Valjevo gets a digital map of traditional small businesses
A digital map with walking and hiking trails in Serbia will be available to all residents and tourists by the time the summer season starts, and special attention is drawn to the locations of small businesses in the Valjevo Mountains that offer a wide range of traditional products and souvenirs.
The idea was created as part of the "Trails of Serbia" project, in order to promote hiking, mountaineering and staying in nature, and empowering small and micro entrepreneurs in the trail area, with special emphasis on the development of women's entrepreneurship in the Valjevo Mountains, said the Resident Representative of United Nations for Development Program in Serbia Francine Pickup.
- UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, the City of Valjevo, the municipal tourism organization and Ethno Network, organized training for entrepreneurs engaged in handicrafts, to acquire skills of online trade and marketing, as well as packaging and branding their products. All participants in the course are masters in traditional skills and crafts such as embroidery, knitting and entertainment, combining them with fashion and design to turn their passion and hobbies into business opportunities, and newly acquired skills will help them be more visible and present in the modern market - said Pickup.
In the previous period, entrepreneurs and owners of micro companies from Valjevo also had the opportunity to modernize their business through the project "Small Business Informer" and receive expert support in the field of online shopping, cashless payment, business registration on Google maps and fiscalization. The project is being implemented by NALED, with the support of the British Embassy and in partnership with the Prime Minister’s Cabinet and the Ministries of Economy and Finance.
- Small and micro businesses are often the least visible part of the economy, even though they are often the foundation of community development, so we are glad that this project is helpful for them. It is important that today everyone has equal opportunities to learn new skills of using technology, and the British Embassy pays special attention to investing in their development - says the Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Serbia, Dominic Otway.
Violeta Jovanović, NALED Executive Director and President of the Ethno Network, points out that the support of the British Embassy in Valjevo, Novi Sad, Nis, Kruševac and Kragujevac helped businesses in developing electronic services and opening new markets through online sales.
- Our research has shown that almost half of small businesses have already placed their business on Google maps, about 60% pay their bills electronically, and more than a third keep documentation in electronic form. That is why we are glad that we can provide support in digitalization to women who are engaged in handicrafts, and Ethno Network will continue to provide support in the field of training and creating new opportunities for their employment - Jovanovic emphasized.
