On 6 March 2017, Development Agency of Serbia announced a Public Call for participation in the Support Program for Economic Development Promotion Projects (hereinafter: Public Call).
The Public Call shall be changed in the general requirements section, so it shall read as follows:
„1. That they are registered in the Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia before January 1, 2016;“
should read:
„1. That they are registered in the Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia before January 1, 2016 in accordance with the applicable law that applies to them;“
Public Call is supplemented in the section “Documents to be submitted” under item 11, so behind the words:
„11. Certificate from the APR,“
the following words shall be added:
„i.e. or from other competent authority“.
In all other, the Public Call remains unchanged.
In Belgrade, 5 April 2017
Public Call for participation in the Support Program for Economic Development Promotion Projects
On 6 March 2017, Development Agency of Serbia announced a Public Call for participation in the Support Program for Economic Development Promotion Projects (hereinafter: Public Call). The Program is implemented by the Development Agency of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as RAS).
The program aims to increase the competitiveness of SMEEs through the development and improvement of services that applicants provide to end-users, and will be implemented through the following activities:
Promotion of entrepreneurship and best practices with a focus on youth and women's entrepreneurship;
Preparation of analyses and conducting research in order to increase competitiveness of SMEEs;
Development of new services aimed at SMEEs;
Improvement of existing services intended for SMEEs.
In his application, the applicant states the activities he plans to realize if he be granted funding by the RAS. The project is a collection of these activities.
Requirements for participation in the Program
The right to participate in the Program and use grants is open to all applicants who belong to the following groups:
Associations (clusters, business associations, non-governmental organizations and the like.);
Regional Development Agencies (RDA);
Business Incubator (BI);
Science and Technology Parks (STP);
Chambers of Commerce (CoC) and
Scientific-Research Organizations (SRO).
They applicants can apply independently and/or as a Consortium, if they all fulfill all the following general requirements:
1. They are registered in the Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia before January 1, 2016;
2. There is no registered process of liquidation or bankruptcy;
3. They have paid all due taxes and contributions;
4. They have not been convicted of an economic offense, nor have they been imposed a protective measure of prohibition of activity with a legally binding decision;
5. They have provided a compulsory contribution for project implementation in accordance with this program;
6. They have signed the Consortium Contract, if they are applying as a Consortium;
7. They have not used incentives from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the budget of local self-governments or donor organizations for the same activities in the grant application;
8. They have not operated at a loss in 2016.
Number of applications per applicant
Each applicant can submit a maximum of two projects, individually and/or as a partner within the consortium.
Funds cannot be used for:
1. Projects with impact that will bring direct benefit to one business entity;
2. Project activities related to: tobacco industry; organization of gambling, production and sale of weapons and military equipment, trade and primary agricultural production;
3. Projects related only or mostly to individual scholarships for studies and trainings, as well as individual sponsorships for participation in workshops;
4. Arrears from duties and taxes, loans and installments for loan repayment;
5. The cost of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations, foreign exchange differences;
6. Customs and administrative fees;
7. Costs of forced collection;
8. Projects related to political parties;
9. Projects limited to charity donations.
Project duration
Deadline for the implementation of contracted activities and payments within the approved project is 6 months from the signing of the contract with RAS.
Eligible costs are costs for which the grant is approved according to this project, under the following conditions:
The costs incurred during the project implementation;
The costs are included in the planned project budget;
The costs are necessary for the implementation of project activities;
The costs are measurable and registered in accordance with the valid accounting standards;
The costs are reasonable and in accordance with the financial management requirements, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
The costs are not covered by other sources of finance (double financing is not allowed).
Eligible project costs are:
1. Costs of preparation and organization of events (training, seminar, conference, etc.):
Cost of hiring lecturers, trainers, mentors and moderators;
Translation costs;
Rent of space and/or equipment;
Refreshments for participants (catering, non-alcoholic beverages);
Preparation, development and purchase of promotional materials (design, production of invitations, publications, leaflets, brochures, manuals, folders, pens, USB Flash drives, etc.);
Travel expenses – transportation of participants and people hired for the project (tickets, rent of vehicles, pay tolls, petrol);
Accommodation for participants and people hired for the project;
2. Costs for development of analyses:
Development of feasibility studies, development of project and technical documentation;
Implementation of the research and development of analysis;
Publishing costs (studies, analyses and report on researches).
3. Costs for development and improvement of services for SMEEs:
Preparation and development of a new service for SMEEs;
Improvement of the existing services for SMEEs;
Hiring specialized experts;
Infrastructural works on the existing and new work space as a service for SMEEs;
Furnishing the existing and new work space as a service for SMEEs;
Creating a system for monitoring and evaluation of services for SMEEs;
Other costs of development and improvement of services for SMEEs.
4. Costs for better visibility of the project – advertising (billboards, totems, promotional videos, appearance in the media, website development):
5. Project management costs (not exceeding 20% of the total project value):
Salaries for people employed by the applicant/Consortium members working on the project;
Office rent for the project duration;
Overhead expenses during the project (electricity, heating, water, phone, etc.);
Purchase of office supplies for the office where the project will be implemented (paper, toners, pens, folders, etc.).
Ineligible costs
Grants cannot be used for:
1) arrears from duties and taxes, loans and loan installments;
2) the cost of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations, foreign exchange differences;
3) fines, financial penalties and costs of legal proceedings;
4) customs fees;
5) costs of enforced collection;
6) VAT.
Funding
Total funds available for the implementation of the Program amount to 80,000,000.00 dinars.
Available funds are approved by the project as co-financing amounting to 50% of eligible project costs excluding VAT. The grants per project will be approved in the range from 500,000.00 to 3,000,000.00 dinars.
Each applicant can submit a maximum of two projects, individually and/or as a partner within the consortium.
Documents to be submitted
The submitted application must be complete.
Documents that must be submitted when submitting the project proposal are the following:
1. Form 1 – Project application;
2. Form 2 – Applicant’s Statement on Accepting the Conditions for the Grant;
3. Form 3 – Statement on Awarded State Aid of Small Value;
4. Form 4 – Project budget;
5. Form 5 – Narrative part of the budget;
6. Form 6 – Project partners’ share structure (only of the application is submitted by a Consortium);
7. Form 7 – Information about the consortium members only of the application is submitted by a Consortium);
8. Form 8 – CVs of the project team members, with a reference list;
9. Form 9 – Checklist;
10. Consortium contract (only of the application is submitted by a Consortium);
11. Certificate from APR that there is no registered process of liquidation or bankruptcy, or that the applicant ceased to exist due to a court decision or other authorities with binding measure, which must not issued before the day of announcement of the Public Call (an original or a copy);
12. Certificate from the relevant tax administration that the applicant has paid all public revenues (taxes and contributions), which must not be issued before the date of announcement of the Public Call (an original or a copy);
13. Certificate that they have not been convicted of an economic offense, nor have they been imposed a protective measure of prohibition of activity with a legally binding decision, which must not be issued before the date of announcement of the Public Call (issued by the Commercial Court - an original or a photocopy);
14. Balance sheet, income statement and statistical report of the applicant for 2016 with a copy of the Registration Certificate for the regular annual financial report for 2016 issued by APR or a Written statement of the legal representative of the Applicant to the authenticity and identity of the copy which was submitted to APR for final treatment.
Submission of the documents from points 11, 12, 13 and 14 is compulsory for all the Consortium members.
Manner of application and deadline for the submission of applications
Project applications with all the accompanying forms and documents are submitted personally or by registered mail, both printed and electronic copies (on a USB stick), to the following address:
Development Agency of Serbia (RAS)
Kneza Miloša 12/III (Writing office - office 309)
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
with the note: Application for the Public Call to participate in the Support Program for Economic Development Promotion Projects.
The Public Call is open until all the funds are spent.
Any additional questions, ambiguities and additional information about the Program are to be sent to the following e-mail address: ekonomskirazvoj@ras.gov.rs.
Questions and answers (frequently asked) will be transparent and published on the website of RAS.
Form 2 - Applicant’s Statement on Accepting the Conditions for the Grant
Form 3 - Statement on Awarded State Aid of Small Value
Form 5 – Narrative part of the budget
Form 6 – Project partners’ share structure – for the Consortium
Form 7 – Information about the consortium members
Form 8 –CV with a reference list.doc
+381113398500 
office@ras.gov.rs 
