Belgrade, June 4, 2026. — The Twelfth Social Innovation Forum brought together experts from the Western Balkans and the European Union to explore the opportunities for impact investing, the barriers to the development of social enterprises, cooperatives, and enterprises with social impact, as well as the transformative role of sustainability in business across the region.
“In Serbia, a new Law on Social Entrepreneurship was adopted in 2022. The next step is to fully operationalise the framework, including through supportive rules on procurement, taxation and social policy. The EU is backing this process through pilot initiatives such as Resilient Communities Project or Invest for Change, implemented with Impact Europe and Smart Kolektiv, and we hope to see these initiatives gather the support across the business and donor community. Investing in impact-driven businesses means investing in people, jobs and communities—here in Serbia and across the Western Balkans, and the EU will continue to be partner in such initiatives.”, stated Pasquale De Micco, Head of the European Integration and Economic Section, EU Delegation to Serbia
“The adoption of the Law on Social Entrepreneurship was an important step forward for Serbia. However, concrete national support measures are also needed to foster the development of the sector. We also advocate for stronger cooperation with companies and local governments through public procurement, the inclusion of social enterprises in supply chains, and partnerships that create long-term value for both communities and the economy,” said Violeta Jovanović, Executive Director of NALED.
Through a series of panels, new avenues for further development were presented, from the establishment of resource centers to support social entrepreneurship and grants and non-financial support for social enterprises, to stronger corporate engagement and capacity building of local governments to develop local support programs.
Smart Kolektiv will, over the course of this and the following year, develop in collaboration with Impact Europe and with the support of the European Union, an innovative blended finance mechanism through which social enterprises will be supported with grants totalling 300,000 euros. The Sidro Foundation will also participate in the development of this mechanism, having secured an additional 300,000 euros for impact investments through the partnership.
As a good practice example, the City of Kragujevac was presented, having adopted a Support Program for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Economy, through which 10 million dinars will be made available over the next three years for the development of social entrepreneurship.
The conference also featured activities related to the development of a social enterprise database, which NALED and Smart Kolektiv are building with support from the Government of Sweden. Through a digital platform, the database will enable greater visibility for social enterprises and easier connections with the corporate sector.
Results were also presented from trainings of regional development agencies and chambers of commerce, delivered by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management with support from German development cooperation through KfW. These institutions now have enhanced capacities to provide higher-quality support for social enterprise development.
The conference also highlighted the transformative role of sustainability and resilience in business across the region through the “Transformator” and “Sustainability Academy” programs implemented by Social Innovation Solutions from Romania with regional partners. During the conference, a Declaration of Support for Social Enterprises was signed by prominent companies, and awards were presented to companies and local governments for their contribution to the development of social entrepreneurship.
Alongside the substantive conference program at the Czech House, a social enterprise fair was organized, as well as a presentation of the Buy Social catalog of products and services of social enterprises intended for event and conference organizers.
This year’s 12th Social Innovation Forum (SIF) is organized by Smart Kolektiv within the Invest for Change project, implemented by Impact Europe and partners from the Western Balkans with the support of the European Union. The SIF is traditionally organized in cooperation with the Responsible Business Forum and this year it is also supported by the Sidro Foundation, as well as the project “Enhancing competitiveness through more effective public procurement and sustainable supply chains” implemented by NALED with the support of the Government of Sweden. Support for this year’s SIF is also provided by the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, German development cooperation through KfW and Social Innovation Solutions.
