Serbia Extends Deadline for Six Aid Programs to Sept. 14
The Ministry of Economy has pushed back the application deadline for six of its ten current business support programs, at President Vucic's initiative after strong interest.
The application deadline for six of the ten current support programs for businesses and entrepreneurs has been pushed back to September 14. Serbia’s Ministry of Economy announced the extension on Friday, September 5, citing strong interest from applicants as the reason.
According to the statement, the decision was made at the request of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, “because of the strong interest shown by businesses and entrepreneurs.” The previous deadline has been extended by nine days, to next Monday.
Which six programs got the new deadline?
The extension does not cover all ten current programs, only six:
- support for the development of production space
- support for starting and growing businesses run by returnees from abroad
- financial support for young entrepreneurs
- financial support for the development of women’s entrepreneurship in manufacturing
- financial support for furniture production and wood processing
- financial support for producing food products made entirely from domestic raw materials
The other four programs in the current package keep their original deadlines; the ministry’s statement does not explain why they were left out of the extension.
In its statement, the Ministry of Economy urged all interested businesses and entrepreneurs to use the extra nine days to submit applications, saying the goal is to encourage new investment, upgrade production and create jobs:
The Ministry of Economy continues to be a strong and reliable partner to the domestic economy and to everyone who works, invests and creates in Serbia.
The statement adds that the entire package of programs was created at President Vucic’s initiative, with the aim of strengthening the domestic economy and encouraging investment.
What the statement leaves out
The ministry did not disclose on Friday how much funding is allocated to each individual program, nor the total value of the package these six measures belong to. Without that figure, there is no way to gauge how much the extension will actually cost the budget, or how strong the response from businesses has been so far across all ten programs.
For entrepreneurs in wood processing and furniture manufacturing, as well as for young people and women starting businesses in manufacturing, the practical effect is clear: applications that were late as of yesterday are now on time, all the way through September 14.
