2012 – A Year of Good Achievements!

22 Dec 2012 – A Year of Good Achievements!

For Association of Business Women of Serbia 2012 was a very successful year. During the past twelve months the Association initiated and completed, alone or in partnership, 8 different projects of economic empowerment of women in Serbia.

• With the support of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia was completed the project “Self-employment of Women in Rural Environments”. In the project part took 23 women, out of which 11 got self-employed in this year.
• With the German organization for technical cooperation GIZ were started and completed 2 projects, while the project initiated in 2011 was successfully brought to an end.
• With their support, the Association for the first time was the organizer of the event Girls’ Day in which part took 58 enterprises, 62 elementary schools and some 500 girls from all over Serbia.
• The Association of Business Women of Serbia also contributed largely as a partner in implementation of the recently completed national project the European Network of Women Entrepreneurship Ambassadors (WENS) as well as the project the European Network of Women Entrepreneurship Mentors (WEM), the implementer of which is the National Agency for Regional Development.
• In October, with the support of the US Embassy in Serbia, was initiated the project “Improvement of Women Entrepreneurship in Southwest Serbia”, whose aim is to cross-link both women entrepreneurs from Novi Pazar, Raška, Tutin, Sjenica, Nova Varoš, Prijepolje and Priboj, and the ones who would like to follow their path.
• In 2013 will be established the Association of Business Women in Subotica and in Bujanovac. Also, the Association of Business Women of Serbia will continue to advocate through the media the project “Women Entrepreneurs Asking”, as well as to make attempts to have an impact on the change of institutional environment of women in entrepreneurship.
• For the expansion of the Association network have also been provided resources from the European Union Funds.
• In December was held the first meeting of the Association of Business Women of Eastern Serbia, based in Zajecar.
• Representatives of ABW had presentations and took part in more than 50 local and international conferences, seminars and forums on women entrepreneurship.
• The Association is actively participating in the project of establishment of the Balkan Coalition of Business Women Associations from 10 countries in the region.
• ABW was also a part of the mentor programme “KnowHow Mentorship”, thanks to which it has acquired new perception in Association managing, improved its services rendered to members, and developed a strategic plan for development of the Association as the overarching organization of local associations of business women in Serbia.
• This year was launched a newsletter as well as a YouTube channel of the Association, containing about 100 of TV presentations of ABW projects and of its members. Also, more than 250 articles were published in printed media.
• In the course of 2012, 42 new members joined the Association.
• External communication was considerably improved, and thanks to the newly-formed ABW press service one event for the first client, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was successfully implemented.
• Members of the Association of Business Women of Serbia supported different humanitarian actions, such as the International Christmas Charity Bazaar and Moto Santa Claus.
• For the sixth time the Association awarded the most successful women entrepreneurs in Serbia the “Success Flower for a Dragon Woman”. 27 candidates from all over Serbia applied for this award at the competition, while 11 of them won the title of a “Dragon Woman”.
• The project “Success Flower for a Dragon Woman” is on the short list for the European Commission award “European Enterprise Promotion Award 2012”.
• At the traditional New Year’s cocktail of the Association of Business Women of Serbia, the US Ambassador to Serbia, His Excellency Michael Kirby, presented the President of the Association, Sanja Popović Pantić MA, with special award TIAW “The World of Difference 2012”, which she was given in October this year by the International Alliance of Women for extraordinary results and achievements in economic empowerment of women in the world. On the occasion, the President thanked for the award, emphasizing that it belongs to everyone in the Association of Business Women of Serbia, equally including the teams working on projects of economic empowerment of women all over Serbia and members, women entrepreneurs, whose example encourages other women to persist in accomplishing their entrepreneurial ambitions.