Within the framework of the “Sustainable Development for All” Platform, and in the context of achieving the sustainable development goals set by the 2030 Agenda, for over two years CEVES has been conducting a dialogue with key Serbian entrepreneurs on the needs of the development of the Serbian economy, in order to identify and launch initiatives that will contribute to the realization of this vision. In this way, CEVES strongly contributes to the promotion of the role that leading Serbian SMEs can and should play for the sustainable development of Serbia.

In order to support the further strong development of the SME sector, which has the potential to grow even faster and contribute to the sustainable development of Serbia in the next decade, CEVES pointed out the challenges faced by this sector and proposed appropriate institutional solutions. As part of these efforts, the SME100 Expo initiative was launched, within which the conference SME100 Expo: People are success was held in the Niš Science and Technology Park on November 9, 2023.

Speaking about the green economy, the participants agreed that saving energy, switching to renewable energy sources, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and complying with standards are ways for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises to reach customers in Europe and America. “Young generations want to know where their money is going, they don’t want to support an economy that is wasteful and does not take care of nature, it was said at the “Green in the function of competitiveness” workshop.

During this year’s SME100 Expo, free training on green transition was held, designed with the aim of raising the knowledge of SMEs in Serbia about ESG (a set of standards regarding environmental protection, social responsibility and conscientious corporate management) and encouraging timely positioning of companies on the local and international market. especially taking into account environmental protection issues that already affect their business. During the one-day course, the most successful domestic small and medium-sized companies had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the concept of ESG, regulations and standards, upcoming obligations regarding non-financial reporting, as well as to gain insight into good practices of investing in ESG and integrating sustainability principles into their business strategies.

The second SME100 Expo brought together more than 100 leading domestic small and medium-sized enterprises and more than 300 participants, including representatives of state institutions, business associations, the international community, the professional public and the local community.