Closing event of the Program for Sustainable Businesses will take place on October 12, when representatives of enterprises with strong social and/or environmental impact will present their business plans to the Smart Impact Fund Advisory Board, our partners and donors. After the event, the Advisory Board will make a decision which one or two enterprises will receive an interest-free loan of up to EUR 50,000.00.
With this event, the second cycle of the Program for Sustainable Businesses will be finished. During the last 6 months of the program, participants were working hard in order to develop their business development strategies and prepare for impact investments.
The Program for Sustainable Businesses is part of the Smart Impact Fund – Fund for the Development of Sustainable Economy, which will invest about half a million euros in the next five years in initiatives and companies that contribute to sustainable and positive changes in their communities. The Fund strives to provide long-term professional and financial support to social enterprises in various stages of development and thus contribute to the development of an economy with positive social impact. The Program for Sustainable Businesses is implemented with the support of EFSE Entrepreneurship Academy, Open Society Foundation, the Balkan Trust for Democracy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade.
The Smart Impact Fund was launched by Smart Kolektiv in 2019 with support of EVPA – the European Venture Philanthropy Association and the former USAID-funded Framework for Giving project that was implemented by the Coalition for Giving led by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation.
