ADVOCACY INITIATIVESADVOCACY INITIATIVESASSOCIATION OF BUSINESSWOMEN-ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESSWOMEN-

SerbiaSerbia

Or how to reach the top of the Or how to reach the top of the mountainmountain

M.A Sanja Popovic-Pantic, President, ABWM.A Sanja Popovic-Pantic, President, ABWOctober 2008.October 2008.

THE STORY…WITH HAPPY END?THE STORY…WITH HAPPY END?

• ABW is active NGO of the women owners of SME, managers and  professional women, established in 1998. Number of members: 120

• There are around 70 projects in ABW portfolio in the period of ten years of existence, focused to the:

• Training for start ups and development of active small women’s businesses • Promotion of women’s achievements in business and professional life • Regional and local networking • Dissemination of the information relevant for the SME’s development in

Serbia through round tables and our publications • Organizing trainings for effective models of co-operation between: women

owners, women who want to start up and local self-government • Research on the woman’s position in labour market and in the

entrepreneurship• Advocacy • MentoringAs to advocacy• we are still in process of “climbing the top of the mountain”…

OUR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES-NATIONAL LEVELOUR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES-NATIONAL LEVEL

STEP BY STEP APPROACH

• Taking the participation in process of designing the National Action Plan for Women (NAP), coordinated by the Governmental body Council for Gender Equality of the Republic of Serbia: 2006

• Research study: “FROM VULNARABLE TO SUSTAINABLE GROUP» targeting the position of women at the labour market as a basis (inputs) for advocacy initiatives.

Important data for advocacy: among 100. 000 SME only in 7.000 women are holding managing position and in the same time have the (co) ownership.

• Rising the gender sensitivity of the officials, men and women at the decision making position in public sector (government, municipalities) through their involvement in different ABW’s activities such as: 1)research- in-depth interviews on gender equality in business & employment 2) round tables 3) promotion of the “successful stories” in female entrepreneurship

ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RESOURCESACCESS TO FINANCIAL RESOURCES

• There is no financial schemes to support specifically female companies at the republic level: neither the start ups nor the developed companies but…

• There is support by the Guarantee fund of the AP Vojvodina which provides the guarantees for the start up credits

• Plans for the next year of the Agency for Development of SME and entrepreneurship of Serbia to launch special credit schemes for women entrepreneurs as result of the joint activity of ABW and positive external impact and local experience .

In “climbing the top of mountain” we..In “climbing the top of mountain” we..

• Established section Women’s Business Club to bring together: successful women’s enterprises –women business leaders in order to have strong pressure group which will advocate for the interests of women as entrepreneurs and for the overall improvement of the economic position of women, with the focus to the labour market, as the part of their CSR strategy.

• Many meetings with the stakeholders in SME policy have been organized in past two years by Women’s Business Club.

• Presentations including the draft of the Strategy of Competitiveness and Innovativeness of SMEs 2008-2012 ”

• Promote of women’s achievements in business by granting annual award

ANNUAL AWARD ANNUAL AWARD “SUCCESS FLOWER FOR A DRAGON WOMAN”“SUCCESS FLOWER FOR A DRAGON WOMAN”

„Women’s Oscar“ for the best women entrepreneurs from Serbia.

The winners for 2008.The winners for 2008.

OUR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES-OUR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES-INTERNATIONAL LEVELINTERNATIONAL LEVEL

• TAIEX Multi country study tour on women in business, October 2008.

• Membership and active role in the Coalition of the Balkan Women Business Associations

• Lobbying for Introduction of Gender Equality into Education and Employment . The message was sent to the European Parliament by the President of ABW at the conference organized by Education Training Foundation in Turin in 2006.

The message : “We invite the present attendants from EU institutions to support National plans for women and actions of inclusion of the local institutions into designing of a gender-balanced budget in the third

countries.

REGIONAL NETWORKING IN ADVOCACY,2006REGIONAL NETWORKING IN ADVOCACY,2006