Innovative women’s and youth entrepreneurship in the Danube region
International Conference and Business Meetings within the Danube Business Forum
The International conference “Innovative women’s and youth entrepreneurship in the Danube region” was held on 05th October, 2017. in the crowded grand hall of the Master Center in Novi Sad, where entrepreneurs and young people from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Hungary took part. After the conference, business meetings were held. The conference and B2B meetings were organized by the Institute Mihajlo Pupin and EEN – Enterprise Europe Network of Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina – Republika Srpska, supported by the Association of Business Women of Serbia.
Successful young and experienced female entrepreneurs from the region have shared their good examples of practice with the attendees, information on incentives, sources of funding, association. Representatives from municipalities and institutions have given examples of how entrepreneurship of young people with multiple effects on the economy can be encouraged at the local level. Useful information was presented by guest speakers from Hungary, Monika Mesaros, official evaluator of SME instruments H2020 and vice president of AGRO IT Cluster. She gave instructions on how innovative programs are attractive to the EU funding committee. Jovana Stanojevic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce talked about the new project for the improvement of young companies in Serbia. Adam Polgar shared his experience of Ujbuda Municipality from Budapest and Vladimir Nikić presented the Erasmus program for young entrepreneurs, Business Incubator Novi Sad. Emilija Skočibušić from the Science and Technology Park Varaždin has shared experiences from two projects: one dedicated to encouraging youth entrepreneurship and the other that is aimed at supporting women’s companies to make greater use of EU funds through the use of a special program „SME instrument“ available to innovative companies within the Horizon 2020 program.
– I am satisfied with the attendance at the conference because the hall was filled to the last place, and a great number of realized B2B meetings make me especially proud because our efforts to connect entrepreneurs are obviously recognizable. Exchange of concrete good practices and information has met our goal. I believe that the participants went fromthe conference with a lot of usefull information that they will be able to apply in the business, inspired for new ventures, and many with new business partners and agreed cooperation – said Dr Sanja Popović Pantić, Research Associate at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Coordinator of the Sector Group for Women Entrepreneurship of the Enterprise Europe Network.
