Workshop 2: Serbia – Social entrepreneurship and sustainability Belgrad – Study Tour (28.02-03.03.2012) The project „Overcoming the Digital Divide: Access for Rural Communities” / „Incluziunea digitală a comunităților rurale”

1. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
SERBIA
eko BaG model
Miodrag Nedeljković

2. Basics
Deffinition: A Social Enterprise is a legally registered market
orientated not for profit organisation with social goal – business
with social purpose.
Value Base
 My Social Enterprise is based on the values of equity in
ownership - each member should have equal voting
share, equality of involvement, solidarity among members and
with people, but well educated for market approach, with
trading skills, making balanced between commercial, social
responsibility and environmental care.

3. Why and how?
 Why and how Social Enterprise operates
 Why people set up Social Enterprises
Business or not? Do we need…
 To develop a business plan?
 How to set up Social Enterprises
 First – idea!
 Define market
 Define customers
 Define strategy and approach

4. New concept
Concept of Social Entrepreneurship in Serbia
In this moment in Serbia are identified more then
1000 entities, dealing under some rules of social
entrepreneurship with chance to become SE
(social mission, not for profit character, market
oriented with good or less good management)
Differences between them are related to social
purpose and target group.

5. Differences between business and social business?
 Profit / not for profit
 Mission
 Community benefit
 Decision making
 Social objectives
 Environmental responsibility

6. eko BaG – two years later
IDEA!!:
- employment of group with difficulties in employment (women
over 50 years, transition loosers)
- promotion of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) trough
specific waste management
- promotion of recycling, ecology and re-use
- promotion of concept of social entrepreneurship trough positive
example of “fast winner”
- products of multi – added value, from nature
preservation, trough awereness raising, but also with very atractive and
modern designed products
(ONE VOULNERABLE GROUP GET A CHANCE TO SOLVE IT’S ECONOMICAL AND EXISTENTIAL
PROBLEMS, BUT ALSO TO OVERCOME PROBLEM OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION)

7. SURPASSED PROBLEMS
IDC
 Money (C. of Bg)
 Beneficiaries’ identification
 Space - Vracar Municipality
 Promotion of the concept and product – meetings, exhibition, medias...
 Branding – final group has information on the product
 Contacts with agencies
– In beginning distrust and obstructions
– But later on we carried up very good cooperation (Sky board, Alma Quatro, Communis..)
 Contacts with public sector
 Contacts with our main target – enterprises that are having this kind of promotion
(printed PVC banners)

8. Results acheived
 Appearances on TVs and other medias’
– B92 – TV and radio
– Studio B – several reportages and live shows
– RTS 1 – Evronet, Profil & Profit”, Evening News, morning news 1st of May
– TV Pink - news
– TV Most – “Art to business”
– Politika
– TV Avala
– TV Kopernikus
 Participation in many events and manifestations
– Car and Truck fair - Mercedes
– Non profit innitiatives fair - twice
– International conference of Social Entrepreneurship in Belgrade
– Civil society fairs – twice
– Europe day 9th of May - Kalemegdan
– Mixer festival and exhibitions - twice
– “Moda za poneti” – several times – alternative art scene in Serbia
– Independent (solo) exhibition – National gallery
– Exit festival – exhibition
– Ecology fair
– Recklasar

9. Faithfull and less faithfull clients
 Mercedes
 B92 fund
 October salon
 Erste bank – unique in Srbia – reusing all printed banners from
campaings !
 EXIT festival
 Share conference
 Beoizlog
 Pils beer
 Heineken beer
 Chamber of Commerce
 SIEPA - Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency
 NGO sector

10. UNSURPASSED PROBLEMS
 Solidarity – because of week sustainability and still not strong
economical stability, solidarity is, for the moment “in the backgroung”.
 Financial stability
– Although final product and message it is carring is unique on
territory, not just Serbian, but all around Balkans, financial stability
and economic sustainability is still difficult to acheive.
But, apparently, it is much easier than in most other social
enterprises.
– Recently, concept od social resonsibility in Serbia is becoming
important issue, and it makes very favorable situation for eko BaG.
Not just promoting themselves as social responsible companies, but
also this concept conitues period of advertising, trough unique final
product.
 Insufficient management capacities
 Lack of law on SE
 Law on waste management is not respected
– Enterprises that are using this kind of promotional campaings don’t
respect this low – on most cases. In ideal situation of forced law
respect and strong legal procedure, financial sustainability of eko
BaG would increased dramaticly.

11.  Complicated internal relations
– Power balance
– Intellectual levels
– Educational levels
– Previous work and/or business experiences
– Motivation
– Consciousness
 Social awareness of potential users
– Still on extremely low level
 Promotion of the Concept and Product and contacts with
enterprises
– insufficient marketing as well as capacities for good sale strategy

12. Our plans
 Expansion of production
– City secretariat for ecology – donation
– Final product 100% recycled (seat belts, bicycle inner tubes...)
 Employment of women from same category
 Franchising..?!
 Establishment of new social enterprise
In next 18 months !

13. THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION