The Government of the Republic of Serbia has adopted the Decree establishing the Programme for Incentivising Entrepreneurship Development through Financial Support for Business Beginners and Young Entrepreneurs in 2025 (hereinafter: the “Programme”), with the aim of strengthening the sustainability and growth of micro and small enterprises in the early stages of their business operations. The Programme introduces a combined model of state support, consisting of non-refundable grants (de minimis aid) and credit support provided by the Development Fund, with clearly defined eligibility criteria, permitted purposes, and applicable limitations.
Eligible beneficiaries:
- Business beginners – entities registered with the Serbian Business Registers Agency (hereinafter: the “SBRA”) as of 1 January 2023;
- Young entrepreneurs – entities registered with the SBRA as of 1 January 2020, whose founders/representatives are natural persons aged up to 35, holding at least 51% ownership, with the requirement that at least one founder is employed on a permanent basis in the respective entity.
The founder must be a natural person, and both the applicant and its related parties must have a clean tax record and must not exceed the EUR 300,000 de minimis threshold in the current and previous two fiscal years.
The total amount of support that may be approved per project ranges from RSD 400,000 to RSD 6,000,000, or up to RSD 3,000,000 for certain service-based activities with lower initial costs.
The maximum share of non-refundable funds amounts to:
- for business beginners: up to 30%, or up to 40% for entities located in local self-government units classified in development groups III and IV;
- for young entrepreneurs: up to 40%, or up to 50% for entities located in development groups III and IV.
The remaining amount is financed through a loan provided by the Development Fund, with a repayment period of up to five years, including a grace period of up to one year.
Funds may be used for:
- the purchase of new or used equipment, tools, machinery, IT equipment, software licences, and delivery vehicles (used equipment must not exceed five years of age and must be supported by prescribed documentation);
- current maintenance or adaptation of business/production premises – up to RSD 1,500,000;
- operating expenses – up to 20% of the total project value.
The Programme may not be used to finance certain activities, including agriculture, mining, energy, financial services, real estate activities, most wholesale/retail activities, legal services, games of chance, arms production, and other areas expressly listed in the Programme.
Funding is also not permitted for costs incurred prior to the submission of the application, nor for projects that do not contribute to the objectives of the Programme.
Application procedure:
- The Ministry of Economy publishes the public call on its website and the website of the Development Fund.
- Applications are submitted exclusively electronically, using a unified application form combining the request for grant funds and the request for a loan.
- The public call remains open until the total amount of requested non-refundable funds exceeds the available budget by 35%, but no later than 30 April 2026.
- The key formal eligibility requirements for applicants are set out in Article 6 of the Programme, including conditions relating to the applicant’s financial and legal standing, documentation accompanying the application, limitations related to state aid rules (de minimis), and other mandatory criteria that must be met in order to qualify for non-refundable funds.
For additional information or consultations, the Tasić & Partners team is at your disposal.