Belgrade, December 12, 2021 – As in previous years, Responsible Business Forum and Smart Kolektiv, as part of the annual research “Better Business for a Better Society”, examined the contribution of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to the local community in Serbia.
The research has shown that these companies, despite their smaller capacities, provide significant support to the community in which they operate. Although they have a much harder time coping with crises, a large number of these companies have provided support in various ways over the past year to the most affected groups, but also to the health care system in which the most was invested, according to research data. Almost 50% of MSMEs stated that they increased the volume of investments in the community in 2020 or that it remained similar to 2019, which shows that companies donate constantly and also that they remained solidary during the crisis. Based on the analysis, it was recorded that last year only 19 micro, small and medium enterprises from the research donated over 58 million dinars. Having in mind the total number of MSMEs, it can be assumed that the total amount on the country level should be much higher.
The research shows that micro and small enterprises are more likely to provide support in the form of products and services compared to allocated financial donations, which were twice less than the amount of donated goods and services. Moreover, volunteer support to the community during 2020 was not lacking, and 127 employees in micro and small companies from the research, donated a total of 900 volunteer hours, whereby, on average, employees from these companies donated more hours per person compared to large and medium-sized companies.
The analysis was conducted by Responsible Business Forum (RBF) within the USAID-funded Framework for Giving Project, implemented by the Coalition for giving led by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, other members are Trag Foundation, Smart Kolektiv, Catalyst Balkans, Responsible Business Forum, Serbian Philanthropic Forum and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
