Archives: Актуелности

Every year, fDi Intelligence analyzes and ranks the European cities and regions of the future, and on this year’s list, published in February, both the Niš region and Niš found their place.

Foreign Direct Investments – FDI are investments in the form of controlling ownership in a company, real estate, or production assets such as factories in one country by an entity based in another country. This is one of the most important criteria by which fDi Intelligence compares the cities and regions of the future.

In 2023, as many as 370 European cities divided by population into five groups – very large, large, medium, small, and micro cities – were analyzed, as well as 148 European regions divided into three groups – large, medium, and small regions. All cities and regions were ranked according to the performance in five subcategories: economic potential, suitability for entrepreneurship, connectivity, human capital and lifestyle, and profitability.

The city of Niš is in the category of small cities, which have from 100,000 to 350,000 inhabitants. According to the criterion of profitability of investments and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), Niš took the fourth place on the list, and ahead of it are Ruse and Burgas, Bulgarian cities, as well as Kragujevac. This means that the Republic of Serbia takes the second and fourth place on the top 5 list of small cities of the future in which investment pays off the most.

According to the criterion of the strategy for attracting foreign investors, the Niš region is in eighth place on the list. This region belongs to the category of small regions of Europe, with less than 1.5 million inhabitants. In the list that ranks regions according to the strategy for attracting investors, our region was ahead of the Upper Austria region, and the regions from Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were ranked higher.

Activities that are undertaken in the context of entrepreneurship and scientific and technological development, both at the national level and at the level of STP Niš, the possibility that Niš and our region will be ranked in even better positions in the future is becoming more and more probable.

The Local Foundation Niš (LFN), in partnership with STP Niš and with the support of the Trag Foundation, opened the fourth Contest in a row, where a total of 6,000 Euros is available to formal and informal groups of citizens for the realization of creative ideas in Niš. The largest part of the money available was secured at the auction that took place at the celebration of the Science and Technology Park Niš’s two years of operation.

LFN has supported 29 citizens’ initiatives with previous contests, and with this contest, it wants to provide support to neighbors, active Niš residents, and all those who want to positively influence their street, neighborhood, village, and city. This public call will support initiatives that contribute to the development of Niš and increase the quality of life in the community, such as initiatives in the field of investment in education, support for culture and art, improvement of public spaces, and development of sports.

The amount of funds allocated ranges from a minimum of 50,000 dinars to a maximum of 150,000 dinars per idea. A minimum of six citizen initiatives from the territory of all five city municipalities in Niš will receive support.

The united citizens recognize the needs of their communities the best, in the smallest local units, settlements, neighborhoods, streets, and yards. The competition of the Local Foundation Niš opens up space for various projects that contribute to the development of our environment.

The support is intended for registered citizens’ associations and informal groups* that:

• Drive and actively involve citizens in their activities
• Represent the general interests of their community
• Operate on the territory of the City of Niš (all five city municipalities)

*by “informal groups” we mean groups of at least three people which are gathered around solving problems in the local community and are not formally registered.

You can submit your idea by filling out the LFN form, which you can download here and send to info@fondacijanis.rs no later than March 20 at 11:59 p.m.

You can find all additional information on the Local Foundation Niš website.

The development of innovations, as well as the improvement of IT technologies and the technology development sector, is becoming a very important issue in the Southern and Eastern Serbia Region.

It is precisely for this reason that the director of the Science and Technology Park Niš, Milan Ranđelović, PhD, met with the mayor of Leskovac, Goran Cvetanović. The most important topic of the meeting was the launch of a startup center in Leskovac that would provide support to young innovators in this city and its surroundings.

The regional startup center in Leskovac would support innovation, offer professional services to companies and scientific research and innovation organizations in order to network them in the best possible way. Such a center would enable the rapid application of new technologies, the creation and placement of new products and services on the market, and it would also be an excellent way to improve the municipality of Leskovac.

The meeting was also attended by the dean of the Faculty of Technology in Leskovac, prof. Dr. Dragiša Savić, and directors of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Niš Aleksandar Milićević and the Regional Chamber of Commerce Leskovac Goran Jović.

Under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the embassies of Denmark, Finland, Norway ,and Sweden, and in partnership with the Science and Technology Park Niš, on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at STP Niš from 11:00 a.m., the “Nordic – Serbian Partnership for Green Business and Industrial Processes” conference will be held.

The upcoming conference is the fourth and last in a series of events, and is organized under the auspices of the Embassy of Finland and in partnership with the Science and Technology Park Niš. The focus of the conference is on green and sustainable business and on the transfer of the experience on how to improve production processes, incorporate the principles of circular economy, digitalize business, and at the same time increase productivity and efficiency and consume fewer resources.

For years now, the Nordic countries have been striving to transfer their experiences and best practices to others, and through two panel discussions you will have the opportunity to hear more about the Green transition and trends – Nordic experiences and local practices, and there will also be more talks on the topic of Green business – Finland’s experiences and local practices.

Location: STP Niš, Conference Hall
Date: February 2, 2023
Time: 11:00

At the panel “Ideas of the Little, Experience of the Big: How Corporations and Startups Cooperate” – a StarTech program implemented by NALED in partnership with the Government of Serbia and with the support of the Science and Technology Park Niš, a number of important questions about startups and their current position were raised, such as and the direction in which they are moving.

The biggest challenge that startups face is the struggle on the market, and the panelists shared with us how large companies can involve small ones and provide them with the necessary support. Through this cooperation, innovators get the opportunity to learn, develop their business models, and spread their knowledge and experience, but also a very important network of contacts. In addition, space is provided for applying innovations in solving numerous challenges in business.

“Small companies, that is, startups that are only starting, need big companies, not only to learn from their experience, but also to place their products on the market,” said Irena Đorđević from NALED.

Panelists Janko Pavlović, director of Digital Works, and Ivan Stanković, director of Syncit Group, shared their experiences on the importance of support and networking with large companies locally and nationally, as well as internationally.

By accepting new, young ideas and supporting startup entrepreneurship, innovation development and the development of the entire ecosystem is inevitable.