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Entrepreneurs presented programs of support of the Secretariat for entrepreneurship of the Capital

Organized by the Secretariat for Entrepreneurship of the Capital and the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, a Roundtable was held yesterday – Doors Open Day - where entrepreneurs from Podgorica were presented with support programs of the Capital.

On that occasion, the manager of the Capital, Marjan Junčaj, emphasized that now is the right moment for the realization of support for entrepreneurship, in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic. In that direction, a rebalance of the Budget was made, which, according to him, strives to meet all the needs of Podgorica's businessmen.

“Business zones will have great potential for new investments and capacity increase in existing businesses. We have created the preconditions for that, such as a very favorable lease. For serious projects lasting up to 30 years, these business zones are profitable”, Junčaj said.

He emphasized that the Doors Opened Days  is a new practice that will enable the representatives of the Capital to be in direct communication with entrepreneurs, in which the support of the Chamber of Commerce is extremely important. He called on businessmen to further develop cooperation with the Capital, and to initiate projects based on new ideas.

Kemal Grbović, Secretary for Entrepreneurship of the Capital, reminded that this secretariat implements activities and measures that serve to encourage the development of business and entrepreneurship. This includes financial and non-financial measures to support entrepreneurs.

The budget for these purposes is higher every year compared to the previous one, because the number of businessmen who show interest in measures to support entrepreneurship is increasing. These activities from the Secretariat Program are aimed at strengthening entrepreneurial awareness, education of potential entrepreneurs that are realized through fairs, seminars, workshops and of course there is financial support.

“The budget of the Capital for 2020 plans significant funds to support creative entrepreneurs, newly established companies, women's entrepreneurship, business ideas in the settlement of Stara Varoš with loans being available to stimulate entrepreneurship in Podgorica. We have also made significant strides in the adoption of legislation, prerequisites for a good economic environment in Podgorica. We have also realized a significant project in a cross-border cooperation with Kosovo with the goal of greater employment in agriculture”, Grbović said.

He also presented decisions on business zones and leasing of agricultural land, and presented the IPA project from the program Montenegro-Kosovo "Increasing employment in agriculture" whose value is 338,337.21 euros. The project partners are the Capital City of Podgorica, the Secretariat for Entrepreneurship as the lead applicant and the Initiative for Agricultural Development of Kosovo (IADK). The goals of the project are to encourage the unemployed to start farming, to develop their capacities and to connect with business representatives in Kosovo. The focus is on olive growing, dairy, medicinal and aromatic plants, and it is expected that 60 users will be trained in agricultural production in olive growing, dairy, medicinal and aromatic plants, and that 30 will be employed with the acquired knowledge.

“The capital has made a decision to lease unused agricultural land in order to develop agriculture, and on that occasion many interested people came and we are now defining the cadastre of those plots, and we have a significant number of investors for business zones, both foreign and domestic“, Grbović concluded.

Mirjana Perović, Head of the Sector for Entrepreneurship and Agriculture, spoke about the project of support and encouragement of women's entrepreneurship. She emphasized that Podgorica allocates non-refundable financial resources to entrepreneurs as an incentive to start a business.

She reminded that in 2019, business ideas related to the production of domestic juices, maintenance of business and residential premises, improvement of existing equipment, handmade cosmetics, manufacturing programs and others were supported. For 2020, the Budget of the Capital has allocated funds of EUR 20,000 for the same purposes.

The first public call supported the business ideas of 12 women entrepreneurs for making unique jewelry, and leather items, a pottery workshop and the like. The second competition ends at the beginning of November, and another EUR 20,000 have been allocated for it.

Danijela Radeč, Head of the Department for Entrepreneurship, presented the program of lending in entrepreneurship and the project Stara Varoš. This year, EUR 132,000 were initially planned for various purposes, but given the already known unfavorable situation, the rebalance significantly increased the funds, to EUR 242,000. We did a lot of activities during the year, and one was to support creative entrepreneurs. A new public call for creative entrepreneurs will be announced these days.

“We lend to entrepreneurs every year. For those purposes, EUR 30,000 were allocated, the loans are favorable because the interest rate is three percent, the grace period is one year, and the repayment is 36 months. A new public call for stimulating entrepreneurship will be announced by the end of the year, and the funds have been increased to EUR 60,000 by the budget rebalance”, Radeč said.

Petar Nuculović, Head of the Department of Agriculture, presented the lending program in this area. The Capital annually allocates significant funds for the development of agriculture, which, after the rebalance, amount to over EUR 300,000.

The most important measure is the credit line, for which over 40 farmers have expressed interest this year. The Capital also helps farmers with free business plans. By the end of the year, another public tender will be announced for all agricultural producers for whom 140,000 euros are intended. In the allocation of funds, preference is given to women in business and young entrepreneurs.

Every year, the capital pays significant funds for dairy premiums, which amount to three cents per liter, for all producers in this industry.

Director of the Sector for Education and Quality of the Chamber of Commerce, Dr Mladen Perazic, said that during the meeting, businessmen will get acquainted with the decisions made by the Secretariat in the previous period, projects to support entrepreneurs and start-ups, programs to encourage women's entrepreneurship, lending to agriculture and entrepreneurship along with the project Stara varoš.