“I wanted Confindustria Serbia to be a “safe port” for Italian entrepreneurs who were looking at this side of the Adriatic Sea for new business opportunities” – Erich Cossutta.
Erich Cossutta was the President of Confindustria Serbia for seven years. In this interview, he talks about how he will remember the period at the helm of this organization, his plans and advice for the new president.
How will you remember the period spent as the President of Confindustria Serbia?
— These seven years have been an exciting ride for me. I started my experience in Confindustria Italy more than two decades ago, as an active member of Confindustria’s group for young entrepreneurs. Never would I have thought that I would find myself guiding one of the fastest-growing offices of Confindustria outside Italian borders. I will reflect on these seven years through all of our achievements: the investors we brought here, the companies we gave oxygen to with our support and those that found a fertile soil in Serbia for the most innovative projects and ideas. Even though challenging at times, I will gladly think of the projects we implemented with our partners – the Serbian state and the international institutions here in Serbia.
What do you consider your greatest success as president?
— I have to admit that we experienced a lot of satisfaction and saw many achievements on different levels during the seven years of my tenure. From the support given to specific companies, to the first projects realized with international institutions, to the organization of creative and innovative collaboration and events, I think we did a lot. We left a mark in these terms. But if I had to highlight what made me the proudest, I think that our initiatives in the context of the dual education system would most certainly be the first to come to my mind. We started to push on this topic in 2015, with the organization of the first SME Day in Serbia: it was a pilot project at the time in Sremska Mitrovica, but it addressed the core of the problem in terms of supply and demand of workforce. It was a way to highlight how the educational system could support business and vice versa. Confindustria is now an active member of the Ministerial working group on the dual education system and makes the first-hand contribution to the legislative efforts Serbia has been investing in supporting local and international companies.
What advice did you have for the new President?
— In my first speech as President of Confindustria Serbia in June 2012, I said I wanted the association to be a “safe port” for Italian entrepreneurs looking at this side of the Adriatic Sea for new business opportunities. I think we achieved a lot from in that respect in the past nine years. As a matter of fact, we have been a safe port not only for Italian companies and entrepreneurs but also for Serbian companies. The latter recognized in Confindustria a reliable partner, whom they can turn to for any quest for the Italian market. This is also the advice I would give to Patrizio: our Association loses its meaning and purpose if our member companies don’t benefit from our network, our representation abilities and the services and support we offer them. Confindustria is a voluntary association of like-minded entrepreneurs: we all share the idea that trustworthiness and proactivity are our best business card.
In Serbia, Confindustria was founded in 2012. What has changed since then?
— Well, I would say Serbia itself is what changed the most. The business environment is now very stable and predictable in some sense, which is of great importance for existing and new investors. Of course, changes will come, and Confindustria will most certainly support all the efforts of the Serbian government especially in terms of environmental protection and workforce training. Besides the formal results achieved and those registered, for example, on the in the Doing Business list, I think the reinvestment rates of our companies is the strongest indicator of how Serbia is perceived.
What were the most difficult tasks for you during your term?
— I think the most difficult task was the positioning of Confindustria’s brand in Serbia as well as the “scale up” of our association. When we first announced Confindustria’s arrival in Serbia, we immediately realized how much effort would be needed to appropriately explain to the local institutions and companies what Confindustria was and how it was unique in the business and institutional arena. Confindustria is the largest business association in Europe and the first one to understand that Brussels and the EU would be the epicentre of the continent’s policies. But in Serbia, the concept of Confindustria – a private voluntary based business association – was something innovative and yet unknown. It is interesting though that Confindustria has previously already had initiatives: the first business missions organized in the 2000s by the Italian government after the democratic transition started in Serbia were organized by Confindustria and the Italian Trade Agency. In these terms, our first challenge was to make sure Serbian institutions knew what Confindustria was and establish a trustworthy relationship with them. This was of utmost importance in the beginning – we needed to send a strong signal to the first member companies, which somehow believed in our project in Serbia and shared with us the vision of entrepreneurs freely creating a network. The scale-up was a second challenge because we had to position Confindustria in the local business community. Given that we aim to contribute to the improvement of bilateral economic relations, it was important for us to get to the Serbian business community. I think we have successfully overcome these challenges, even if completely aware that we will have to work on these issues in the future too.
What is the difference in the business culture in Serbia and Italy? Were you quite surprised by certain things?
— The Italian business culture is not that different from the Serbian one. The greatest difference I see lies in its historical development and a different degree of economic and political stability. The latter I think will permit the further evolution of the Serbian business culture in the close future. Actually, a similar business culture most certainly contributed to the volume of Italian investments in Serbia. In this sense, the dedication to work, the focus on research and development, and the importance given to employees are common traits that fundamentally support the collaboration between Italian and Serbian companies. A trademark of Italian business is that they are family-owned, which is something I am sure we can already detect in the local business community and I am sure we will see more of in the decades to come.
What are the main advantages of doing business in Serbia?
— As far as Italian investors are concerned, I believe that the geographical proximity and strategic logistic position of Serbia play a great role in attracting our companies. In this sense, the efforts of the Serbian government in terms of infrastructural investments and connectivity send a positive signal to business community which is something that will surely contribute to the further increase of FDIs. The trade agreements Serbia has, especially with the Eurasian Economic Union and Turkey, are a huge comparative advantage: this is something that gave a concrete solution to many manufacturing companies. Of course, in this respect, the subsidies of the government played a huge role in attracting investors, but I believe that the openness and support of local administration have been even more important. Italian companies especially, tend to create a strong bond with the local communities where they locate their business so having the support of the local administration is most certainly of great importance. Last but not least, the quality of the workforce – this is what keeps investors in the country, guarantees reinvestments in technology and ultimately allows foreign investors to leave a mark in Serbia.
How do you see Confindustria in 2022 when the association will be celebrating its 10th anniversary?
— My dream is to see a further evolution of our association into something even more similar to what Confindustria does in Italy and the EU. There, Confindustria actively participates in the dialogue between the government and business actors: this is something I hope we will achieve in Serbia too. I also hope we will be able to contribute to long-term strategies and initiatives, especially those concerning education and talent attraction. I believe the brain drain is a problem we all share, i.e. something that is unavoidable in the globalized world. As such, I wish Confindustria will work on talent attraction by targeting those young people in Serbia who have built a strong education or career abroad. They are the people who could really contribute to elevating Serbia in the future. Last but not least, I hope that, by 2022, we will have enlarged our network and possibly introduced innovative services for our companies.