The Slovenian Business Club (SBC) started 2020 with great energy and enthusiasm while continuing to implement its mission, successfully connecting the economies of Serbia and Slovenia. March brought a surprise for everyone – the coronavirus ‘locked up’ people and the economy, and seriously shook the global market.
In the process of adaptation, the Club tried to provide its members with adequate content and necessary information. The SBC organized webinars, online conferences with current topics and online SBM in order to maintain interactive contact, the connection with its members and the flow of information as much as possible. The Club’s activities on networking and connecting members, as well as providing contacts and working one-on-one were also strong. The crisis has demonstrated that the SBC has matured and can successfully resist challenges. The Club continued providing stable support to its members, as well as be a place to connect, exchange experiences and information, educate and create opportunities for future business cooperation but also find solutions to specific problems of its members.
January 2020: Working breakfast – Adizes SEE
In cooperation with one of its members, Adizes SEE, the SBC held a working breakfast on the topic: “10 ways to kill a company if you are persistent enough” which focused on the importance of optimal effectiveness, organizational structure, leadership style in the life cycle, etc.
March 2020: International Coffee Break – Kopaonik Business Forum
Under the auspices of the Kopaonik Business Forum, in cooperation with 10 bilateral organizations in Serbia (the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, Dutch-Serbian Business Association, Croatian Business Club, Japanese Business Alliance in Serbia, Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Confindustria Serbia), the SBC held the International Coffee Break at the Grand Hotel & SPA. A total of 80 business people attended the event.
March 2020: Seminar – JPM Law Firm and the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs
A seminar on the topic “New Law on Agency Employment” was organized with the aim of businesses getting better acquainted with the topic. The representatives of the Janković Popović Mitić Law Firm, who were also the hosts of this gathering, held presentations, as did the State Secretary Bojana Stanić with her colleagues from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. The SBC organized the event in cooperation with the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
May 2020: Online Panel Discussion – Industry vs Corona – The Day After
The traditional panel discussion, which the SBC has been holding six consecutive years, took place online this year, for the first time, on the topic “Industry vs Corona – The Day After”, under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia. The panellists – who came from companies ETI, RLS Merilna Tehnika, Grah Automotive, FMT and EXOR ETI Serbia – talked about their experiences from the previous period as well as expectations as for the direction forward, after the end of the pandemic and return to normal life.
June 2020: Online panel discussion – “Coronavirus – an obstacle or an opportunity?”
Under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, the SBC organized an online panel discussion where we tried to find out whether the coronavirus epidemic was an obstacle or opportunity for the economy, the current situation and what future brings in terms of economy and state, national and international cooperation, etc.
During the panel discussion, panellists from leading companies in their business segments in Serbia and Slovenia and beyond such as NLB Banka, Simič & Partners, Triglav Osiguranje, ETI, Elmaks, Plamen, Tab Baterije, Tehnoplast and Ekonomija Uspeha, presented their observations on what their companies went through and whether the pandemic caused a decline or increase in sales and production and other relevant issues.
Seminar – the Customs Administration
In cooperation with the Croatian Business Club and with the support of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the SBC played host to the representatives of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia and on that occasion, held a live seminar titled “Current Issues in the Application of the New Customs Law”.
The participants were briefly introduced to the Customs Administration, the organization itself, its goals, mission, vision, as well as the work of all departments in the Administration and the specific changes in the Customs Law. There was also the talk about the amendments to the law in the segment of the transit procedure, simplified customs procedures and other relevant issues.
September 2020: Working breakfast on the topic “What did the coronavirus bring us?”
The SBC marked the beginning of the autumn work season by holding a working breakfast, live, on the topic “What did the coronavirus bring us?” and on that occasion played host to its members.
A very lively discussion was led by representatives of the companies e-Kapija.com, Coface Serbia, ETI B, Poslovni Savetnik, Gorenje Belgrade, NLB Bank Belgrade, Triglav Osiguranje Belgrade, Cablex-S, JSP Law Firm, JUB Šimanovci and Profil Group Belgrade, who gave a broader picture of economic trends in general as well as in Slovenia and Serbia while focusing on investments, economy and opportunities for protection against business risks.
Other Club members, who attended the event, also gave their observations as they joined the discussion. As not all sectors of the economy were affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic in the same way and with the same intensity, it was concluded that large companies have a much better chance of coming out of the crisis without serious consequences than smaller companies. Representatives of SMEs called on large companies to help them overcome the situation in which they found themselves.
October 2020: Online speed business meeting – SBC, HBA, HSPA, BNI
For the first time, the SBC held a tetrahedral online Speed Business Meeting called “Business Networking in a New Reality” in an online format, in cooperation with the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia (HBA), the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (HSPA) and the company BNI Serbia. The event was attended by representatives of over 50 companies and members of the meeting organizers, to get to know each other better, improving cooperation between the four business organizations and boosting synergies between the organizations themselves.