Social Enterprises in Belgrade: Fighting Stigmas and Filling the Gaps of Dysfunctional Social Support Systems...

In the beginning of April I was a part of an international group of active people (NGO activists, highschool students, future social entrepreneurs) from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Czech Republic that met in Belgrade for a study visit to get a peek into the scene of social enterprises in Serbia. In just one day we had a chance to visit and speak to three different social entrepreneurs each having their strong and noble missions to change things in their communities and especially for their target groups. We spoke to the representatives of association 'Naša Kuća', and NGOs 'Atina' and 'Center for Youth Integration' that run socially entrepreneurial entities. Since the law on social enterprises in Serbia came to being literally just now (yet with no tax discounts as such) these entities take a form of limited liability companies and other business forms. Despite all sorts of limitations and challenges we evidenced that the world is still full of good people that work hard and find ways to make this world a better place...

Every individual matters...

Our morning started with a ride to Belgrade's distict Mirijevo to visit the association 'Naša Kuća' and the social enterprises they run, i.e. 'Kuhinja Na Točkovima' (Kitchen on Wheels) catering and delivery service, and their paper recycling workshop (they use cigarette packaging as the main resource of recycled paper products they make, but not exclusively), yet they also run a packaging assembling workshop and a hydro-phonic (vertical) farm for growing micro-greens. As we found out, the association 'Naša Kuća' (Our House) is a parents' association with children with mental and physical disabilities and  'every activity is implemented with an aim to help and provide meaningful life and work experiences to these youngsters and adults, so that they can take care of themselves and be valued individuals in the society, when their parents are not around anymore', the founder Anica Spasov told us. Also, the best way to explain such a versatile profile of activities is that the main focus is and has always been on finding activities that the target group enjoys and likes to do. Yet, it is also about fighting strongly ingrained stigmas and biases in society in regard to the work potential  and value of people with disabilities. 

For that matter, when Kuhinja Na Točkovima' catering and their packaging assembling workshop started their activities, they hid the fact that the meals are prepared and delivered and packaging is assembled by the people with disabilities. Throughout the years of activity, the association has built an extensive network of customers, suppliers and other local and international businesses and insititutions. As for example, at the paper recycling workshop they continue to experiment with different materials in creating new and durable paper products (like hemp, coffee) in cooperation with Techincal University of Belgrade. We've seen some great examples of coloring books for kids, invitations, greeting cards, promotion posters, flyers, you name it. Also, some amazing discoveries have happened on the way, as for example they came up with their own unique 'Choko Šljiva' - dried plum cookie and other delicious organic sweets that they produce and deliver to different events. We were also lucky to try these sweets!

The financial viability of these entrepreneurial activities are based mainly on the aforementioned strong cross-sectoral and international networks that the association has built over the years and the on-going cooperation with different actors from private, public and civic sectors. They are not in the direct market right now, yet they make it all happen, because the products they produce are high quality and valued highly by their customers.

The very first BAGELS in Belgrade

The second place we visited was an NGO 'Atina' that runs a social enterprise 'Bagel Bejgl'. The NGO itself works with women who suffered from human trafficking. Their work includes providing long-term support and assistance (social, psychological, legal) to young women that have managed to escape this horrid reality, and also advocating for changes on a policy level to create safer and better communities for these women.

So how did it all start? Social enterprise 'Bagel Bejgl' was created in 2015 with an aim to provide women that suffered from human trafficking a safe work environment and a valuable and paid work experience and vocational training (sadly majority of these young women have never had a real work experience) as part of building their confidence and capacities, learning different practical skills that can be further offered in the labour market, being a part of a community and feeling safe in it. The social enterprise has a small cafe and does catering orders for different events and customers. The interesting thing is that the majority of customers do not know about the human trafficking aspect, so they buy the product because of it's quality. Coming up with a product was an adventure in itself - BAGELS! Apparently there were no bagels sold anywhere in Belgrade. So the 'Atina' team explored the product from A to Z - downloaded all available recipes on the Internet and started testing them all. The testing went on for 6 months and a final product was born - with many delicious varieties of it. Initially, the team also wanted to have their product made and offered in the posh end of the city, yet it did not work out, and it turned out to be lucky for them - they saved a significant amount of money on rent, and there 'has been more space for making mistakes while learning', the founder and director Maja Savić told us.

Right now, the enterprise has 5 permanent employees, and 15 part-time workers. The enterprise fully sustains itself financially, and thanks to the reserves they made before Covid-related lockdowns, they were able to pay wages (that were not reduced in any way) to their employees and keep them employed. It is quite an admirable fact, knowing that many traditional businesses did the opposite during the pandemic. Also, the enterprise provides on the job training courses to women to improve their employability - basic and more advanced, depending on the individual needs and interests of the women they work with.

We all have the right to change our lives for the better, don't we?

After a nice 10 minute walk in the area we arrived at a small, yet quite a hip cafe with a pleasant and an easy-going vibe - 'KafeBar16' to have a little refreshment after a busy day. Yet it's not just a random cafe, but a social enterprise! The cafe is run by NGO 'Center for Youth Integration' that works with kids from the streets (90% of them being Roma kids). Kids that live on the streets experience the whole bouquet of disadvantageous circumnstances - coming from not well-functioning families, being economically vulnerable, low-educated, frequently having or being exposed to issues with drugs, prostitution, alcohol, crime, you name it. The NGO runs two shelters where kids can have free meals, do their laundry, ask for assistance in doing school work and other support, 'yet these services are available only up to 16 years of age, after that these youngsters are left to their own devices', as the manager of the NGO Dušan Jordović told us. Respectively, the main reason for creating a social enterprise was to try to fill this gap - by providing youngsters (motivated to change their current life circumstances) an opportunity to be trained as waiters and/or bartenders and gain their first official and paid employment. For that matter, The 'KafeBar16' offers 6 month vocational training program (and employment) and further assists them in finding new employment in other businesses within the hospitality industry. The enterprise already has 70 graduates and half of the graduates have found jobs and are working in hospitality industry elsewhere. Although stigma around Roma people and discrimination related to is quite strong in Serbia (and let's be honest, other countries are not doing any better), yet here is one inspiring example of an entrepreneurial endeavour that gives hope for these people to have a decent life and to be in control of what it consists of...