Strengthening the competitiveness of the economy, with particular emphasis on innovation, entrepreneurship, micro and SMEs is one of Serbia's priorities. One of the essential elements within the wider ecosystem for startups, innovation and entrepreneurship is business incubators (BI).
In the initial phase of business incubation development in Serbia, five incubators were established by 2006. A study on the current state of business incubators in the Republic of Serbia launched in 2019 by the EU funded European Union Support to Business Incubator Development - EUBID project found that there are 40 functional business incubation initiatives spread relatively evenly across the territory throughout Serbia. They can be distinguished from each other according to what type of startups their support is intended for and thus are divided into two groups:
a) BIs supporting high-tech startups
b) BIs supporting self-employment
Apart from these criteria, incubators also differ in ownership: local institutions, non-governmental organizations and private initiatives.
BUSINESS INCUBATORS OBJECTIVE
The most universal goal of BIs supporting high-tech startups is to contribute to competitiveness and job creation. The primary objective of most BIs supporting self-employment is also competitiveness and job creation, while some initiatives have goals related to supporting vulnerable groups.
SELECTION OF TENANTS
The two most common criteria for selecting tenants of BIs supporting high-tech startups are a business plan and a good leadership team. At the same time, what can influence the decision of whether someone will become a BI tenant is to present that the company has the potential for development as well as having an innovative project.
SERVICES BIs PROVIDE
According to the study on the current state of BIs in Serbia conducted by the EUBID project, BIs supporting high-tech startups provide them with the following services: networking, business skills training, IT services, law and other related services, business planning, company set up, market research, sales and marketing, various types of consulting, mentoring, and intellectual property management.
BIs supporting self-employment provide support to tenants in the following areas: business skills training, networking, assistance in exporting and, or seeking international partners, pre-incubation services, business planning and company setting up, various consulting (production assistance, new products development, access to finance), mentoring etc.
BI tenants regularly utilize their services and the main motivation to become a tenant they specify a greater visibility, a good work environment and lack of management knowledge, as well as appropriate workspace, grants received through BI help, and connections with business counterparts.