Following a meeting between representatives of the citizens' association “Mikro Mreža” and the City Administration of Gradiška, city officials stated that they would support the Association’s initiative aimed at helping young people in rural areas of Gradiška start their own businesses.
The Head of the Development Department in the City Administration of Gradiška, Darko Vrhovac, emphasized that Gradiška has recognized the potential its citizens have when it comes to entrepreneurship, and accordingly, has been supporting projects that encourage the development of entrepreneurship and the launch of private businesses for years. “We continuously invest in the development of entrepreneurship in the Gradiška area, as shown by the data indicating that through international projects and our own funds, we have supported 40 projects related to starting private businesses. We have recognized the need to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in society as the best way to retain young people in our local community”, Vrhovac said.
In line with this, Vrhovac emphasized that the idea of the citizens’ association “Mikro Mreža”, which focuses on supporting young people in the rural areas of Gradiška, represents a kind of extension of their vision. This vision will be supported by the City Administration, as the 2025 Entrepreneurship Support Program has been designed broadly enough to include rural youth through its regulatory framework, stated Slavko Mekinjić, Head of the Department for Economy and Social Affairs. He added: “Considering new trends and the growing desire - not only among young people but among all members of our community - to start their own businesses, we adopted the Entrepreneurship Support Program for this year at the end of last year. It was intentionally designed with a broad scope so that young people in rural areas can also benefit from specific funds that the City will allocate directly to them.”
Mekinjić also cited an example where larger companies, during a session of the City’s Economic Council, stated that small grants mean little to them and should instead be directed toward those who are just starting their businesses - individuals who could potentially become their subcontractors in the future. This example served as a strong argument for the representatives of the citizens' association “Mikro Mreža”, who initiated the idea of supporting young people in rural areas. “For us, all the information we received from the City is a great encouragement, as it will allow us to further focus our campaign on young people - first to help them prepare their business ideas, and then to explain how they can apply for funding. We’d also like to add that we’ve had many positive experiences in our communication with local community representatives through meetings held in Nova Topola and Gornji Podgradci, where several young people came forward with ideas for starting their own businesses”, stated representatives of the NGO “Mikro Mreža”.
In conclusion of yesterday’s meeting, the next steps were defined, including meetings with young people in the two largest local communities within the Gradiška area, as well as the creation of questionnaires and brochures. All of these efforts aim to present programs through which young people from the rural parts of the city on the Sava River can access support for developing their own businesses.
