Awarded NALED Arrows to Oliver Šarov and Nataša Radović
Oliver Šarov, Economic Adviser at the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, and Nataša Radović, Deputy Programme Director at the British Embassy in Serbia, are the recipients of the 2025 NALED Arrow Award. The awards were presented by Dušan Vasiljević, Director for Competitiveness and Investments at NALED, and Jelena Bojović, Program Director at NALED, in the presence of NALED members and partners, as well as Serbia's Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, and NALED’s Executive Director, Violeta Jovanović.
The NALED Arrow Award is a special recognition presented annually to key international partners for their contribution to improving Serbia’s business environment through collaboration with NALED.
Oliver Šarov has been actively supporting reform processes in Serbia for a decade. Through his role in the British and Dutch embassies, and today through EU institutions, he continuously helps Serbia on its European path, persistently encouraging public-private dialogue and initiatives that make institutions more responsible and the economy more competitive.He made a strong contribution to the improvement of Serbia's position on the World Bank list, as well as the implementation of investment reforms that placed Serbia among the top 10 countries in the world. His contribution to the implementation of the reform of inspection supervision through the project of improving the cooperation of inspections and misdemeanor courts is also of great importance. He also contributed to the definition of concrete measures for the Reform Agenda of the Republic of Serbia, which is part of the growth plan for the Western Balkans, as well as when working on the parafiscal reform, i.e. the electronic payment of all taxes and fees, which will introduce full transparency and predictability of all non-tax levies for citizens and the economy in Serbia.
Nataša Radović has made an invaluable contribution to the development of small businesses, digital transformation, and sustainable change in Serbia in recent years. Her efforts have led to major advancements for small enterprises – from the creation of the Small Business Info Hub, now used by 330,000 entrepreneurs, to the establishment of the Council for Small Businesses and the launch of grant programs for women entrepreneurs. Her commitment helped transform the “Strong and Important” project into a long-term initiative with a lasting impact on the position of women in business. She also played a key role in integrating Serbia into the European biotech community, facilitating lasting connections between Serbian and British scientific institutions, including prestigious names like Oxford, Imperial College London, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and AstraZeneca’s global R&D center. As a pioneer in Serbia’s digital transformation, she worked with NALED to help build a paperless public administration.
The NALED Arrow Awards once again underscore the importance of international cooperation in driving reforms that bring tangible benefits to citizens and businesses – from a more transparent tax system to support for women’s entrepreneurship and closer ties with leading European scientific institutions. Through the examples of Oliver Šarov and Nataša Radović, it is evident how strategic partnerships and consistent engagement can contribute to creating a more competitive and sustainable business environment in Serbia.
