The two-day Bootcamp, held on 3 and 4 November at the OTP Bankin Belgrade, marked the completion of this year’s TRANSFORMATOR 2026 programme, which brought together 20 businesses that received scholarship, associations and organisations from Serbia and Montenegro. Following two months of intensive work, learning, knowledge exchange and mentoring support, all participants successfully completed the programme and received certificates.
TRANSFORMATOR 2026 was implemented by Smart Kolektiv as part of the Sustainability Academy, in partnership with Social Innovation Solutions from Romania and the Montenegrin Employers Federation (UPCG) – the programme’s partner in Montenegro. The programme is part of the regional Sustainable Futures initiative, launched with the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation.
This year’s programme included five online sessions, two two-day Bootcamps in Belgrade, work on individual sustainable transformation plans, consultations and mentoring support from experts in various fields.
During the five online sessions, participants had the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and explore different aspects of sustainable business practices. Through practical exercises and knowledge exchange, they also worked on identifying opportunities to improve their organisations and developing concrete sustainable transformation plans.
A special part of the programme consisted of the Bootcamp sessions, during which participants further developed their plans, exchanged experiences and worked with experts from the business and civil society sectors. Through mentoring and individual consultations, they had the opportunity to look at their organisations from different perspectives and receive practical recommendations for their next steps.
Final Bootcamp: Presenting Plans and Receiving Mentoring Support
The second Bootcamp was opened by Lazar Tasić, Programme Coordinator at Smart Kolektiv, who welcomed the participants and thanked them for their hard work and commitment over the previous two months. Ivana Stančić, Programme Director at Smart Kolektiv, expressed her satisfaction that another generation of businesses and organisations had successfully embarked on the process of transforming their operations towards greater sustainability.
Participants were also welcomed by Đorđo Borović, Head of Business Development at the Montenegrin Employers Federation, who particularly emphasised the importance of regional networking among small and medium-sized enterprises, noting that this was the first year the programme had included participants from Montenegro.
On the first day of the Bootcamp, participants presented their sustainable transformation plans, followed by individual mentoring sessions with members of the Personal Advisory Board. The mentoring continued on the second day, giving participants an additional opportunity to consider proposed solutions, refine their plans and receive guidance on their implementation. They also presented ideas for sustainable solutions and business improvements that they had developed throughout the programme.
The Personal Advisory Board brought together experts with many years of experience in various fields, who shared their knowledge and expertise with the participants: Neven Marinović (Smart Kolektiv and the Responsible Business Forum), Ivana Stančić (Smart Kolektiv), Svetlana Damnjanović (Smart Kolektiv), Andrei Georgescu (Social Innovation Solutions), Milica Babić (OTP Bank), Zvezdana Vuletić (Coca-Cola HBC Serbia), Đorđo Borović (Montenegrin Employers Federation), Ivan Janković (Coca-Cola HBC Serbia), Miodrag Vujković (inovacije.me), Dario Bratić (Digital Control), Sanja Knežević Mitrović (NALED), Lazar Mihajlo Bodić (OTP Bank), Vladimir Jovanović (SME Support), Nevena Nenadović (Rudnik Mine and Flotation), Marina Mijatović (AngryLynx), Marko Gogić (AngryLynx), Ana Todorović (Chocollama), Aleksandra Voštinić (SDPS), Marija Zeljić (Mlekara Kruna) and Lidija Zelić (Biogas).
At the end of the Bootcamp, Neven Marinović, Director of Smart Kolektiv and the Responsible Business Forum, presented certificates of appreciation to the mentors, while Svetlana Damnjanović, Sustainability Expert, awarded certificates to all participants for successfully completing the programme.
Twenty Organisations with Concrete Plans for a More Sustainable Future
Certificates were awarded to representatives of all 20 grant-supported businesses and organisations that took part in the programme: Domaćinstvo Bojat – Iza sedam gora, Avlija održivog razvoja, Udruženje Down Kragujevac, European Movement in Serbia – Leskovac, Liderka – Biz Bloom Plan, EkoValovi – Bleja runologija, Zvuci srca Subotica, Kockica eco toys, Banka hrane Vojvodina, Kings Park Hotel, EcoEnergy Consulting, Karisma Hotels Adriatic Montenegro, Razvojni biznis centar Kragujevac, Somborske šnajderke, ADAM studio, Takumi produkcija, Centar Zvezda, Kutak – prostor za edukaciju, Radanska ruža and Svetionik u plavom.
The final Bootcamp was brought to a close by Andrei Georgescu, Head of International Programmes at Social Innovation Solutions from Romania, who announced the next opportunity for participants: a regional closing event to be held in Bucharest on 3 and 4 December.
Next Stop: Bucharest and a Regional Competition for a €5,000 Grant
Following the completion of the programme, the best ideas will be selected for the opportunity to take part in the regional event in Bucharest. Selected participants will travel to Romania, where they will compete with TRANSFORMATOR programme participants from other countries in the region for the title of best idea and a €5,000 grant to support its implementation.
This year’s programme has once again demonstrated the importance of knowledge exchange, mentoring support and networking in developing more sustainable business models and strengthening organisations that are committed to improving their operations and contributing to positive change in their communities.
Photo: Jana Marinović
