Female entrepreneurship is an important driving force for the social and economic growth of Montenegro, announced the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG).
They said that at the beginning of last year, according to the data of the Revenue and Customs Administration, in Montenegro there were 8,46 thousand or 24,45 percent of companies majority owned by women and that they employed 20,38 thousand workers.
"This result shows an increase in the number of companies owned by women by 8,45 percent compared to 2011, when only 3,02 thousand or 16 percent of such companies were operating in Montenegro," PKCG told the Mina-business agency.
They believe that the growth in the number of registered female entrepreneurs is a direct indicator of well-defined policies and the implementation of measures for the development of female entrepreneurship in Montenegro.
"This was also recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which in its report from last year, in which it analyzes the policies and environment for supporting the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the countries of the Western Balkans, states that the greatest improvement was made in Montenegro It is burning precisely in the area of female entrepreneurship", PKCG stated.
They said that support for female entrepreneurship at the institutional level is quite present in Montenegro.
"It is important to highlight the Program for Improving the Competitiveness of the Economy of the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, which has been stimulating the development of female entrepreneurship for years. If we look only at support programs intended for female entrepreneurship, the program line Vouchers for women and young people in business includes financial and non-financial support intended for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs who have been in business for one to three years", announced PKCG.
They added that non-financial support includes mentoring with the owner, that is, responsible in the company, in order to analyze the current business and prepare a development plan for its improvement. Financial support includes co-financing the costs of purchasing production equipment, IT equipment, new parts and tools for machines and other office equipment.
In addition to the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism, the Investment and Development Fund (IRF), as well as other international organizations such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and USAID, contribute to the development of female entrepreneurship.
"The importance of the development of female entrepreneurship in Montenegro was recognized by a little more than half of the municipalities, i.e. 54 percent. The financial assistance of the municipalities in 2021 amounted to EUR 300 thousand, and this amount was increased to EUR 500 thousand last year," PKCG said.
They reminded that PKCG has been carrying out activities for the promotion and support of women's entrepreneurship for many years, which is how the Coordination Committee for Women's Entrepreneurship was constituted, which deals with topics from the business sphere such as financing of women's entrepreneurship, open calls for EU projects, appearances at fairs, promotions and educations.
The members of the Coordination Board are successful entrepreneurs, representatives of relevant ministries, EBRD, IRF and other institutions relevant for the development of female entrepreneurship in Montenegro.
PKCG announced that one of the last activities they conducted in order to promote female entrepreneurship as a powerful resource for new employment was a conference on empowering female entrepreneurship in Montenegro and Serbia. That conference was organized together with the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia as an activity of the international project European Network of Entrepreneurship.
At the conference, they said, they discussed the status of female entrepreneurship, the incentives that exist for its development, as well as perspectives for the economic empowerment of women.
As a special part of the meeting, inter-company meetings (B2B) were organized, which made it possible for Montenegrin businesswomen to discuss the potential of cooperation in direct communication with entrepreneurs and businesswomen of Serbia.
"Meetings and discussions of this kind have proven to be the most effective mechanism for the internationalization of companies and the establishment of business cooperation," said PKCG.
They announced that on October 10, PKCG will host the Congress of Women Entrepreneurs of the Adriatic-Ionian Region, which will be held at the Splendid Hotel in Budva. The goal of that meeting is to provide an interregional perspective on best practices and challenges in the area of economic empowerment of women and entrepreneurial activities in the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion.
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