Sandzak Textile Association (ASSTEX) to have permanent Moscow presence

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 18:47

Novi Pazar / Belgrade / Moscow, October 16: ASSTEX representatives traveled to Moscow last week to rent offices for its fashion show room and apparel distribution center; the grand opening is expected November 1.  This permanent presence in Russia’s capital is key to the association’s strategy to capture part of the annual $53 billion the country’s consumers spend on clothing; ASSTEX opens the facility with the help of a $240,000 grant from the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency, which was facilitated by USAID's Economic Security project.  This next step in Sandzak’s textile industry expansion is part of a larger, multifaceted effort to stimulate the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises from Sandzak and South Serbia. In its five years of operation, Economic Security project-supported companies have generated over $12.5 million in new sales at trade fairs alone and entered new domestic and foreign markets including those of Germany, Poland, Turkey, Russia, Belarus and the Czech Republic.

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Serbian shoe makers make international debut with USAID support

Friday, 09 September 2011 16:13

Belgrade/Vranje, September 8 – Five south Serbian shoe manufacturers are in Dusseldorf, Germany, attending one of the world’s largest footwear trade fairs to establish contacts with importers, wholesalers and buyers and prepare for their participation at next the next trade fair.

The managers from Minex, Steffi Com, Mladenovic and Lotos, all based in Vranje, are attending Global Shoes Dusseldorf with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is helping them meet potential business partners from all around the world.  The five companies are scouting for orders which will help the launch their own industry cluster.

Read more: Serbian shoe makers make international debut with USAID support

PPES internship activity takes root in local community; 50 Novi Pazar youth improve work skills over summer break.

Tuesday, 23 August 2011 12:49

Belgrade / Novi Pazar: Certificates were awarded last week to 50 young people who traded their summer break for the opportunity to gain valuable work skills.  Thirty-one public institutions and private businesses opened their doors to provide on-the-job experience to high school and university students selected from 150 applicants on the basis of academic achievement.

Novi Pazar replicated the internship model supported by PPES in 2009-2010 as part of its Youth Entrepreneurship Action Plan (YEAP); the Sandzak Economic Development Agency (SEDA) and the city Youth Office organized and managed the activity.

Including this current group, more than 210 students in Novi Pazar have participated in internship activities over the past three years. Many successfully turned their internship into employment with their host company following graduation.

Zajecar Youth Office and PPES set up city’s first peer-to-peer education network to boost youth entrepreneurship

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 13:49

Belgrade / Zajecar: Ten young people from Zajecar completed 15 days of PPES-supported training to become peer-to-peer consultants for young entrepreneurs. They attended four courses delivered by the Zajecar Regional Development Agency to develop training skills and strong working knowledge of business planning, finances and marketing.

The newly trained consultants will work with the Youth Office to help 30 young people start a business. This marks another unique, multi-purposed activity resulting from implementation of this round of Youth Entrepreneurship Action Plans (YEAP). 

This training approach offers two types of entrepreneurial opportunities to help reduce youth unemployment: youth enterprises and business consultancy, which can support the growth of business start-ups well into the future. YEAPs are strategic documents developed in cooperation with PPES to help Youth Offices throughout Serbia tackle youth unemployment through promotion of entrepreneurship.