3Bank organised the “Heroes of Micro Business” contest to promote and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in Serbia, with an emphasis on micro-businesses. The initiative aims to support entrepreneurship and self-employment as a way to reduce unemployment
As a bank that itself is a kind of banking startup, 3Bank understands well the needs of business beginners. They are proud that 20% of their portfolio consists of entrepreneurs who have been in business for less than 24 months and who are usually “invisible” to traditional banks.
With the idea of supporting microentrepreneurs in Serbia to prevent unemployment, the bank launched the “Heroes of Micro Business” competition. The initiative aims to help achieve the bank’s goal of stimulating the development of entrepreneurship and thus contribute to creating new jobs and reducing unemployment, with an emphasis on micro-enterprises.
The contest was organised in partnership with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance, which recognised 3Bank’s efforts to provide financial services to micro and small entrepreneurs who are often invisible to traditional banking.
Small is the new big
Among the 100 candidates participating in the contest, the finalists were chosen based on different criteria, which included the following: a maximum of five employees per entrepreneur, creating jobs, involving family members in the work, and changing the quality of life for the family and the entrepreneur by starting the business.
The first prize winner was Mladomirka Vučićević, a seamstress from Novi Pazar and a single mother of three sons who started her business after losing a job. She is planning to retire and leave the business to her son, thus this award represents a peak of her working life.
Mirna Rackov won the second prize. Failing to find a job, she decided to start her own business making shoes for cultural and ethnic dancing associations. She is the only woman in this business branch in Serbia.
Marina and Goran won the third-place prize. They started their business with big dreams and 17 euros in their pockets. The first shoes were made from leftover leather from a nearby factory, and today they produce shoes for an Italian company.
Vladimir Vukotić, Chairman of Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, 3Bank:
“Once again, we awarded the smallest businesses, with a maximum of 5 employees that rarely get any attention. We wanted to encourage the smallest entrepreneurs, who did not look for getting a job at somebody else’s company, but had faith in themselves, took life into their own hands and created their own business, as well as livelihood for their family. In this way, we want to strengthen entrepreneurship and support self-employment.”
Proud of supporting micro business
In accordance with its mission and values, 3Bank pursues to make each of its products and services a response to some of the challenges of the community in which they operate. The bank itself started as a banking startup; therefore, the management understands how difficult it is to start a business, especially in times when financial support is needed the most but difficult to access due to the high risks that financing of startups carries.
3Bank strives to promote self-employment and support clients in developing their own businesses. So far, the bank has helped sustain over 300,000 jobs and create close to 70,000 jobs, contributing to the community and its development. According to the National Credit Bureau, every second farmer and every third entrepreneur using a loan in Serbia is a client of 3Bank.
