Prestigious, tenth annual award ceremony for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Serbia

For the tenth year in a row, the auditing and consulting company EY is awarding the prize to the most successful entrepreneur in Serbia. This year, 34 entrepreneurs are taking part in the competition, representing 28 companies that operate in sixteen different industries in 9 cities throughout Serbia. These companies employ over 2,000 people, and in the previous year alone, they generated total business revenue of EUR 122 million.

At today's press conference, the auditing and consulting company EY announced the tenth annual selection for the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year award. The continuous growth of the number of candidates each year confirms that there is great potential for the development of entrepreneurship in Serbia. Over 250 Serbian entrepreneurs who competed for this award in the previous years employ around 25,500 people, and in the previous year alone they generated business revenue of an incredible EUR 1.8 billion.

In addition, the key results of the "EY Entrepreneurship Barometer 2021" study, conducted by EY with the support of the Ministry of Economy, among 101 fast-growing entrepreneur in Serbia, have been presented at the conference. The "EY Entrepreneurial Barometer" study is the sixth study based on the assessments made by the most successful national entrepreneurs on the topics of business climate and opportunities for business development in Serbia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

- Through the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Program, we have had the opportunity to get acquainted with over 250 candidates, national entrepreneurs, and 10 years later their ideas, approaches to market survival, innovations they introduce to their business - they are still fascinating. The full decade of this program's existence in Serbia is marked by a record number of candidates from various industries, architects behind the impressive successes of their respective companies, and we are very proud that this election stands out for a record number of female entrepreneurs. Candidates participating in this cycle of our program, despite the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, managed to achieve a strong growth of 18% when compared to the previous year. We are looking forward to once again we have the opportunity to pay tribute through our program to national entrepreneurs who continuously prove to be the bright point of the Serbian economy - said Mila Bjelakovic, head of EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Serbia and EY Head of marketing and communications for Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The general sponsor of this year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition is Generali Insurance. Raiffeisen Bank is the sponsor of the gala evening this year, and the technical sponsor is Star Import.

- Large, small and medium enterprises are part of an ecosystem in which everyone can and must find their place and contribute to the overall economic development of a country. Only those economies in which the common interests of large, small and medium-sized enterprises intertwine and mutually support each other, are truly strong. The fact is that small and medium enterprises are an important pillar of the European economy, and increasingly so the Serbian economy. That is why, over the years, with the diversity of our products, Generali encourages the preservation, development and progress of small and medium enterprises in our country.

I salute to EY on the realization of the "Entrepreneur of the Year" event, which has been encouraging the development and success of small and medium enterprises for an entire decade. Bearing in mind that they are the focus of our business and that in accordance with our ambition we promote inclusive and sustainable business, we thought it was the right time to support this event through general sponsorship, which has a motivating and affirmative effect on an important segment of Serbian and European economy. . I am especially glad that this year a special award for socially responsible entrepreneur in 2021 will be allotted, because small and medium enterprises are among the main drivers in the transition to sustainable business - Dragan Filipovic, President of the Executive Board and CEO of Generali Osiguranje Srbija, said.

Additionally, the support for the program has traditionally been provided by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia, Radio Television of Serbia, the Business & Finance magazine and the eKapija business portal.

- In late January 2022, the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia announced a competition for the three most important decrees - the program for the development projects, the program for female entrepreneurship and young entrepreneurs, as well as the traditional program for financing beginners in business. In addition to this decree, the Ministry of Economy has allocated RSD 1.9 billion in non-refundable subsidies combined with loans from commercial banks and the Development Fund. Also, advisory services and professional assistance on the topic of financial and tax consulting are available to small and medium enterprises free of charge, all with the aim of further developing the SME sector - Milan Ljusic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy of Serbia, advised.

- There is no better way to encourage entrepreneurial spirit than to highlight the best examples. EY's research, The EY Entrepreneurship Barometer, provides important and realistic information about the current entrepreneurial climate, the market, what is really bothering the participants and what they lack in order to be as successful as possible. Good thing is that large companies and serious institutions are backing them, and we will do our utmost to assist in the best way possible - Mihajlo Vesovic, Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, stated.

The announcement of the national winner will be held on February 24 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, and the winner will represent Serbia at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award™ ceremony in Monte Carlo in June 2022.

Ernst & Young d.o.o. Beograd

Generali Osiguranje Srbija a.d.o. Beograd

Raiffeisen banka a.d. Beograd

Star Import doo Beograd

Ministarstvo privrede Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

eKapija.com Beograd

Radio televizija Srbija-RTS Beograd

NIP BIF Press d.o.o. Beograd

Ernst & Young

Biznis&Finansije magazine

eKapija

Mila Bjelakovic

Dragan Filipovic

Milan Ljusic

Mihajlo Vesovic

EY Entrepreneur of the Year

EY Entrepreneurship Barometer 2021