ADVOCACY INITIATIVES ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESSWOMEN-Serbia Or how to reach the top of the mountain M.A Sanja Popovic-Pantic, President, ABW October 2008.

THE STORY…WITH HAPPY END? ABW is active NGO of the women owners of SME, managers and professional women, established in 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 Mentoring As to advocacy we are still in process of “climbing the top of the mountain”…

OUR 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 SME only in 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 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.. 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 ” Promote of women’s achievements in business by granting annual award

ANNUAL AWARD “SUCCESS FLOWER FOR A DRAGON WOMAN” „Women’s Oscar“ for the best women entrepreneurs from Serbia.

The winners for 2008.

OUR ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES- INTERNATIONAL LEVEL TAIEX Multi country study tour on women in business, October 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 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,2006