Smart Kolektiv Launches Open Call

The strong turnout was a clear sign of the interest in the Invest for Change project, funded by the EU and implemented by Impact Europe and its national partners in the Western Balkans.

Željko works at Smart Kolektiv, our national partner in Serbia. Only ten days earlier they published an open call to entrepreneurs. As part of Invest for Change, Smart Kolektiv aims to disburse business development grants of 15,000 to 22,500 euros, for plans running up to nine months, with mentoring and training alongside the grant funding. Applications for the call are still open and will close on 30 September.

The idea is that the selected enterprises become a part of Smart Impact Fund’s portfolio and will benefit from Smart Kolektiv’s network, support and experience. “After all, Impact Europe’s latest research shows that, in addition to financial support, social enterprises need mentoring, networking and greater visibility,” said Mitkovski.

The grant tickets are small on purpose. They sit below the minimum most impact funds will write, and therefore serve a different group of entrepreneurs than other open calls. Crucially, they operate within the range at which a Serbian social enterprise can absorb capital and put it to work, and the range at which commercial money typically does not show up. A total of 160.000 euros is available in this first cycle. Across two cycles, up to 16 organisations will share a grand total of 300,000 euros in funding.

The grants are the visible part of a longer-term, more holistic process brought about by Invest for Change across the Western Balkans. In addition to funding, the project also focuses on stakeholder engagement via events and outreach and on policy advocacy. And when it comes to funding, it doesn’t stop at grants. These first planned disbursements feed a blended finance mechanism that Smart Kolektiv is building with the Sidro Foundation the Smart Impact Fund.

The point of a grant here is to help an enterprise prepare for growth, increase its positive impact, create new employment opportunities and become ready for additional financing.

Visibility is Key

Whether a call like this works comes down to how many of the right people hear about it in the weeks it stays open. That message was well understood by Smart Kolektiv. Within four days of publication, the call had been picked up dozens of times via a variety of business press, daily digests, magazines and more. RTS, the national broadcaster, interviewed Željko, with Radio Beograd 1 soon following suit.

A week before the information session, 11 enterprises had signed up for it. By the time the session took place, 61 people had joined — 50 more than a week earlier. The strong visibility of the call clearly helped broaden its reach.

Building a Database

The interest in the open call is encouraging, also because eligible enterprises operate under a diverse range of legal forms. While Serbia does have a legal status for social enterprises, relatively few businesses choose to register under this status, as it currently brings additional obligations without providing specific benefits or incentives. As a result, social enterprises can be found among associations, foundations, cooperatives, entrepreneurs who keep business records, partnerships and limited liability companies.

Smart Kolektiv has been at work to make it easier to find exactly these enterprises. On 2 September, 13 journalists attended a breakfast meetup at Kafe bar 16 on Cetinjska street in Belgrade, where Irena Đorđević Šušić from NALED and Željko Mitkovski presented the new Database of Social Enterprises. It was developed under NALED’s Enhancing competitiveness through more effective public procurement and sustainable supply chains (ESGs) project, in partnership with Smart Kolektiv, with the support of the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden.

As a part of this introduction session, three enterprises presented their work: Centar Zvezda, Zvuci Srca, Radanska Ruža. For most of the journalists present, the session introduced a new concept – one they will hopefully take into consideration for future coverage. But the use cases of the database go far beyond simply informing journalists. It makes social enterprises more visible and easier to identify, helping potential partners, buyers, investors, donors and other stakeholders discover organisations whose work aligns with their interests. It gives social entrepreneurs a name and a face, and recognizes their unique potential to make a difference in the communities they operate in.

Impact Europe and Smart Kolektiv look forward to meeting many more social entrepreneurs and impact businesses in Serbia through the current call.

Invest for Change is funded by the European Union and implemented by Impact Europe in partnership with Smart kolektiv and partners from the Western Balkans. The Database of Social Enterprises was developed by NALED and Smart Kolektiv with the support of the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden.

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.