Belgrade, February 6, 2022 – After decades of work, the Law on Social Entrepreneurship was adopted at the session of the National Assembly on February 4, 2022. The law is one of the most advanced legal solutions for the social entrepreneurship sector in Europe and, for the first time in Serbia, sets the legal framework for the sector in which about 500 companies operate, including Naša kuća, Cafe 16, Lice ulice, Avlija održivog razvoja and others.
The main feature of these companies is that they were established with the aim to offer sustainable solutions for community development, through social innovation, innovative products in the field of environment and circular economy, social inclusion and other areas of sustainable development. They are characterized by social mission, democratic governance and the obligation to reinvest or return profits to the community.
– The aim of this law is to define the concept of social economy and conditions for acquiring the status of social enterprise, so that all entities operating in this area can acquire that status, as a prerequisite to receive financial support from the state, municipalities and other potential financiers as well as to achieve tax relief and valuation in public procurement. With the new law, Serbia follows the trends of the European Union, which at the end of 2021 adopted the Action Plan for Social Economy, as a basis for coordinated action to establish a favorable environment for the development of social economy organizations at EU level – says Neven Marinovic, CEO of Smart Kolektiv, member of the Coalition for Solidarity Economy Development and NALED.
NALED and the Coalition for Solidarity Economy Development, consisting of the European Movement in Serbia, the Initiative for Development and Cooperation, Smart Kolektiv and the Trag Foundation, were active members of the working group for drafting the Law on Solidarity Entrepreneurship. Significant support to the drafting of the law came from the GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation) initiated through the Serbian-German Initiative for Sustainable Growth and Employment.
– According to statistics, there are two million social enterprises on the European market, which employ about 11 million workers. This law will help long-term unemployed, victims of violence, homeless people, returnees from serving their sentences, women and other vulnerable groups to integrate into society and get a job in Serbia. The text of the law is the result of intensive work of all members of the Working Group, who come from the public, private and civil sectors, with active consultations with social enterprises, and represents one of the most advanced legal solutions for the social entrepreneurship sector in Europe – Marinovic points out.
Instead of a new legal form for social enterprises, the law provides for a status that can be acquired. This way, the law will recognize the existing practice and ensures that about 500 social enterprises in Serbia will be able to receive support, regardless of whether they are registered as entrepreneurs, companies, foundations, citizens’ associations or cooperatives. The law also provides for the establishment of a body that will monitor the implementation of the law and adopt measures for the development of the sector. In order for the law to be implemented, it is necessary to first establish a functional Council for Social Entrepreneurship and prepare the planned Social Entrepreneurship Development Program, which will be consistently and continuously implemented.
