On 30 September 2022, the first “Investment and Business Conference for Diaspora” was successfully held in Vienna in the premises of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO). The conference was organized as part of the project Link Up! Serbia II, which is implemented by the international organization ICMPD and financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) and the Representation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia in Vienna , as well as the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO). The conference offered diaspora entrepreneurs the opportunity to familiarize themselves with new mechanisms of cooperation with the Serbian economy – the “Business Atlas of Serbia and Diaspora” and the “Business Diaspora Hub”, while the main objective of the conference was to foster investments of the Serbian business diaspora in Austria towards Serbia.
At the conference, high level guests from Serbian and Austrian institutions held their speeches in the introductory, ceremonial part (which you can see on this link) including: His Excellency Ambassador Friedrich Stift, Director of the ADA; Mr. Peter Launsky – Tieffenthal, General Secretary of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria; Mr. Richard Bandera, Regional Manager for Southeast Europe, Eastern Europe/Central Asia at Advantage Austria at the WKO; Mr. Tamer Kilić, Head of the Western Balkans and Turkey Region in the ICMPD; Mr. Mihajlo Dašić, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia; Mr. Mihajlo Vesović, Director of the Sector of Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and Ms. Elvina Quaison, Expert on Diaspora Engagement at ICMPD. In addition, the conference was attended by representatives of three regional development agencies, which are partners in the Link Up! Serbia II project, as well as local self-governments from Serbia, while the largest number of participants were entrepreneurs from Serbia and diaspora in Austria interested in finding partner companies and investing in investment opportunities from Serbia. With around 150 guests, the “Investment and Business Conference for Diaspora” in Vienna is the largest business event of this type and this working and business format ever organized for the Serbian business diaspora.
In addition to the introductory part, two specialized segments were held in the working part of the conference: one for the presentation of investment opportunities from Serbia to interested diaspora investors and the other for companies from Serbia and diaspora entrepreneurs who are looking for partners, as well as mentors and business intermediaries (brokers) that can support the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia on the Austrian market. The final part of the conference was completed with the forum for women entrepreneurs from Serbia and diaspora.
During the investment opportunities segment, a total of 30 investment opportunities were presented, 16 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, 13 by three regional development agencies and one individual. In the business partner segment, ten companies from Serbia that have already found partners in Austria and 10 companies owned by the diaspora in Austria presented their businesses. In addition, consultations were held with 12 other companies for which additional information is needed for cooperation with diaspora companies in Austria. Professional brokers and mentors for companies from Serbia also participated so that cooperation with them can be initiated in the next period with the aim of internationalization of Serbian companies on the Austrian market. The forum for women entrepreneurs was moderated by the representative of the ICMPD and the Link up! Serbia II project, Ms Manja Vitasović, and Ms Slobodanka Džinović-Kojić, the representative of CCIS. During the forum, the cooperation between female entrepreneurs from Serbia and the diaspora was discussed, as well as business mentoring and brokering of companies from Serbia, while conclusions and the next steps in further business cooperation were determined at the end.
Short video about the successful conference can be found here.
More details about the conference will be shared in the coming period.
