI Adria, addressed the participants with short introductory presentations. On behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, its economic adviser, Dejan Vladić, addressed the audience.
At the event, which brought together over 130 micro, small and medium enterprises from Serbia, Slovenia and the region, topics of key importance for the development and sustainability of micro and small enterprises were discussed. Through three panel discussions in which representatives of the banking, academic and business sectors took part, the perspectives of entrepreneurship in the region, the possibilities, benefits and challenges of cooperation between small companies and large systems, as well as the business and sustainability of micro and small companies in the current market conditions, were debated. Special attention during the conference was drawn to the topic of human resources and labour shortage as a phenomenon that has global characteristics and consequences.
At the conference’s closing, CONNECT 2023 was announced, which will be held next year in Ljubljana.
The conference was supported by the company Mercator-S as an event partner and AIK bank and „Kairos Biro Oprema“ as sponsors.
