Serbia Monthly September edition

Letter from the Publishers

Serbia Monthly

Volume 1, Number 1, September 2022

Publishing House

Craig Smith Daryl Fidelak

Kitbridge Media Sp z o.o. Kaleńska 5, 04-367 Warsaw, Poland

Welcome to the inaugural print edition of Serbia Monthly - a fresh approach to Eng lish language business news, lifestyle and entertainment wrapped up into a nifty monthly package. While we are in good company with other publications in Serbia and the region, we feel there is room for our take on the ever-developing and dynamic business environ ment in Serbia.

From a strict expat point of view, the community has flourished over the years as Serbia remained mostly open during the pandemic with a growing number of digital nomads settling in the country. Now entire IT, Fintech and gaming development companies from Russia and Ukraine are setting up and moving kit and caboodle to Serbia. Real estate plays an important part, not just with our magazine but with all business in general. Be it from the largest retail developments to warehouse and logistics to office leasing; English remains the language of business.

Serbia Monthly’s parent company and publisher EuropaProperty has been integral to the launch of this magazine currently in your hands. The idea for Serbia Monthly was born out of a meeting of publishers, Craig Smith and myself shortly after the 2022 Rebec con ference in late June.

From the initial idea formed in late June while sitting at the Hotel Metropol Palace Hotel, a popular meeting point throughout Serbia’s more recent history dating back to Yugoslavian times, to our first edition, we have found the reception to Serbia Monthly to be very positive.

Our real estate partners understand the need for a magazine such as Serbia Monthly and have been on board with us from the beginning. This inaugural edition, along with key points around Serbia, is also being distributed exclusively at Expo Real in Munich.

In addition to real estate, the focus of Serbia Monthly is stories on numerous sectors with a slant to business. With my experience stemming from broadcast media, intellectual property, and the music industry, we will delve into these industries from a Serbian busi ness perspective. For example, not many know Serbia has become a popular destination for Hollywood and streaming platform productions. Or that Serbian music is a major ex port of local and regional culture raking in millions of revenues monthly.

Myself and the Serbian Monthly and EuropaProperty teams are excited you have joined us on our journey and look forward to developing our project, both print and online, with you in mind. On that note, feel free to reach out to myself, or Craig with any comments, or suggestions, or simply to say hi.

Table of contents

Editorial /2

News in brief /6

Sitting down with the Canadian Ambassador /8

Djokovic winery prepares to serve up an ace /10

New Era of Living /12

Serbia and SEE attracting domestic and institutional investors /14

Strong delivery in the Belgrade office market /16

Industrial market developing in Serbia /18

Bambi – building a sustainable future on solid foundations /20

Cleaner air and a lasting legacy? /22

Corporate Philanthropyi n Times of Crisis: From Floods to Pandemics /26

“She’s Next…” Visa supports women entrepreneurs in Serbia /30

IKEA – designing a sustainable future /32

Publisher Daryl Fidelak daryl@serbiamonthly.com +381 603 440 167

Commercial Director

Craig Smith craig@serbiamonthly.com +48 577 100 620

Editor

David Dowse editorial@serbiamonthly.com

Journalists Gary J. Morrell

Daryl Fidelak David Dowse

Chris Farmer Marija Tesić Fidelak

Administration Sylwia Gajda admin@serbiamonthly.com +48 501 091 751

Video Director

Yauheni Litvinau support @europaproperty.com

Art Director Daniel Zbroszczyk graphic@serbiamonthly.com

Take Care, Daryl

Do You Have a Podcast yet? /36

Ready tto Celebrate Prokupac Day? /38

Whose Dog is It, Anyway? /40

Lafayette - not for the faint of heart - or taste buds /42

We run this together /44

Serbian investments booming, Russians arrive in wake of Putin draft

Despite tumultuous world events, invest ment in Serbia has showed no signs of slo wing with logistics centers, real estate invest ments and manufacturing going full speed head.

Simultaneous with news that thousands of Russians—many of them IT specialists— are fleeing Russia in the wake of a new mo bilization for the war in Ukraine, the Serbian economy has continued to grow. Although inflationary pressure abounds, Serbia’s te nuous balance between the EU and Russia has not yet put a true dent in the economy, with the country remaining on course to grow by 3 percent in 2022 and possibly even by 4 percent in 2023.

Much of this has been attributed to smart government policy, but the country has clearly benefited from 1) the perception of a more stable energy supply, thanks to bet ter relations with Russia and 2) the ability of not only EU firms, but also Ukrainian and even Russian money to find a home in the capital and beyond.

This also applies to workers, with IT pro grammers from not only Ukraine, but also Russia having found offers. This may be set to increase with reports of 25,000 to 45,000 persons having fled to Serbia in the last 24 hours in wake of a new Russian mobilization to find (officially) some 300,000 troops for the war in Ukraine. Many of those who have fled are—according to even Russian press— persons skilled in IT technology.

And nothing locally would seem to dis band the theory that demand will continue to grow. As previously reported by Serbia Monthly, British broadband company Hy peroptic announced this week that it has leased 5,000 sqm in the newly restored BIGZ business centre in Belgrade, with the tran saction brokered by Coreside Savills.

Hyperoptic has been present in the Ser bian market since 2011. According to com pany sources, it delivers advanced Internet solutions, with fibre optic technology and gigabit speed 21 times faster than the natio nal average.

Such expansion mirrors similar moves by major players in the logistics sector, with

industrial park operators and developers in creasingly seeing Serbia as an attractive logi stics and light industrial destination.

Recently, Belgium-based developer VGP acquired 114 hectares of construction land for the development of a warehouse com plex totalling 368,000 sqm, om Belgrade. Li kewise, developer CTP is planning to a new facility for Epsilon in Stara Pazova, close to Belgrade, which consists of 17,000 sqm of warehouse space, including technical and administrative units within the complex.

Likewise, further construction is underway at CTPark Belgrade West and CTPark North. CTPark Belgrade North is located on the A1 highway between Belgrade and Budapest and has the potential for 167,000 sqm of space on a 46-hectare site.

The company has also announced the de velopment of a third park in the capital, CT Park Belgrade City, which is planned to deli ver 130,000 sqm of logistics space with high tech facilities in a strategic location close to the centre of the capital. This will be the fifth and largest CTP park in Serbia.

The developer has also already underta ken development of a 23,000 sqm facility at CTPark Novi Sad, and in another deal CTP has agreed to the development of a light industrial facility with the Japanese motor manufacturer, Nidec.

“The Novi Sad park, 90 kilometers north west of the Serbian capital, is emerging as a regional hub for the fast developing elec tric vehicles sector. The Nidec facility will be built on a site of 60,000 sqm in two phases and will employ around 1,000 people,” CTP said in a press release.

And where there is movement in logistics, there is going to be more manufacturing— with this once again proven by the announ cement that German Kliniken AG is planning a 10,000 manufacturing center in Pancevo, which should in the near term provide sco res of positions, but which eventually is plan ned to employ approximately 1,000 persons, according to the Serbian news site www. politika.rs.

The factory will not be alone in Pancevo, as the Serbian Ministry of the Economy no ted hundreds of millions in new investments in the pipeline, not to mention thousands of jobs, according to the politika.rs site.

Hyperoptic leases 5,000 sqm in BIGZ

British company Hyperoptic leased 5,000 sqm in the newly restored BIGZ business centre. The modernist BIGZ building on Bel grade’s Sava embankment was Serbia’s first extensively reinforced concrete building when it came into use in 1941. It eventually became the home of the state press house Jugoštampa. The transaction was brokered by Coreside Savills.

“We are proud to be recognized as an experienced partner to companies that are seeking new office space, and to be parti cipating in the process of leasing space in such a monumental building as BIGZ,” sayd Djordje Stanisavljevic, Head of Office Seg ment at Coreside Savills.

Hyperoptic has been present in the Ser bian market since 2011. According to com pany sources, it delivers advanced Internet solutions, with fibre optic technology and gigabit speed 21 times faster than the natio nal average.

“We are very pleased that we will have an opportunity to offer the best working con ditions to our employees in the BIGZ busi ness centre. Coreside Savills has proven to be a reliable partner, that has exceeded our expectations, with the quality of service, swi ftness, and expertise,” sayd Boris Dragovic, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Hyperoptic.

The renovation of BIGZ is planned to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023. BIGZ business centre is owned by Ma rera Properties.

As if Serbian politics could not become more complex, on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin upped the ante in the war in Ukraine, stating that a partial mo bilization will take place, as well as referen dums in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson, Bo snian Serb firebrand Milorad Dodik met with Putin to back Russia’s war effort and further muddle the message with regard to Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia all in one go.

Dodik has been a long-time Putin fan, and he has continually stirred the pot in Bosnia as a member of the three-headed Bosnian pre sidency that was created following the war in Yugoslavia. He will run again for the same position on Oct. 2, and here he clearly has Putin’s endorsement, but interestingly Putin also made sure to emphasize the “strategic partnership” between Serbia and Russia.

This statement does Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic no favors, as Serbia is cur rently on the outs with the EU with regard to head-bumping over Vucic’s flat refusal to recognize independence for Kosovo, as well as for the debacle of a Europride week that featured multiple protests by far-right pro testors supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church, a refusal of local authorities to grant parade organizers a permit to hold the para de and then ugly scenes from the far right when parade organizers held the parade anyway.

For its part, Belgrade has promised to prosecute any and all willing to foment vio lence re Europride, but the wider issues are far more alarming. While Serbia ostensibly— and Vucic has repeated this often—sees its future in the EU, it is completely dependent on Russian gas and as winter approaches fa ces the cliff of a Russian gas supply cut off, which is also faced by the European Union. At the same time domestic politics demand that Vucic toe a hard line to support Serbs both in Kosovo and in Bosnia.

And if Kosovo is a potential tinderbox, Bo snia is the crackle of burning leaves in the wind, with Dodik having consistently thrived upon local support by threatening to effecti vely secede from a “united” Bosnia—with the eventual goal of having Serbian dominated territory in Bosnia annexed by Serbia itself.

Quoted by Russian news services, Dodik attempted to add still more fuel to the fire, stating that the West ignored the targeting of Russians in Ukraine, as well as “murder” in Donbas.”

And if there need be another twist, while Putin—on the even of drawing yet another (and far more dangerous) nuclear line in the sand with proposed referendums in Do netsk, Kherson and Luhansk—has noted his close relationship with Vucic, Vucic has used the Ukrainian argument of fighting to stop Russia from annexing Ukrainian territory as analogous with that of Serbia refusing to al low the departure of Kosovo.

Stay tuned, as not only the Balkans, but all of Europe are on edge.

Photo credit: Medija centar Beograd, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/li censes/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

“At the end of the process, we are happy to announce that we have collected a total of 130 kg of the honey produced by the bees from our beehives and that we will continue with activities for our communities that ra ise awareness about bees’ contribution to healthier environment,” the company added.

Partners in the endeavor were also the Mad Med Association and the Belgrade Beekeepers’ Association (BUP), both of which guided MPC through the process of instal ling hives and collecting honey

Serbian developer MPC Properties anno unced held a series of “honey harvesting” events end-September, which will feature a unique episode of collecting some 130 ki lograms of honey from 12 beehives installed on the rooftops of company’s UŠĆE Shop ping Center and Navigator Business Center 2, as well as between two UŠĆE Towers in Belgrade at the beginning of June 2022.

“This week, for the first time, we organized a series of honey harvesting events in our assets, UŠĆE Shopping Center, Navigator Bu siness Center 2, and UŠĆE Towers, where we have positioned beehives,” the company said in a press release. “n these events, we have gathered our business community, their chil dren, and UŠĆE Shopping Center visitors.

“Many of them had the opportunity to see and experience honey production in-live, get in touch with how bees are organized through educational workshops, and taste fresh honey from MPC beehives.”

The company pointed out that bees contribute to biodiversity in urban environ ments by pollinating and supporting plants and trees’ growth. For these reasons, urban beekeeping has proven to be a natural me thod for cities to diversify its ecosystem.

IT player Luxoft hiring aggressively in Serbia

IT firm Luxoft, a subsidiary of world-wi de player DZC Technology has decided to expand its focus on Serbia and it is curren tly planning to hire 300 persons, as cited by Balkanengineer.com and other Serbian press sources.

Luxoft operates in 26 countries and spe cializes in providing software solutions. The publication noted that Luxoft heads are “im pressed” by the Serbian IT market, thanks to a skilled and educated work force.

Mihajlo Postic, director of Luxoft Serbia noted that the company currently has 800 employees, but that it Luxoft will “have per manently open positions for programmers for Serbia, and our plan is to triple the num ber of employees next year at this time,” as cited by serbia.postsen.com.

“We expect the biggest response in Bel grade, but since Luxoft works mostly ‘re motely,’ we have no restrictions on hiring candidates from any part of Serbia, because there is the option of working from home,” he added.

Postic also noted that the software in au tomobiles manufactured by “premium car manufacturers” is typically created by Luxoft.

“Job candidates from Serbia thus have the opportunity to acquire and upgrade their knowledge and help develop innovative products for the automotive and other in dustries, while also being well paid and wor king for an employer that is the No. 1 IT em ployer in many countries where it operates,” Postic said, as cited by Serbia.postsen.com.

Photo of vintage car dashboard, courtesy of: Benjamin Child bchild311, CC0, via Wiki media Commons

Green Serbian developer MPC collects 130 kilos of honey from rooftop bee hive projects

BiH Serb leader Dodik fans the fire with Putin meeting

Sitting down with the Canadian Ambassador

Serbia Monthly had the honor of speaking with Canadian Ambassador to Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia Giles Norman, with the diplomat addressing business development and trade with Canada in an interview with Serbia Monthly publishers Craig Smith and Daryl Fidelak.

by Craig Smith Daryl Fidelak

SM: Mr. Ambassador tell us about your career and how you can to this position as ambassador.

GN: Following the completion of my studies (BA Hons, Lancaster University, 1990; LLB, Queen’s University, 1996) and having been called to the Bar of the Law Society of Ontario in 1998, I joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada in 1999. Overseas assignments took me to a number of places including Anka ra, Colombo, Oslo, New York City, and now Belgrade. Between postings abroad I held a series of posts in the Legal Bureau of the Global Affairs Canada, was deputy director of the Maghreb and Persian Gulf Division, and most recently, executive director of the De fense and Security Relations Division. I start ed my duties as the Ambassador of Canada to Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedo nia in 2020.

SM: What are your plans and goals that you would like to attain while you are here

GN: Canada and Serbia share commit ment to many common goals and values, including the advancement of democratic values, human rights and social inclusion. With our local partners from the govern ment, the civil sector and the business sector our embassy aims at improving cooperation in commercial, cultural, defense and political spheres.

One of my key commitments is to support the strengthening of trade and investment ties, and I am glad to see that several Canadi an companies, such as Magna International and Molson Coors, have long history of in vesting in Serbia. My team and I work hard to support expansion of the commercial ties and I hope to see more successes in the next year.

One of the priorities of my time in Ser bia will be to use people-to-people links to broaden and strengthen the relation ship between Canada and Serbia. There are 97,000 Canadians who self-identify as being of Serbian origin. However, this number is probably higher, as we assume that many Canadians self-identifying as Yugoslavs are likely of Serbian ethnic origin. Our friendship is evident at many levels.

SM: What opportunities do you see for Canadian businesses here? In which sec tors would you like to see more invest ment?

GN: Canada is a global mining leader and our economic presence in Serbia is mostly recognized through this industry. Several mining and exploration companies from Canada are developing their critical minerals projects in Serbia and have so far invested more than USD 200 mln here. We also have a list of Canadian mining suppliers that co operate with local companies in Serbia by transferring technology and know-how.

Critical minerals will be an essence of the global sustainable development and we see that many nations are looking for reliable sourcing around the world. Recently, Cana da and Germany signed several cooperation agreements, including on sourcing critical minerals from Canada to German e-vehicle producers. Serbia, being at the gates of the EU and rich in critical minerals, can poten tially be a very important partner to the in dustries such as automotive and renewables, and we are glad that Canadian companies can contribute to that with their critical min erals projects.

But beyond the mining industry, Canada and Serbia share many fields of potential co operation. Both of our countries have com mitted to climate-change mitigation and adaption under the Paris Agreement. Cana da is committed to lead the fight against the negative impacts of global climate change by reducing carbon pollution and the use of fossil fuels in mid-term.

This will request further development of technology and know-how in the field of renewable energy sources, nuclear energy and mobility in order to decarbonize some of the industries that are the biggest pollut ants, such as the electricity production and transportation. Canada’s experience in areas such as decarbonization of district heating systems, introduction of large solar plants and wind farms, as well as development of the nuclear energy introduction with a focus on Small Modular Reactors, can add value to Serbia’s goal of reducing carbon-dioxide

emissions by 2050 and coping with increas ing problems with air pollution. All of these areas have great potential for bilateral coop eration in trade and investments.

SM: Are you happy with the current trade between Canada and Serbia? What sectors can be improved?

GN: Overall bilateral trade between Can ada and Serbia is seeing an upwards trend, totaling CAD 141 mln in 2021. This is the best result in the recent history of our bilateral trade and I am proud of that, but one of our mission’s mandate is to contribute to increas ing the value of our bilateral trade and espe cially with a focus on supporting Canadian businesses export to Serbia.

I really think that the opportunities for the exchange in goods, but also services are wide. From mining and clean technologies, to fintech and aviation industry, we are see ing increased interest by Canadian compa nies in pursuing commercial opportunities in Serbia. Vice versa, Serbia’s agriculture sector

is very interesting to Canadian importers, as Serbia has a great global reputation for the quality of its food. We will continue work ing strongly on supporting this interest in expanding cooperation and would invite all the interested businesspeople from both

Canada and Serbia to contact our embassy’s Trade Department for support.

Giles Norman - HOM Canadian Ambassador to Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia,

Djokovic winery prepares to serve up an ace

by David Dowse

After several decades in the wilderness, Serbian winemaking has bounced back to the fore with a number of independent vineyards producing increasingly refined wines of both red and white varieties that have already established Serbia as a current and future powerhouse.

Against this background there is also a name that goes beyond just wine, that being Djokovic, of tennis sensation Novak Djokovic fame, as Goran Djokovic, uncle of the world’s most famous tennis star, has now tagged the Djokovic name to the taste of Syrah and Chardonnay grapes grown at his vineyard close to Topola, in the wine-producing area of Šumadija, in Central Serbia.

The new venture, the The Djokovic Wine, benefits from a wine-making history going back to the times of the Romans, who found that the fertile and mixed soil types of the rolling hills—not to mention the variety of

micro-climates—provided the prefect con ditions for wine production.

In fact, viticulture and history in the region are inextricably linked, going back to Karad jordje, the leader of the First Serbian Upris ing against the Turkish Ottomans in the early 1800s, as well as to his son, Prince Alexander, who famously had a wine cellar in nearby Oplenac.

“In one sense, we are not starting anything new here,” said Djokovic. “We are continuing a Serbian tradition that goes back centuries.”

An extended awareness of time is a com mon trait among wine-makers the world

over. For wine making is a subtle combina tion of science and art with perhaps a touch of added magic, winemaking cannot be rushed.

“Since we planted the vineyard seven years ago, we have been slowly and care fully developing our wines until we are now approaching the high standard we want for the wines we will soon release commercially in Serbia,” said Djokovic. “During this time, we were faced with many difficult challenges, but I think it’s obvious that very strong de termination runs in our family’s blood. With passion and commitment, all the obstacles have been overcome.”

In another parallel with his nephew’s re markable sporting success, Goran Djokovic places great emphasis on the team he has built around him.

“When Novak works his magic on the ten nis court he has a wonderful team behind him, and I know this means a lot to him,” Djokovic said. “The same is true at the win ery. We have taken time and great care to find the best people to join our team, and chemistry and passion is equally as impor tant as technical knowledge. We are a family; all dedicated to the same goal: to produce the very best results possible from our soil, our grapes and our work.”

Djokovic added some valuable advice for

the many new entrepreneurs who are start ing businesses all over Serbia, especially in the craft foods and beverages sector.

“Whatever business you’re in, you will cer tainly face many tough challenges,” he said. “Some you may be able to predict; others will catch you completely by surprise. The people who survive and hopefully go on to thrive are those who have the strength of character to keep going even when all the odds seem against them.

“This is the Djokovic way,” he added. “How many times have we seen Novak two sets down and go on to win yet another famous victory? You have to dig deep, find your core strength and keep going. You cannot fail in any business, or in life, unless you give up. Giving up is simply not in the Djokovic dic tionary.”

The Djokovic Wine selection was well-re ceived by connoisseurs and industry leaders at a recent low-key, VIP launch at the ‘Wine Vision’ event in Belgrade. Although he him self does not drink alcohol, Novak Djokovic rarely misses a chance to support his family and promote the best of his country, and he appeared at the event to wish his uncle and the team well with the venture—caus ing quite a stir in the normally quiet tasting room.

Of course, nobody in the wine world can rely on just a name to carry them—no mat ter how famous the name may be. Here it should be said that Goran Djoković was very

satisfied with the reception of both the red and white Djoković wines at the tasting.

“Our wines were very well appreciated at the event” he said. “We will shortly go ahead with the commercial release of our wines in Serbia and the world.”

Yet wine lovers in the rest of the world may have to wait a little while longer to taste the Djokovic wines.

“Our production is only about 40,000 bot tles per year,” explained Djokovic. “It’s about quality, not quantity. Serbia is our first prior ity of course and I think the demand will be strong. We’ll see how it goes after that.”

As Serbia’s wines have developed so has the demand among customers, with wine bars popping up in Belgrade and other cities around the country.

“Many people are enjoying good wine and we’re sure our wines will find their place on the market,” Goran added.

But like his most celebrated family mem ber, Goran and the Djokovic winery will nev er be satisfied with resting on their laurels, no matter how successful their first serve becomes. The winemaker plans to continue refining the current Syrah and Chardonnay range, Djokovic is also hoping to expand with a sparkling wine in the future.

NEW ERA OF LIVING

DUŠICA GAKOVIĆ, Novi Dorćol, Project Lead

The Deka Inženjering inve stment company has set new standards in the real estate market with the de velopment of the A Blok complex in New Belgrade, while the residential and commercial complex Novi Dorćol, with its second phase to be completed in De cember 2023, takes things a step furt her. They have created a new vision of luxury and comfort in the centre of Bel grade and provided the Serbian capi tal with a fully authentic concept of li ving. Dušica Gaković, the company Pro ject Lead, explains what makes their projects unique, setting them apart from others.

How does Deka Inženjering manage to respond to the growing needs and wishes of modern buyers?

— I can freely say our company is moving boundaries and setting new standards in construction. Despite being located in the centre of Belgrade, near all current

THE SECOND PHASE COVERS 347 APARTMENTS WITH SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF THE CITY CORE AND DANUBE, OFFERING AN UNIQUE LIVING EXPERIENCE

happenings, Novi Dorćol is an oasis of modern, quality living, and provides its residents with a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. The first phase, with 225 apartments and 15 commercial locales, opened its doors to residents in July 2021. The second phase covers 347 apartments with spectacular views of the city core and Danube, offering an unusual living experience, where pe ace, comfort and safety are imperati ve. This project has proved that we are continuing with the trend started with the construction of A Blok, and that in the future we will build exclusive resi dential and commercial complexes in premium locations.

Residential & Commercial Novi Dorćol complex

What would you underline as the key advantages of Novi Dorćol?

— Novi Dorćol is in fact a new age of li ving. Located in the very heart of the old town, in the vicinity of city and cultu ral events, living in the complex provi des a cosy life in an urban environment. The complex fully follows the needs of a modern lifestyle, starting from a mo dern organisation of the residential spa ce, through the technically most advan ced heating and cooling systems, smart home systems, facades and inner clad ding, sound and thermal insulation, to implementing the highest standards in design and construction. A beauti ful green exterior with the reconstru cted building of the Canvas Factory will be turned into an exclusive restaurant and pedestrian zones will be enreached with a fountain and columns from the old factory. By introducing these inno vations we have achieved a high level of satisfaction among all our residents.

THIS URBAN EDIFICE IS FULL OF PRESTIGE THAT CARRIES WITHIN IT THE CULTURE AND TRADITION OF OLD BELGRADE.

What additional benefits would you highlight?

— The residents have retail and servi ce facilities in their immediate vicini ty, along with a children’s playgrou nd, many restaurants and cafés, and also an underground garage with 782 parking spots, over 70 of these equi pped with their own electrical char gers. The complex also contains one of the most beautiful spa centres in Ser bia, extending over 800 square me tres, containing a pool, gym, sauna, steam room, salt room, and an exteri or “zen garden”. Furthermore, we fir mly believe this will become a new pe

destrian zone in this part of the city, especially due to the planned Linear Park, being built along the very edge of the complex.

How did you manage to connect the spirit of old Belgrade with innovative construction and design ideas?

— Our goal was to preserve the memory of the industrial history of the site. Ele ments of the old 19th-century Canvas Factory were fitted into the modern re sidential complex. The brick building from 1897, that used to be a textile fa ctory, will be turned into an unique lo oking luxury restaurant. This has pro duced an urban edifice full of prestige that carries within it the culture and tradition of old Belgrade. Fragments of the past and of today live together in side of it, and its value will be far gre ater during the coming years. This is why Novi Dorćol is the perfect choice for contemporary lifestyle.

View to the pedestrian zone

Old Canvas factory – New exclusive restaurant

Original 19th Century brick walls implemented in the new modern facade

Downtown Wellness in Novi Dorćol

Serbia and SEE attracting domestic and institutional investors

by Gary J. Morrell

Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and the wider SEE region are continuing to attract local capital and a growing number of international developers and investors. From an investment perspective, well-conceived projects offer a yield premium on the established CEE and Western European markets, albeit with potentially more expensive financing and a low supply of available investment-grade assets com pared to the more established CEE markets. However, the investment market over recent years has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus and subse quently the economic and political uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine.

“All commercial sectors have been quite active, with the largest share attributed to the office sector, especially in emerging mar kets such as Serbia and Bulgaria. The invest ment markets are expected to level up simi larly to 2021, which is still below the volumes achieved in 2016-2018. The major drivers for investment will be the four core markets, drawing most of the attention, especially Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria,” said CBRE on prospects for the investment market.

As with other European and CEE invest ment markets, Serbia and SEE investment volumes are impacted by the caution being exercised by investors due to the problemat ic economic and geopolitical environment. CBRE has estimated that total SEE invest ment volumes will be below the €1 billion level. The SEE markets peaked in 2018 when total investment volume approached €1.4 billion.

CBRE see all commercial sectors in SEE (Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovenia) as quite active with the largest share attributed to the office sector for 2021. This was large ly due to the acquisition of the GTC office portfolio by the Hungarian investor Indotek Group. Investment volumes are expected to be similar to 2021 at around €950 million, which is still below the volumes achieved in 2016-2018.

Indotek Group made a decision to pur chase the GTC Belgrade office portfolio for €267.6 million. The agreement covered the sale of 11 buildings within five business parks with a total of 122,000 sqm GLA, located in

Indotek Group purchased GTC’s Belgrade office portfolio for €267.6 million

the New Belgrade business district, effective ly the CBD of the city. On completion, the deal will become one of the largest real es tate transactions in the last five years on the SEE market, according to analysts. Demand for easy-to-lease office products is expected to rise further. The key criteria with regard to office acquisition are seen as location, tenant mix and ESG according to analysts.

The deal is part of a wider trend for do mestic investors to conclude acquisitions in other markets, in part due to limited possi bilities in their own. Indotek Group has been present in its domestic market for almost 25 years. In the last decade, the company start ed to expand outside of Hungary, resulting in the group being active in 10 countries today.

“We have been looking for the opportu nity to enter the Serbian market for a long time, and with the current transaction, we are able to significantly strengthen our po sition in the region. I am particularly proud that our first transaction in Serbia makes us one of the most dominant participants in the Belgrade office market,” commented Dániel Jellinek, founder and CEO of Indotek Group, on the transaction.

CBRE has traced investors currently active in Serbia to be split between local investors which have become more active in the past 24 months, and investors which are also present across CEE such as AFI Europe, GTC, BIG CEE, Indotek, and Immofinanz. Institu tional investors such as Generali, Grawe, and VIG are also becoming more active.

“We have seen increased interest from in stitutional investors, mostly insurance com panies who have acquired office products all across SEE. We expect this trend to continue going forward as all SEE markets are show ing stable real estate market dynamics in the years to come,” said Zoran Danilovic, associ ate director of SEE Capital Markets at CBRE. “Investors are still looking at developing in the retail and office sectors across the coun try, while the focus will also be more directed toward the speculative industrial sector.”

The office development cycle is seen as quite strong with 220,000 sqm currently un der construction or refurbishment, but the increase in demand will overcome the risk of any significant changes or oversupply as the office market lies on strong fundamentals, according to CBS International, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group.

In addition to the office, the logistics mar ket has been attracting investors as is the case elsewhere in the CEE region. Due to the

lack of modern industrial space and growing demand, the sector could become the main driver of investment activity, particularly in Serbia and Bulgaria.

CBRE has traced a 100 basis point reduc tion in yield in the industrial sector over the past year as the sector has seen intense ac tivity. Regional industrial park developers and operators such as CTP are now under taking projects across Serbia and Bulgaria after a period when such companies were reluctant to enter the market.

Investors are also showing an interest in retail portfolios with a high demand remain ing for shopping centres and retail parks in the capitals and the regions.

A significant attraction of Serbia and SEE investment markets is the yield premium they provide for increasingly higher-quality assets. CBS international put office yields for Belgrade at 7.5-8.5 percent and industrial at 8.5-9.5 percent. CBRE estimate that prime Belgrade office yields are at 8 percent and prime industrial yields at 7.75 percent.

In the current environment, the availabil ity and cost of finance remain an issue for investment in SEE, as is the case across the CEE region. In the past investors have been concerned over whether the price of prod ucts and finance justifies the greater risks in the markets.

“There is definitely a turbulent time ahead of us given the increasing finance costs as well as supply chain disruption which is still in the process of stabilisation. That be ing said, the market is ready to absorb new products, however, it still remains to see how the financial markets will behave in the next 6-12 months. An increase in financing costs is one of the issues investors are facing in the short to midterm. This is not specific for SEE, but rather on a European and global level,” concluded Zoran Danilovic.

ZORAN DANILOVIC Associate Director SEE Capital Markets, CBRE

“So far volumes recorded during 2022 have noted a downtrend when com pared to the corresponding period in the previous year. With new challeng es rising across Europe, investors have increased their caution, which caused the postponing of deals in the pipeline. Therefore, investment volumes for 2022 are not expected to surpass the previous year. Looking at the market conditions across SEE and the returns investors are generating, we believe SEE markets will continue their expansion across all seg ments. We also believe that this will at tract new investors, especially the ones who are in search of higher yields, in order to align with their cost of capital.”

GTC Green Heart in Belgrade

Strong delivery in the Belgrade office market

An increasing number of office projects are being delivered in Belgrade bringing class A and B office stock to over 1 million sqm, according to CBS International, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group. Although office development activity is gaining momentum this is from a low base as Belgrade has one of the lowest densities of office space for its population in Europe.

by Daryl Fidelak

Previously the overall vacancy rate in the city stood at close to zero percent with qual ity office space very difficult to source with Belgrade not having experienced an office development boom with the arrival of com panies looking to establish SCCs, as occurred in other Central European capitals.

“After two years of living under aggravat ing circumstances due to the pandemic, the Belgrade office market experienced a total recovery by the end of 2021 in terms of both supply and demand, while a large number of companies returned to offices and even

expanded their requirements,” said Tamera Kostadinovic, head of research at CBS Inter national, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group.

In the largest recent opening, the highrise Beogradjanka building has been re developed into the 23,000 sqm Palata Be ograd by the established Serbian developer, Marea Properties. A further 215,000 sqm of office space is under construction or refur bishment out of which 51 percent is being developed in the CBD on the New Belgrade side of the river while 44 percent is being de

veloped in the historic Old Belgrade area of the city, according to CBS International.

This confirms the ongoing demand for of fice space in the city centre where there was previously high demand but a very low sup ply of quality space. Due to the very urban nature of this side of the city and the lack of suitable development sites, the majority of office development was undertaken on the New Belgrade side of the city, and the CBD was established there.

Vacancy in the Belgrade office market stands at 5.5 percent. However, the real fig ure is lower as a significant proportion of va cant space is under reservation. This figure is expected to rise with the substantial amount of space due to be delivered in the coming

Belgrade has one of the lowest densities of office space for its population

quarters according to CBS International. The consultancy has recorded an ongoing trend for the rise in demand for office space in the city centre.

On the demand side, a take-up of over 35,000 sqm was recorded in the first quarter of the year representing an impressive 90 percent year-on-year growth. There was also a 44 percent rise in preleases which stood at 44 percent of the total leased space in the first quarter. The highest leasing activity at 70 percent of take-up was in the CBD in New Belgrade.

Delivery remains strong as in the second quarter of the year four new office projects were delivered to the market represent ing around 30,000 sqm of space according to CBRE. “The office market in Belgrade is looking strong with a significant number of projects under construction. Aside from ongoing projects, there have been several announcements including projects due to be completed in 2024. Yet, most projects are situated in the CBD area, where a significant number of companies are located,” said Jana Jovanovic, head of research at CBRE SEE.

One of the largest projects currently un der construction is by the prolific Israeli de veloper and investor, AFI Europe, the 30,000 sqm phase 1 of AFI City Zmaj is scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023. Another project by the company is the latest phase of the 30,000 sqm AFI Skyline tower in Old Belgrade, and set to open by the end of the year. The complex also includes retail and around 130 apartments.

Close by Marera Properties is developing the BIGZ building, the former building of the BIGZ printing works into a modern office complex. The protected building and classic example of modern Serbian architecture will deliver 40,000 sqm of office space in addi tion to a revitalised facade and the interior will consist of industrial-style high ceilings, while at the same time accommodating the requirements of tenants for modern office space.

The €40 million project has been under taken in partnership with Aleksandar Grad nja, an experienced residential developer. “This is our first joint venture and expands our commercial portfolio,” said Milana Sreck ov, CEO of Marera Real Estate Partners.

In the CBD GTC is constructing the 17,000 sqm, LEED Gold accredited GTC X office pro ject that is incorporated into the existing buildings on Milutina Milankovica Boulevard. GTC is continuing to develop in Belgrade after having sold a portfolio of its Belgrade

office buildings to the Hungarian investor In dotek Group. The CEE regional developer has been operating in Serbia since 2004 and has developed 120,000 sqm of office space and 35,000 sqm of retail in Belgrade.

In the same boulevard in New Belgrade work on the 16,000 sqm, Bridge Plaza com plex is ongoing, Also in the CBD, the Ser bia-based Alco Group is developing the 13,500 sqm Alco Plaza.

In Old Belgrade the Serbian developer and investor, MPC Properties delivered the long-awaited 8,000 sqm Tri Lista Duvana with nine levels of office space. In anoth er major project, the Serbian Emel group completed the 14,000 sqm phase 1 of Green Escape and is waiting for its first tenants to move into the complex. Overall the complex will consist of 66,000 sqm of space in three buildings in a green environment, close to an urban area with direct access to the city centre. Construction of a second phase will commence after the completion of phase 1.

In the centre of Old Belgrade the experi enced developer, Grant Invest is developing the 10,000 sqm Revolucija office complex that is due to be completed at the begin ning of 2023. The complex designed by the Belgrade-based Zabriskie is designed to con nect with the local urban environment with restaurants and retail on the ground floor and an internal atrium.

Concerning demand, the most favoured area is the CBD in New Belgrade, although the urban city centre, the largest residential area of the city is a growing office destina tion. The CBD has traditionally been the most favoured office destination due to the availa bility of space and recent demand has been driven by companies from the IT sector.

JANA JOVANOVIC Head of Research, CBRE SEE

“The office market in Belgrade is look ing strong with a significant number of projects under construction. All com mercial sectors have been quite active, with the largest share attributed to the expansion of the office sector. Activity in the investment market was largely due to the acquisition of the GTC portfolio by the Indotek Group. The office market is set to continue its recovery as more companies begin to encourage a return to the office. The vacancy rate stands at 4.7 percent supported by robust de mand. Strong occupancy has been not ed in the recently delivered projects.”

Belgrade Waterfront

Industrial market developing in Serbia

by Daryl Fidelak

Industrial park operators and developers are increasingly seeing Serbia as an attractive logistics and light industrial destination, as demand for both logistics and light industrial space is evident across the country—and now the leading industrial developers CTP and VGP are making a hard push in creating networks and hubs.

“A constantly rising demand has influ enced ongoing construction across Bel grade and Greater Belgrade area, as well as in the secondary cities,” noted Jana Jovanovic, head of research at CBRE SEE, on the logistics sector in Serbia.

“[Likewise], a high occupancy rate has been marked in the previous few quarters and that trend has been portrayed in the second quarter of 2022 as well, with the most demand being captured by logistics, electronics and the automotive sector,” she added.

On the logistics note, developer VGP ag gressively developing, and CTP is committed to developing at least BREEAM Very Good space across its portfolio.

Importantly for the development of the logistics market, the Serbia industrial market is now aattracting major regional logistics developers and park operators.

“In addition to the already present Czech CTP Group, one of the largest industrial developers in Central Europe, the Serbian market witnessed the recent entrance of the VGP Group, the developers of logistics and

industrial parks across Europe,“ said Tamara Kostadinovic, head of market research at CBS International.

The Belgium-based developer is aiming to develop a large industrial park for spec ulative purposes in the Belgrade industrial zone, Dobanovic. In late 2021 VGP acquired 114 hectares of construction land for the development of a warehouse complex total ling 368,000 sqm,”

CTP is planning to construct a new facility for Epsilon in Stara Pazova, close to Belgrade, which consists of 17,000 sqm of warehouse

CTPark Kragujevac

space, including technical and administra tive units within the complex. On an adja cent site, CTP Sigma will deliver 37,000 sqm of modern warehouse space in two phases.

Further construction is underway at CT Park Belgrade West and CTPark North. CT Park Belgrade North is located on the A1 highway between Belgrade and Budapest and has the potential for 167,000 sqm of space on a 46-hectare site.

The company has also announced the de velopment of a third park in the capital, CT Park Belgrade City, which is planned to deliv er 130,000 sqm of logistics space with high tech facilities in a strategic location close to the centre of the capital. This will be the fifth and largest CTP park in Serbia.

The company regards Serbia as a strategic market and is targeting further hubs across the country. Outside of the capital, CTP has acquired 20 hectares of development land in the north industrial zone of Novi Sad, close to the border of Hungary.

The developer has already undertaken development of a 23,000 sqm facility at CT Park Novi Sad, and in another deal CTP has agreed to the development of a light indus trial facility with the Japanese motor manu facturer, Nidec.

“The Novi Sad park, 90 kilometers north west of the Serbian capital, is emerging as a regional hub for the fast developing electric vehicles sector. The Nidec facility will be built on a site of 60,000 sqm in two phases and

will employ around 1,000 people,” CTP said in a press release.

Such major projects are seen as improving the economy in the local area as well as the Strategic position of Serbia in Europe.

“The new factory will also provide a boost to the local economy with the creation of hundreds of new jobs when the two phases of construction are completed in 2005,” said Dragana Djordjevic, CFO of CTP Serbia, on the positive impact of such regional devel opment projects.

“This also enables companies to locate to cost effectively and easily in CEE locations like Serbia, that are well-placed to serve the neighboring EU market,” she added.

Another regional project the developer is operating is CTPark Kragujevac, which has the potential for 48,000 sqm on a 16-hectare site.

CBRE put total distribution and warehoue space in the Belgrade and Greater Belgrade area at more than one million square me ters. CBS International, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group, has estimated the total stock of logistics space in Belgrade and its close proximity to come to approximately 2.4 million sqm, from which logistics stock accounts for 70 percent of the total indus trial supply.

If Stara Pazova and Pecinci, both close to Belgrade, are excluded Belgrade has a lower total (1.2 million sqm), out of which 67 perc cent is logistics and warehouse space.

Industrial supply in the Stara Pazova in dustrial area comes to 700,000 sqm with 54,000 located in Pecinci. Total stock in Ser bia stands at a little more than 5 million sqm, according to the consultancy.

In the first half of 2022, 105,000 sqm was delivered to the Belgarde industrial market according to CBS International, from which 35 percent was developed on a speculative basis.

SerbianTranfera has delivered a 30,000 sqm facility in Nova Banovci, which available for lease, and the Serbian and SEE develop er, Delta Real Estate has completed a 16,000 sqm warehouse facility at Nova Pazova.

KLP has delivered its third 10,000 sqm distribution centre in Simanovci, a Belgrade industrial hub.

With regard to demand, new lettings (ex cluding owner-occuppied deals) reached 70,000 sqm in the first half of the year ac cording to CBS International figures. Another positive trend in the market is that the pro portion of prelease deals is increasing, am mounting to 60 percent of the total take-up in the first half year.

CTPark Belgrade West in Serbia

Bambi – building a sustainable future on solid foundations

by David Dowse

Serbian food manufacturer Bambi has taken into account United Nation Sustaina ble Development Goals, focusing on six specific targets for its operations, including reducing CO₂ emissions, reducing water consumption, cutting waste, responsible sourcing, nutritional products, and finally people and communities, according to Bambi General Manager Dragan Stajković.

“For many years, we at Bambi have been looking at our business balance through our contribution to the community where we operate, because solidarity and support, as well as investment in a sustainable future, are deeply embedded in our identity and business culture,” Stajković said.

Originally founded in 1967, the Bambi company is without question one of Serbia’s biggest and longest-standing business suc cess stories. Now owned by the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), the

basic concepts of sustainability and ESG re main in focus, as in fact, long before these terms were invented the company was built on solid, principled foundations, such as an emphasis on quality and consistency while sourcing both local ingredients maintaining both labour standards and community re lations. This has established the company’s strong reputation as an ethical business and a responsible employer, which Bambi earning national recognition during the first quality award in 1979. Moreover, in 1997 it

became the first Serbian company to attain the international food quality standard ISO 9001.

The values on which Bambi was founded and grew are even more valid and impor tant in 2022, providing an excellent platform for building the next chapters of its story, through a strong commitment to sustaina bility.

This is also not an entirely new commit ment, as in 2019, two-thirds of the compa

ny’s vehicle fleet was converted to liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and the current plan is to completely replace all vehicles with more environmentally friendly solutions.

Likewise, in July 2020, Bambi completely switched to the use of electricity from re newable sources in its production opera tions, and during 2021, an impressive 98% of generated waste was recycled, with the company working towards a goal of achiev ing zero non-recycled waste in the produc tion process by 2030.

Stankovic also noted that water use was cut by 25% compared to 2017 and a new production line was installed, using cutting-edge technology, which has thus achieved improved energy efficiency. Do mestic suppliers now make up almost 75% of the supply chain, helping reduce overall emissions from transport, as well as making a positive impact on the domestic economy.

While it is clear that the Bambi company is making good progress with the environ mental aspects of ESG, social engagement has also been a strong factor in the compa ny’s ethos from its founding days, with the company engaging very proactively with its 650-person work force, primarily at the com pany’s main production site in Požarevac, a city of 75,000 in Eastern Serbia. The site has been Bambi’s home since its founding.

Team development has also been a prior ity, as 2021 alone, mo000re than 12, hours were invested in employee education. The resulting team spirit has been reflected in both family events and strong employee re sponse to calls for volunteers when organiz ing charity efforts.

Bambi has also been particularly focused on attracting and retaining young workers, which is especially important, as Serbia, like other countries in the region, is currently los ing alarming numbers of its best and bright est to emigration. In 2020, more than a hun dred students went through various Bambi youth development programs.

On this note, Stajković noted the impor tance on focusing on community.

“The success of the company is viewed through the prism of the progress of the community where we operate because we know that a healthy, strong, stable and ad vanced community is the only environment where good results are achieved and sus tained,” he said.

In fact, Bambi’s support for the commu nity of Požarevac has been remarkably con sistent, with the company having invested more than RSD 11 mln in the development

of the local community projects in 2021 and having donated more than 14 tonnes of food to people in need during the past year.

The final pillar of the ESG equation repre sents governance. This refers to principles defining rights, responsibilities and expecta tions of various stakeholders in the govern ance of companies. Here Bambi is now work ing under the CCHBC umbrella and setting an example as a way forward for companies in Serbia with regard to standards in busi ness operations and reporting.

Finally, adherence to high standards has hardly limited Bambi’s success. The company now has a rapidly expanding product port folio and exports to more than 21 countries on four continents, and the Plazma cookie

brand has won international renown. In fact, to call it a “biscuit” or “cookie’ fails to do the snack justice, as Plazma has truly become part of the Serbian DNA, beloved by three generations and still found in every young mum’s handbag at playgrounds across the country—as well as in every backpack wher ever a Serb of any age travels. In other words, Plazma is brand loyalty personified.

Cleaner air and a lasting legacy?

CWP Europe shows the road to a cleaner energy future - and a better way of doing business

by David Dowse

Despite daunting challenges faced by Serbia, a number of world-wide players have implemented major investments in renewa bles, with CWP Europe already playing a de fining role in wind, battery and solar energy.

“Our mission is to lead the energy tran sition in SEE with the development of utili ty-scale, subsidy-free renewables, and our experience and backing makes us perfect ly positioned to do so,” commented Maja

Turković, SVP Development, Europe at CWP Global.

Part of a global group with extensive ex perience, especially in Australia, CWP Europe was founded in 2006 to deliver Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in South East Europe (SEE), and it currently boasts not only the largest onshore windfarm in Europe, but also the 600 MW Fantanele-Cogealac project in Romania, as well as the largest in Serbia, the 158 MW Cibuk wind farm.

Drawing on technical and energy trading expertise gained in Australia and elsewhere, activities in Serbia and other countries in the region were refocused and revitalised in 2019. CWP is currently developing more than 2 GW of wind, solar and battery storage projects in Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine, making the company the leading renewable energy operation in SEE at a piv otal moment in the region’s energy transi tion journey. Once complete, CWP’s 2 GW

project pipeline will cut CO2 emissions by up to 5 million tons each year - the equiva lent to removing over 1 million cars from the roads of the region.

Company representatives have also noted that CWP fully embraces the responsibilities and opportunities for positive change, and that the company is committed to ensuring energy transition is sustainable. In an ap proach that exemplifies the true spirit and intention of the ESG concept, the company ensures its projects contribute in a positive way to the communities in which they are built.

“Care for nature and everyone we work with has been the lens through which all of CWP’s decisions are made,” Tijana Gajić, ESG Lead at CWP Global, told Serbia Monthly. “We believe that companies should be responsi ble, active, and value-adding members of their communities and we strive not just to reduce our environmental and social foot print, but to have a transformative broader impact on the regions in which we operate,”

This approach starts with expert environ mental impact assessments at proposed locations. Impact Assessments consider all elements of the local biosphere, ensuring planned wind farms and solar parks cause no harm or disruption to fauna, flora, migration patterns, water flows or other disruption to delicate ecosystems. This process is in addi tion to full compliance with all relevant local and national regulations and in line with in ternational best practices.

The “S” in ESG means “social,” and it em phasises the vital importance of local and national communities to the sustainable success of any business. In the age of social media, where news and information—and misinformation—is spread instantaneous ly and when public opinion can easily be swayed by ambiguous actions and commu nication, companies ignore the social factor at their peril.

In stark contrast, CWP is working hard to build trust and support in the communities in which it is grounded.

“Education is the key,” Gajić said. “We pro actively educate our communities and the general public on the urgency of taking care for the planet and accelerating the energy transition through a variety of complemen tary activities and initiatives.”

The company has also instigated dialogue with local, regional and national government stakeholders to explore ways to support them in achieving their own sustainability goals. This includes advisory and education

with regard to how energy transition will help them financially, socially and in terms of public health.

Through a series of talks and conferences under the umbrella “Vision 2030,” CWP has also developed a series of ecological initi atives promoting the importance of being good stewards of nature.

These are aimed at local communities with the purpose of bringing children and families closer to nature through field trips, outdoor activities, organized hikes and other events that help people reconnect with the natural world around them. The company also works to spread awareness of sustaina

ble lifestyles and practices in local communi ties through lectures, workshops, education at primary schools on topics, such as bio diversity and land and water conversation while also supporting youth events o cham pion and promote sustainability.

“Youth education is one of the most im pactful activities we can invest in to promote long-term, real change,” Gajic added. “We are working to create local hubs that will com bine environmental protection, culture and education, where local communities can gather, educate themselves and each other and participate in a variety of communi ty-lead activities.”

“Walking the walk,” on the ESG journey requires vision, bravery and investment in terms of time, energy and yes, money. It also demands consistency and determination, as well as an unwavering commitment to a long-term plan. But CWP’s Gajic pointed out that the company’s ROI investment is substantial, and that the prize is the active support of local and national communities and stakeholders, as well as a strong corpo rate reputation that attracts the best people as employees and fosters loyal, supportive suppliers.

Yet the reality is that much is still to be done: Serbia depends heavily on high-pol luting, coal-fired electricity generation and district heating plants using outdated, in efficient technologies. This combined with winter weather and the large number of old

er, high-emitting trucks, buses and cars and domestic fires burning using highly-sulphur ous brown coal, wood and sometimes even rubber and plastic waste means that Serbia has been laden with some of the worst pol lution found anywhere in Europe. Belgrade has thus in the past--albeit temporarily— reached the extreme levels of the most toxic cities in the world.

The cost to public health thus immeasur able—as is the unwelcome contribution to greenhouse gases and global warming, not to mention the damage to Serbia’s fragile international image as it struggles to make a new and well-deserved name for itself as an eco-tourist destination.

Thus Serbia needs to change its energy approach and change quickly. Yet chang es brought by CWP and similar companies

goes far beyond much-needed cleaner en ergy. Communities that are better informed on ecological matters may be the current wave’s greatest legacy, and here CWP is working hard for change.

Corporate philanthropy in times of crisis: from floods to pandemics

by Nathan Koeshall

Solidarity is greatest during times of crisis.

This may sound like common sense, but this is also a truism documented by Catalyst Balkans since the organization began col lecting data on philanthropy in Serbia, with this especially proving true during times of external crisis.

This was clearly evident in 2014 when Obrenovac and other parts of Serbia were faced with devastating floods, and again this was seen during the COVID-19 pandem ic. Yet as obvious as this may sound, when it comes to the corporate sector it appears that there is a lack of understanding with re gard to the importance of the public’s partic ipation in the provision of aid.

This is not surprising since there is no of ficial data on corporate giving apart from what is tracked by Catalyst Balkans. Yet, the available data shows that corporate philan thropy in Serbia is an increasingly important pillar of society in times of crisis.

From 2014 to 2021, Serbia businesses have independently donated more than 28 mln to crisis support for pandemics, floods, fires and other natural disasters. Yet as this value refers only to media-reported mon etary donations, the estimated real value of donations is actually at least three times higher.

Two crises comprise the majority of these donations: first in 2014, in order to ame

liorate devastating consequences of the floods in Obrenovac, the business sector donated more than EUR 12 mln; and in 2020 and 2021, when it was necessary to obtain much-needed protection against the spread of the COVID-19 virus–including expensive equipment for the treatment of patients–companies and enterprises donated more than EUR 16 mln.

To be sure, other parts of society also pro vided help, including citizens through grass roots campaigns, prominent individuals, civ ic associations, foundations and others, but it specific to corporate philanthropy is that the help provided during a particular crisis often also provided benefits after said crisis.

TOP 15 CORPORATE DONATIONS 2014 – 2021

# of recorded donations

Value of recor ded donations

Coca-Cola HBC Srbija d.o.o. 2 1,100,000 €

HIP Petrohemija AD Pančevo 1 1,000,000 €

Mozzart d.o.o. Beograd 68 1,000,000 €

United Group RSD d.o.o. Beo grad 1 903,000 €

Delta Foundation 2 862,000 €

MK Group d.o.o. Beograd 26 717,000 €

GlaxoSmithKline doo 1 512,000 €

Philip Morris Operations a.d. Niš 6 489,000 €

Henkel Srbija d.o.o. Beograd 5 453,000 €

Delta Holding 1 450,000 €

Meridian Tech d.o.o. 26 425,000 €

Hemofarm a.d 1 409,000 €

Galenika a.d. Beograd 1 400,000 €

Microsoft Software d.o.o.Beo grad 1 323,000 €

Hemofarm a.d. Vršac 1 281,000 €

Given that the crises required the mobili zation of significant financial capital—in ad dition to human and social capital—compa nies proved that they are not isolated from the society in which they operate by financ ing the purchase of key, high-end equip ment and also donating to infrastructure projects, with the former remaining in use even after overcoming a specific incident.

The specificity of corporate engage ment is also reflected in the fact that due to a more common strategic approach to philanthropy, corporate help was directed toward public institutions that coordinated both the fight against floods in 2014, as well as the fight against the pandemic in 2020. This revealed that where the crisis situation

exceeded state capacities, the private sector had an indispensable role.

Additionally, an examination of philan thropy within the business sector indicates a different level of “crises readiness” by com panies when it comes to fulfilling ESG obli gations. On one hand, a given crisis imposed the need for social engagement while on the other hand, the same crisis had the ability to threaten the capacities of companies to sat isfy their primary functions, not to mention ESG needs. Yet some companies did prove this was possible, and on this note, by recog nizing firms that were successful in both re gards, other companies may be inspired to show support for the communities in which they operate.

Over the last eight years, companies that have stood out the most in terms of dona tion values made for the remediation of natural disasters and pandemics include Coca-Cola HBC, HIP Petrohemija, Mozzart, United Group and the Delta Foundation. Media sources report that these business entities have donated as much as EUR 4.8 mln. In addition, when taking into account the frequency of donations, the engage ment of the Serbian entities MK Group and Meridian Tech stands out, with 26 donation campaigns organized by each.

Observed chronologically, the most activity was registered in 2020—after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic mobilized the business sector in the entire region and in Serbia somewhat more than the regional average. Two out of three philanthropic “actions” covered by the media came from the domain of corporate philanthropy. The largest recorded dona tion for COVID-19 relief was provided by HIP Petrohemija. With a one-time donation of one million euros, HIP Petrohemija helped the national health insurance fund acquire necessary medical equipment.

This initiative was subsequently recog nized by the Ministry of Defense, which presented the company with a special plaque of appreciation. United Group also supported the fight against COV ID-19 with a one-time donation in the amount of EUR 900,000 that was intend ed for the benefit of the health system.

Mozzart contributed a record amount as well, but this was done via 68 different donations.

Bearing this in mind, it should be em phasized and demonstrated how other businesses may support the communi ties in which they operate. Among such

donations were included the purchase of respirators, masks, visors, hygiene prod ucts and assistance packages for the el derly population, as well as assistance to the main health centers in Belgrade, as well as COVID clinics and centers throughout the country.

Additionally, among the above-men tioned corporations MK Group and Meridian Tech stand out in terms of the number of or ganized campaigns and the amount of aid donated.

Across 26 different campaigns, MK Group donated more than EUR 700,000. Apart from monetary and logistical assistance, MK Group’s philanthropic activities have been distinguished by the fact that the company in quite innovative fashion paid special at tention to healthcare workers in the COVID system. As a result, many healthcare workers in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia received three days of respite through hotel stays donated by the company in Kopaonik, Savudrija and Portorož.

Likewise, MK Group provided vacations for 200 Clinical Center of Serbia employees, 50 employees from the Clinical Center of Vo jvodina and also employees of the Niš Clini cal Center.

With the same number of campaigns— albeit with a slightly lesser total value--Me ridian Tech doated more than EUR 425,000 to the Serbian healthcare system . Meridian Tech also helped smaller health centers in the country, such as Surdulica, Loznica, Požarevac, Ub, Negotin, Inđija, Kruševac, Smederevska Palanka, Valjevo, Sopot, Ja godina, and Zaječar.

Through the years corporates, funds and NGOs have provided assistance in the face of natural disasters, both in Serbia and abroad. When earthquakes hit the Banija area in Cro

atia, Fund B92 and the Serbian Philanthropy Forum launched a campaign to support the residents of Banija who lost their homes. At this time, Elixir Group responded to the campaign with a donation of EUR 30,000 for the purpose of purchasing eight residential containers for temporary accommodation. The initiative was also supported by Messer Tehnogas with three residential containers worth approximately EUR 11,000.

With regard to disaster relief, as previous ly mentioned, in 2014,he business sector participated donated more than 12 mln eu ros to address damage caused by floods in Obrenovac, with Coca-Cola and Delta Group leading the way.

At that time, Coca-Cola HBC Serbia donat ed a then-record EUR 1 mln for the purchase of sports equipment for schools affected by the floods and thereby also contributed to the quality of teaching efforts in previously devastated areas. In addition, the Coca-Co la Foundation donated approximately EUR 170,000 for the renovation flood protection infrastructure in Paraćin and Ub.

Similar to Coca-Cola HBC Serbia, Delta Group helped rebuild flooded areas through two channels: Delta Holding and Delta Foun dation. The Foundation provided more than EUR 860,000 euros in aid through its Help to Flooded Areas project, while Delta Holding donated more than EUR 450,000 with dona tions of money, food and other necessities, which puts the total participation of the Del ta Group at EUR 1.5 mln financial and non-fi nancial assistance.

Whether in reaction to floods or an un precedented pandemic, aid provided by companies—although predominantly di rected towards public and government in stitutions—reached end users largely due to help of non-profit organizations. Apart from

international organizations, such as UNICEF and the Red Cross, whose primary focus is precisely coming to the aid of the needy in such crises, the Ana and Vlade Divac Founda tion, as well as Fund B92, stood out among domestic organizations.

Both organizations have proven to be important partners for business sector re garding mapping needs and mobilizing and distributing support.

The Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, in cooperation with the Marbo Product com pany, supplied public kitchens and “SOS Children’s Villages” during the pandemic, and the foundation also became a conduit to provide assistance to many business en tities, while the B92 Fund, together with the Serbian Philanthropy Forum, managed to connect various actors from the business sector, such as Nordeus, Komercijalna banka, Eurobanka, Robert Bosch, Telenor Founda tion and Mobi Bank.

When comparing the socially responsible engagement of companies to the engage ment of other stakeholders in society, re corded data makes clear the extent to which companies are ready to help society in times of crises. While Serbian adoption of ESG prin ciples in companies is still its early stages, it encouraging is that in times of crises—when realities may challenge the state’s capacity to formulate a full response—the business sector becomes a main conduit of aid and support.

Vuk Vuković is Research and Analysis Man ager for Catalyst Balkans, a philanthropical intermediary organization that tracks philan thropy in Serbia and throughout the West ern Balkans. For more information on giving in Serbia, please visit www.givingbalkans. org. If your company’s donations should be recognized through press coverage, we en courage you to share your data with us via info@catalystbalkans.org

Goran Stevanović, Aleksandra Stojanović, Zlatibor Lončar, Edita Stokić, Jovan Purar

“She’s Next…” Visa supports women entrepreneurs in Serbia

by David Dowse

As part of its worldwide commitment to championing women in business, global digital payment technology company Visa has re-launched the “She’s Next, Em powered by Visa” initiative to support and empower women business owners in the creation, maintenance and development of businesses.

The global initiative, which encompasses different approaches tailored to local condi tions, has previously been rolled out in Ser bia, although progress was understandably slowed by the Corona pandemic.

“Although the global pandemic actually accelerated the overall development of en trepreneurship in many countries and also in Serbia, the pace of development of female entrepreneurs locally remains slow and diffi cult,” said Vladimir Djordjević, Visa South East Europe country manager.

Visa, however, still sees the empowering of more female entrepreneurs as a business

imperative. The company said it will support their growth and success and it is committed to providing women-owned small business es with tools, resources, insights and net working opportunities that can help them grow their businesses.

Now the innovative program has been being re-launched in Serbia, where some statistics show there are more than 100,000 female entrepreneurs active in a wide range of business areas.

“Visa’s mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure digital payment network, and en

able businesses—among other key con stituents—to thrive,” Djordjević added. “As a leader in digital payments for more than 60 years, we have a tremendous opportunity to enable economic growth and strengthen economies, while also helping to improve lives and create a better world. It all starts in the local communities.”

While the effects of the COVID-19 pan demic and subsequent lockdowns un doubtedly caused tremendous hardships and difficulties for many, the restrictions also forced the pace of change in several areas of commerce, including driving many new, innovative business start-ups. Although the range of goods and services was substantial, many shared some common elements.

During the lockdown and restriction pe riods in 2020 and 2021, Serbia saw huge increases in home deliveries of all kinds of

goods—with these going far beyond the more obvious deliverables, such as food and beverages. Many craft food producers, for example, found enthusiastic new customers, and everything from footwear to furnishing became commonly available online and by home delivery.

The increase in online ordering and home delivery also forced acceleration in the de velopment of secure online payment sys tems—and area in which Serbia has long lagged behind most European countries. An unintended result was also that when cafes, bars and shops did begin to operate more normally, card payments, especially via contactless payment, were suddenly much more commonplace even for smaller pur chases, as the public health benefits joined with the speed, convenience and security that contactless payments offer.

ALMOST 80% OF ALL START-UPS IN SERBIA ARE FOUNDED BY MEN.

With this information as a foundation, in early September Visa re-launched the “She’s Next” program here by initiating a “Council of Women,” which brings together 12 re markable businesswomen who will help to identify, shape and address needs of female entrepreneurs in Serbia.

“Women in business in Serbia face several specific additional challenges, and we hope to make a practical difference by raising the profile of the issue and bringing together top women thought-leaders and movers and shakers to encourage the sharing of knowledge and expertise,” said Djordjević.

Representatives on the ‘Council of Women’ come from various fields of entrepreneur ship, including media founders, the gaming industry, TV production as well as handmade products. In addition to the business women themselves, other ambassadors in clude women from associations for women’s entrepreneurship, as well as a representative of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

• The majority of female-owned businesses were established more than 16 years ago (35%), but they are closely followed by those founded up to five years ago, which represent a third of the total.

• Most are classed as “micro businesses,” with only one employee (47%).

• The majority of female entrepreneurs are active in the service sector (43%), fol lowed by trade in goods (36%).

• A typical start-up female entrepreneur is 36-years-old, with a masters’ degree (41.9%).

• The vast majority of women entrepreneurs operate only in the local, Serbian mar ket (96%), and they are usually active in highly competitive areas of business.

• For more than 90% of women entrepreneurs, the company they establish is their first entry into business.

There are also concerns expressed by women already in business or consider ing a start-up.

Major worries included fear of failure and making significant financial losses; a gen eral lack of knowledge about finances and book-keeping and uncertainties about rele vant laws, taxes and regulations. Being solely responsible for all aspects of business, find ing employees and having fewer holidays were also commonly given as key personal downsides to running one’s own business.

At the same time, many women saw con siderable potential advantages in being en trepreneurs. Most cited independence and “being your own boss,” as well as flexible working hours, earning more money, work ing from home and having greater freedom in decision making on all levels.

“These are women who have faced and overcome some of the toughest problems to get their businesses off the ground or have specialist knowledge about start-ups,” Djordjević said. “Now they’re ready to share their experience to help other women. Visa is delighted to provide and support a forum for that process.

“This is an important two-way communi cation channel through which we can better understand the problems women entrepre neurs face and so refine the practical sup port we are able to offer to them,” he added. “I am looking forward to the positive change we will, without doubt, create together.”

Visa is determined that the Council of Women will be much more than just a talk ing shop, and it has ambitious practical goals for women entrepreneurs in Serbia.

“From streamlining payment methods to linking women small business owners with our partners, the “She’s Next, Empowered by Visa” program will offer unmatched re sources and opportunities for women en trepreneurs,” Djordjević continued. “By giving female business owners a platform to create connections and opportunity, Visa is giving a voice to the collective strengths of women in the global economy.”

IKEA – designing a sustainable future

Interview by David Dowse

In August 2017 IKEA finally opened in Belgrade, inaugurating its 400th store worldwide and the first in Serbia--but now, five years later, the company is leading a new revolution to become a driving force in bringing sustainable thinking to the retail sector and the customers it serves in Serbia.

“In one sense, this was matter of survival for IKEA as well as a contribution to a better world,” said Aldo Lele, sustainability manager for South East Europe. “We realised that with out a sustainable future supply chain, we might not have a business in 10 years’ time.”

And this is a retailer set to make an impact. On a global scale IKEA is a huge producer as well as a major retailer. The extraction and use of raw materials represent around 45% of the company’s total emissions, and in order

to drastically reduce its footprint, the com pany plans to rapidly increase the number of products it sells that are made from recycled or renewable materials. The ambitious tar get calls for 100% of its product range to be sourced sustainably by 2030.

Additionally, in common with most com panies that are taking sustainability and the ESG journey into the core of their business, rather than treating it as an add-on, IKEA places strong emphasis on education – of its

co-workers, suppliers, communities, society as a whole and its customers. Regular work shops are held in-store, bringing together families and “Green Heroes”—members of the IKEA team who lead on sustainability projects.

“Customer education plays a vital role, so we are engaging and encouraging our cus tomers to shift towards more sustainable products,” Lele said. “We know that afforda bility is an especially important factor in Ser

bia, so we are ensuring that our new, sustain able products are at least as affordable, if not even more so, as the rest of our range.”

Sustainability and the ESG approach are fundamentally about joined-up thinking. IKEA takes this to heart as well, for example by taking responsibility for emissions—and not just those the company itself produces, but also the emissions from the domestic appliances its customers buy and use. Lele noted that this accounts for as much as 20% of its total emissions footprint. Responsibility is thus translated into actions in the store, with clear information for customers on low er emissions options and training for staff who can advise.

“Appliances using less energy and water also save the household budget money, so this really is a win-win,” added Lele.

On this note, the Belgrade IKEA store uses electricity that comes 100% from renewable sources. About 20% is produced from the store’s own solar panels, with the remainder purchased through Green Certificates of Or igin. The Belgrade store is one of IKEA’s first locations to achieve this and company’s goal is to have all of its stores worldwide reach the same standard by 2030.

Water is also a focus of attention. A rainwa ter collection system stores rain falling on the site, which is then used to flush all the toilets

in the store and for watering the green areas around the store. This is a great example of a simple but highly effective measure, and it scores very highly in customer feedback on IKEA’s sustainability measures. The store team in now focusing on ways to further reduce water and energy consumption— both high priorities as water is becoming increasingly scarce and uncertainty grows over future electricity supply in Serbia and throughout Europe.

At the same time, as Lele pointed out, IKEA’s food offerings are also another prac tical area where it is helping to educate and promote change.

“Our food range is a fantastic opportunity for our customers to enjoy a range of tasty, plant-based foods – and it’s one of the main ways they can make an impact on green house gases. Eating plant-based foods can help cut emission by an amazing 97% com pared to food sourced from animals.”

IKEA is also adding its voice to the growing debate in Serbia about the huge problems the country faces with waste management – again, leading by practical actions.

“We currently recycle as much as 86% of our total waste and 100% of our food waste,” Lele stated. “And we are continuously look ing for ways to improve further.”

Likewise, popular kitchen designs on offer in the store also come with built-in facilities for sorting and recycling waste.

Another innovation reveals how the much-vaunted “circular economy” can work in practice. IKEA offers a buy-back scheme through which customers can sell furniture and other products back to the store, with customers getting a refund of up to 50% of the original price. The used products are then offered for sale again in the store for the same price that was refunded.

On a regional and global level, IKEA is researching and testing many other inno vations, for example, testing ways to com pensate and balance the land use it needs for stores and parking areas with equivalent green areas that help to promote biodiver sity.

Nominated

Do You Have a Podcast Yet?

These days you probably have the im pression that podcasts are hosted by your favorite coffee shops, two of the three ac tors from the last movie you watched, every media outlet that you follow, but also your neighbor who just loves the NBA and has found a friend to talk about the back-to-back MVP awards.

So, why are there so many interested in making podcasts? And why and how you should do the same? And should you go for ward either as a hobby or as a serious con tent marketing project?

Only two decades ago blogging was the essence of internet culture and for many the best way to share opinions, distribute news, promote a product or just have fun writing about topics that they were passion ate about. As most find it easier to express

thoughts and opinions by actually speaking about them, with the magic of RSS feed tech nology audio blogs exploded, morphing into a new format designated the “podcast.”

Or perhaps the term “exploded” is a slight exaggeration, as in the beginning there was a relatively small community of willing podcasters, and the listening community was not growing as fast as might have been expected—relative to current numbers. Yet some outstanding podcasts did appear, such as Serial Podcast and those by Joe Rogan, Ricky Gervais and Marc Maron, and these attracted massive audiences, which did, in fact, explode over the past few years.

Add to the fact that the consumers of pop culture desperately needed new and original content, podcasts gained an unex pected boost when worldwide lockdowns

by Goran Vojteski

pushed audiences towards this easy-to-ac cess source of news, education, and enter tainment. This “perfect storm” resulted in more than five million podcasts, and now the global podcasting market is estimated to have an approximate USD 13 bln value.

Yet the primary reason as to why podcasts are becoming a trend that will not soon fade away is that they are so convenient to consume. They may be accessed any where, at any time, and often podcasts are the preferred option to stay in touch with a given topic while also avoiding unneces sary screen time.

Every global trend, especially one that is sooner or later bound to hit Serbia. In fact, the local podcast scene is experiencing a current boom, up from only 15 podcasts three years ago to more than 400 “shows”

today. Revenue follows an audience, which means companies are also allocating more and more of their digital budget to sponsor and produce podcasts every year.

Currently, there are several podcast stu dios in Belgrade and Novi Sad, which also boasts the office of Sounder.fm, a leading global hosting and distribution platform. Views and audio downloads of some epi sodes of the most influential local and re gional podcasters have already tallied in the millions, and noteworthy is that the authors themselves have become well-known and highly respected with regard to topics being covered on their shows. The hottest current local podcasts are business, society, and sports.

Regardless of the current number of au thors, and the already formed podcasting scene, there are still plenty of reasons why you should sit in front of your mic and launch a new one.

First, it is easy to start from scratch. You don’t need to be a celebrity or well-known expert in the field you want to discuss in order to have a successful show. You can go from an idea to a finished product in just a couple of days, and as soon as your first ep isode is online it is available world-wide as there is no real gate keeper.

This makes the podcast form of broad casting an easy winner—especially if you are planning to become a creator are looking for a format that can make an impact in a short time.

If stuck for ideas, good advice for a person al podcast is to just talk about your hobby, your experience in certain fields and/or to discuss the latest news with a friend. Anoth er option is to interview people you find in

teresting or whom you feel are already doing something fulfilling.

Over time this can help you build your personal brand, develop new skills, and per haps you will interact with some cool and interesting people. In fact, maybe, this new passion of yours, will even grow into a job.

Creating podcasts a part of a company’s communication strategy is also a logical move. By developing a strong presence on YouTube and social networks companies (brands) become media-like content crea tors. This of course can be complicated for many firms since few have enough experi ence and manpower to manage this prop erly. Yet the rise of podcasts as a medium has opened a new and easier way to attract audiences, and any business, either big or small, are sure to benefit.

Moreover, carefully designed content builds a more personal relationship between

the brand and the potential consumer while drawing more attention and creating a stronger presence online. The reality is that if you can successfully answer the questions “who am I making a podcast for?” and “how will this benefit my audience?” prior to the creation of the first episode, you will have a powerful asset that communicates directly to your target audience.

Some of the great examples of brand ed podcasts are created by global industry leaders like GM, eBay, Microsoft, McDonald’s and Slack.

Marketers in Serbia have also recognized this potential, and apart from sponsoring top podcasts like Agelast, Biznis Priče, Pojača lo etc., they are also creating new branded shows, with the best examples being those of Milka and L’Oréal.

As with any business, when you create a product (content) you should work on de veloping a community around said content. Respect the time people dedicate to you by making sure that they learn something new and that they have fun. Communicate with them in the podcast (thank them, refer to their comments), and always have in mind the fact that people usually consume pod casts alone within the sanctity and sanity of headphones so do not be aggressive in any fashion, and do not think that fans will re main loyal if you fail to give them what they want and expect. And finally, if you want to keep the audience that you have attracted consistency is the key.

Ready to Celebrate Prokupac Day?

by Tomislav Ivanović

Wine lovers in Serbia are well-accustomed to the charms of Prokupac wine, the Serbian flagship grape variety—and this includes taking advantage the annual Oct. 14 International Prokupac Day, which focuses on wine, friends and family in the best of regional traditions.

Indeed, Prokupac is the first grape varie ty in Eastern Europe to have earned a ded icated fete. And this celebration is already long-standing, as for the past seven years, Prokupac Day has been celebrated Oct. 14 in more than 300 wine bars, wine shops, res taurants, cafes throughout Serbia.

In fact, the history behind Prokupac is intriguing, as over the past decade this particular grape variety has largely restored its reputation—a legacy greatly tarnished

during the socialist period in Serbia when Prokupac grapes were used to produce cheap industrial plonk. Yet if there are any doubts, this rebound has been bolstered by Prokupac’s impressive run of awards during international wine competitions.

In short, the people have spoken, but the judges have as well.

Better yet, there is more to come, as the yearly harvest has already begun in vineyards of Serbia. An early autumn visit reveals sun-

drenched slopes adorned with endless rows of vineyards and the echo of the songs and shouts of the grape pickers. However, not all vineyards are the same, and thus a clos er examination of Serbian Prokupac wines is warranted—wines that reveal Prokupac’s versatility and the extent to which this grape variety pays homage to Serbia itself.

EDITOR’S NOTE–THE FOLLOWING WINE–RATING SYSTEM WAS APPLIED:

50-69 points - wine with serious flaws, unacceptable

70-79 points - low quality wine, minor flaws detectable, yet acceptable

80-84 points - decent, good, simple wine, without high aspirations

85-89 points - quality wine, with distinct character and typicity

90-94 points - exceptional wine of premium quality

95-100 points - outstanding wine, superb in all aspects

GRABAK PROKUPAC 2019 - GRABAK WINERY (Vrnjačka banja, Three Moravas wine re gion, Central Serbia) – This variety originates from a 40-year-old vineyard cultivated at an alti tude of 500 meters among hills with panoramic vistas of Kruševac and Jagodina. This vineyard is planted on rocky soil, and the result is a Prokupac that will enchant you with an elegance and fruity character, accompanied with spicy aromas and soft tannins. Noteworthy is that this was exactly the winemaker’s intention, since the wine had no barrel ageing in order to fully preserve fruity character of the grapes. 87/100

VILA VINA PROKUPAC 2018 - MILOSAVLJEVIĆ WINERY (Župa, Three Moravas wine re gion, Central Serbia) – This variety comes from the first terraced vineyard in Serbia in the village of Bučje near Trstenik. The owner of the winery, Milomir Milosavljević—after spending several decades in Switzerland working in local wineries—decided to return to Serbia and plant vine yards in his village using the experience and know-how gained from his sojourn in Switzerland. His hands have since become the most famous viticultural hands in all of Serbia chiefly due to a photo of Milosavljević cradling a bunch Prokupac grapes, which has become the official photo of the Prokupac Day event. When it comes to production, ecologically sustainable vine yard practices applied in the vineyards, and thus Vila Vina Prokupac boasts varietal typicity, robust structure, aromas of cherries, red and black berries, accentuated spicy finish. 89/100

YOTTA PROKUPAC 2017 - YOTTA WINERY (Župa, Three Moravas wine region, Central Ser bia) – This wine comes straight from the old vineyards of Župa, which range from 80 to 100 years in age. Bush vines, the traditional way of vine training in Župa and in the entire Mediter ranean region, allows grapes to fully ripen while also naturally limiting the yield. The resulting wine features concentration, solid structure and depth. Aging in wooden barrels also gives the wine a lush aromatic profile, while preserving fruitiness and recognizable varietal expression of the grapes themselves. In summary, this is a wine that will enchant you with its harmony and complex aromas, but also with the recognizable identity of Prokupac. 90/100

RADOVAN 100% 2019 - ČOKOT WINERY (Župa, Three Moravas wine region, Central Ser bia) - The exceptional freshness of this wine unmistakably indicates a Prokupac vintage from the highest vineyards in Župa—vineyards perched at an altitude of close to 600 meters. Yet despite the high altitude, the micro location in the village of Starci near Aleksandrovac is char acterized by warm sunny days, which compliment cool nights that see colder air descend from the nearby slopes of the Kopaonik and Željin mountains. This significantly affects the rich aro matic profile of Radovan 100%, and as the name suggests, the wine bears the personal stamp of winemaker Radovan Đorđević. The result is a rich structure, extremely complex aromatic profile that is both layered ad features the varietal typicity of Prokupac wrapped in aromas originating from aging in Serbian oak. 92/100

Intrigued? This is but a sample Prokupac wines exhibited at Prokupac stand as part of the recently held Wine Vision by Open Balkan wine fair in Belgrade, which brought together more than 350 wineries primarily from the Balkan region and beyond. Yet have no fear if this was an oppor tunity missed, as these same wines are easy enough to find in your favorite local wine shop in Belgrade or other major cities in Serbia.

Prokupac Day is approaching. No choice is a bad choice, as long as it’s Prokupac.

Whose Dog is It, Anyway?

by Chris Farmer

CONSUMER DEFENSE

Consumers, Customers, and the Pursuit of Service

Long-term resident and recidivist consumer in Belgrade, Chris Farmer has spent many hours railing against consumer injustices, inconveniences and incompre hension in countless blogs and columns as well as in two volumes of Grumpy in Belgrade (Komshe d.o.o.).

eral, it takes a few minutes to recover and resume a walk.

This is not your dog.

You feed it, you walk it, you pick up its poop – leading most alien observers to think that the canine is probably the dominant species on this planet. But essentially “your” dog is public property.

Walking down the street, minding your own business, you will be stopped innumer able times because someone else blithely blocks your progress and starts playing with your dog. They pet him, talk that strange ba by-talk which we use in talking to our ani mals, and expect you to stand idly by while they exercise their civil right to commandeer any dog passing in their vicinity.

When my dog was a puppy, he was often stopped by people to admire him. I had en tertained the idea of changing his name to “Joj” since that’s what everyone would say after stopping us to play.

Joj!

These walk-impeders and prome nade-preemptors I am henceforth calling dog jackers (from the Latin Dog-Hijackerum), and please feel free to use the term at small social gatherings and receptions. Most of the time, these dogjackers rile the dog up into a kind of frenzy and then laugh, walking away from the scene never once acknowl edging your presence as the owner. In gen

You might think this sounds overly harsh and superciliously sensitive. As in why can’t people play with your dog? Ok, no reason. But does it hurt to ask me?

On a serious note, I have seen many im prudent parents allow their children to ap proach my golden retriever’s mouth and stick out their fingers. My Dexter is a gentle specimen and won’t hurt anyone, other dogs may not be so obliging. In fact, the number of large and potentially dangerous dogs and dog species on the streets of the White City is a little frightening—especially if you aren’t looking where you are stepping. In sandals. Without socks. Need I say more?

When I first arrived in Belgrade, there were not a lot of households with pets in the city. At that time, in fact, Belgrade had a problem

with packs of wild and marauding dogs in disused areas of the city center, as well as in New Belgrade. Those dogs were perceived as threatening, but the truth of the matter is that the number of households with aggres sive dogs has increased dramatically today, but clearly the general public is less careful than ever before.

That said, Belgrade has a great deal to offer new dog owners, including many rep utable and effective training services and obedience schools. It is a concern that many owners of more aggressive species such as Rottweilers, Cani Corsi, Dobermans, and Mastiffs—but also such commoner breeds as Labradors or German shepherds—will often take possession and responsibility for an animal about which they know very little. Any of these dogs can be trained to gentle ness, but they need to be trained.

The primary danger is to other dog own ers, of course, but also to the dogjackers who could be injured by these untrained animals.

Pet Paradise

That said, the number of pets in Belgrade has given rise to many new services and shops (not all of which are created equal). You can find everything you need for a cat or a dog, and other creatures too, most likely.

One of the main attractions of the better pet shops and centers is the availability of delivery. When I discovered that my usual pet food supplier makes home deliveries, my quality of life increased dramatically.

Although I go to places local to the center, larger shops with even more services and choice are in malls such as Usce, Delta City, and Galerija. Pet Centar has its own Big-Box outlet in New Belgrade, and they also do de liveries.

Even though I love going to Atos I Masa on Studentski Trg as well as the Royal Shop on Cetinjska, the one thing that I dread in going there is taking my dog. Still, hope al ways triumphs over experience—so every time I need to go to the pet shop, I do indeed bring Dexter. Yet Dexter pulls with some 50 kilos of torque, meaning that I sometimes return home having bought cat toys instead of poop bags or an extra leash instead of a new collar. Fortunately, both stores deliv er the food and generally they are better at handling stress than I am.

In short, I always get what I order.

There are also grooming and cleaning ser vices. I have it on fairly good authority that golden retrievers should not be groomed or shampooed too often, but when they need

it, it is good to know that someone else can do it for you. Let’s face it: wrestling a large wet dog around the bathroom (and usual ly around the house) is not the best use of a Saturday night

As far as choice goes, Belgrade has a lot of it. For a consumer, however, it means more work. Make sure you check out your local pet shops well. Do they have what you need? Can they deliver? Some are also veterinarians and that is useful to know. Moreover, a good pet shop usually has a good connection to at least one nearby vet in case you need it. Belgrade has so much more than it used to for your pets, so make sure you get what you want.

Thankfully, the quality of global pet food brands available, such as Farmina, Royal Ca nin, Hills Science, Pedigree, or Purina, means that you need not worry about giving your dog the wrong thing or getting unfair prices.

One final appeal: I beseech you, dog own ers, PLEASE pick up your dog’s poop. You know who I am talking to.

Lafayette - not for the faint of heart - or taste buds

by Daryl Fidelak

We considered the evening with both ex citement and trepidation.

Our first restaurant review—for a maga zine anyway.

However, our “mistake” was to kick off with Lafyette, Belgrade’s answer to…

“Well, that’s the problem! For we can’t really compare Lafayette to anything either Marija or I have ever experienced, be it in London, Paris, Warsaw or NYC. And trust us, we’ve been around the hospitality and en tertainment industries for some time.

Let’s start with the misconception that a night out at Lafayette is pricy. If you consider the level of entertainment accented by the rather decent food and the wine (with prices within reason), not to mention a cigar list, La fayette is comparable to a standard night out with dinner, drinks and dancing

Now don’t get me wrong, you can spend a buddle—and there is of course a minimum bottle requirement per table based on group size. Yet even here prices are not over the top, although, if I’m going to go full transpar ency, prices are above average for Belgrade restaurants but in line with local clubs.

We opted for a bottle of Temet’s Tri Morave Rezerva Red, which went perfectly with duck breast and truffled mashed potatoes. The duck was seasoned and grilled to perfection, creating a tasty crust that led to an equally perfect and juicy interior. Those not familiar in the arts of duck breast grilling, could easily mistake this dish for a sirloin tip. As for the truffled mash potatoes, this comes fully rec ommended as an accent to any dish on the menu. Fantastic.

Marija’s ravioli while tasty, although it was on the verge of being a tad chewy. But let’s just say we consumed it just in time. This was probably due to the hour at which eventu ally ordered our food—which was around midnight. Both of us have worked various kitchens over the years, and we know that a “day into night” of cooking is a marathon— and we were ordering close to the finish line. At Lafayette we suggest you order your meals at the start of the entertainment mar athon around 10pm. Doors open at 9:30 pm and the festivities really kick in around 10:30 pm. That said, where else in Belgrade can you find a gourmet meal past midnight!?

The mezza plate of assorted cheeses, meats, and breads were spot, on as were the sides, such as the grilled shrimp. We unfor tunately did not get a chance to explore the dessert menu, and I also would like to see

if the kitchen is up to making perfect steak that Lafayette claims. Let’s just say, challenge accepted! We will return to nibble through the menu so stay tuned.

Now for the entertainment. For those that have experienced cabarets in other venues/ cities, all the usual suspect/trappings are here. Show tunes, dancing girls, burlesque, slight theatre of the absurd, live music, la sers, pyrotechnics… but here’s what sets La fayette apart is the pure virtuosity of all the above sprinkled with Serbian/Balkan passion that is also fueled with the best of global mu sic! To paraphrase the cult film Spinal Tap, La fayette Cabaret goes to eleven.

The dozen or so entertainers are a mix of musicians, acrobats, dancers, and actors. Some, if not most encompass all four talents. This leads us back to the actual cost v. en tertainment value. You are getting some of the best talent in Belgrade, if not Southern

Europe. The ability of performers to entrance on what is a full 360-degree stage sets them apart from any and all. Also, kudos to the house production team. standard live thea tre on a stage ain’t easy, but live theatre in front of, around and on top of an audience of close to 500 is next level indeed. During one act we felt the heat of an actual flame thrower, but we left unsinged at the end of the night

By now you are asking for total cost. And yes, as I have intimated, it was a tad pricey, coming to about EUR 175 for the two of us—although this was all in including tip. To compare, our last “big” night out in London’s Westend, pre-COVID, started at GBP 500. Let’s just say that relatively speaking, Lafay ette is the best of the best- globally.

So a bit of advice for those reading this, es pecially if living outside of Serbia, if you plan an extended weekend jaunt to Belgrade,

make sure you book a night at Lafayette. Along with being memorable, you’ll make your friends super social media envious!

Daryl and Marija Fidelak are a lovely cou ple forged in the gourmet and music worlds. Together they own Lampshade Media, one of the region’s largest indie music labels. D&M also host their own cooking and talk show aptly named Daryl & Marija’s Dinner Club, on Kitchen TV.

We run this together

Once dominated by amateur, professional or retired athletes, the Belgrade run ning scene has changed dramatically with recreational runners now the norm and running clubs having appeared in major cities.

by Marija Tesić Fidelak

“When we started the Belgrade Running Club (BRC) back in 2011, the recreational running scene was almost non-existent,” said Dragoljub Milosavljević, director of BRC. “You only had athletes who were training [for competition] and the occasional amateur runner. At that time, it was unthinkable that there would be a membership-based club that would be involved in recreational run ning.”

Amateur runners who engaged in half marathons and full marathon runners were a rare breed in Belgrade. Now a decade on, that has completely changed, and BRC exists to prepare all levels of runners for all types of runs and even walks as the club now also has a Nordic Walking group.

Two athletes helped the recreational scene get moving: amateur runner Veroljub

Zmijanac and marathon and triathlon ath lete Ivan Radenković. The pair managed to get others connected through the running portal trčanje.rs where they began to devel op the idea of a recreational runners club

Shortly afterward, the Belgrade Road Run ners was born, inspired by the New York Road Runners club. The BRR evolved into the Belgrade Running Club, founded in 2011. Moreover, from just one internet site (trčan je.rs) six different branches appeared, these being the Belgrade Running Club, Nordic Walking, Outfit, the Serbian Business Run, Dionysus Experience, with all backed by the sports marketing agency SportIT.

At the first training on February 6, 2011, 6 people ran on the snow-covered track at sports centar Olymp on Zvezdara, Belgrade. That’s where the history of BRC begins. At

that time, it was unthinkable that there would be a membership-based club that would be involved in recreational running. The runners still all knew each other or were friends.

Within in the first year of its existence, the club, in addition to regular training, organ ized trips to races around the region as well as a seaside running camp. By the end of the year, the club had more than 100 members.

The following year, the Belgrade Running School was established, teaching beginners the basics; from how to run, what to wear, how to breathe and what to eat and drink prior to, during and after running. The goal was to have complete novices run 5 km at the end of the program – a race which most atendees would finish with euphoric feeling of fantastic accomplishment.

Once having gone through training at the school, most Road Runners have then joined the Belgrade Running Club.

“The largest value was creating the com munity around BRC,” said Milosavljević. “Run ning is the catalyst for us to get together sharing the values of BRC: which is over coming personal beliefs that we cannot do something, breaking personal barriers while socializing, making new friendships, trave ling and competing in races all over the re gion and beyond,”

“Over the 11 years that the club has been active more than 4000 novices—many nev er having previously walked more than one kilometre at a time—have completed 5k- or 10k- runs, half marathons and even full mara thons,” he added. “The club’s community has brought running to life and life to running.”

The simple philosophy behind the club is that everybody has the capacity to run. Running, according to one member is equal ly “challenging and simple,” and during the pandemic it was probably one of the rare sports club that did not cease its activities, as training was done in small groups and outside

The business model of the club is carefully planned. Coaches are mostly young athletes who are either currently studying or hold a degree in athletics or sport management with course in related fields like medicine.

The emphasis is that there is no such thing as poor achievement. According to the BRC code - everyone is welcome and everybody is a winner no matter age, gender or physical disabilities.

The seed of the club program was plant ed back in the student days by of one of the founders, Veroljub Zmijanac. While studying in Germany, his roommate, who was 45 and fit, kept inviting him for a run. After getting past why he “couldn’t” manage it, Veroljub joined his roommate and never looked back.

The current program was also created not just on the ethos of “just get out and run,” but instead it was based on meticulous re search, with the early founders focusing on online articles, books found abroad and also the heavy consumption of documentaries and informational campaigns promoted by the likes of Nike and Adidas. Coaches also attended global conferences, exchanging experiences with runners from all over the world. Bolstered by the personal experience of over 30 coaches, the BRC program is very

unique, not just in Belgrade, but in the re gion.

The Belgrade Running Club is not just about running, but it has and is developing a variety of new programs, such as Nordic Walking and Outfit (Outdoor Fitness Revo lution), which apart from exercising outside is promoting OCR (Obstacle Course Race) competitions. This is the fastest growing am ateur sport company in the region.

“Nordic Walking is a relatively young discipline in Belgrade, really only gaining momentum in 2018, within our club,” said Milosavljević. “It really took off during the pandemic of 2020 when city dwellers did not want to be stuck in their apartments.

“We considered BRC as a sport club at the beginning but soon realised Nordic Walking is its own brand, now with the BRC vision,” he

added. “It was formed with the idea to intro duce fitness to people that may not be really into it. Fitness is done at the low impact level which helps attendees also realize if they can handle this or want to move on. So far we have had more than 15 Nordic walkers move to our Running Club.”

From Nordic Walking all the way up to professional Triathlon training, there is

a place for everyone in BRC. Members join at their own pace and find with proper training and friendship that the club helps quicken their pace to a healthier and fun life. There are two true seasons in the year for Belgrade Running School (https://skolatrcanja.com/) and the Belgrade Running Club (https://

belgraderunningclub.com), these being Oc tober with the second season starting at the beginning of April.

The Serbian Business Run was founded in 2016 and is one of the largest team-build ing events in the region. This is a 5k race with companies entering teams of employ ees. The first runs were held in Topčider, Belgrade with a handful of runners, but since this has now grown to include thousands of participants in four cities across the coun try, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica and Niš.

This year’s Serbian Business Run in Belgrade was held at Ada Ciganlija on Sept. 29, with thousands of atendees. It also included for the first time, “CO2 offset,” which the assumed amount of CO2 produced during races by planting an equivalent amount of evergreen trees. This campaign was implemented in cooperation with the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, with the long-term goal of having the most socially respon sible companies contribute through their donations to the planting 100,000 trees by the end of 2025.

In 2016 there were 288 participants from 58 companies. In 2022, the event saw10.500 participants from 626 companies.

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