Title: From an Idea to an Authentic Brand That Wins Markets

From the classroom to the workshop—the story of the "Vera Leather" enterprise from Niš shows how knowledge, courage and family support can grow into a successful business. Milica Mitić, a biology teacher, turned her vision into a brand of handmade leather products. As she says, the turning point in business was the support of the European Union through the EU PRO Plus programme, when with the EU grant of almost 22,000 euros she acquired new equipment and improved production, increased competitiveness and continued stable growth.

Watch Milica's story about entrepreneurial ability and how timely support can accelerate development here

This initiative was part of a broader effort by the EU PRO Plus programme to strengthen local economic development through backing of micro and small enterprises local self-governments across Šumadija and Western Serbia, and Southern and Eastern Serbia. The Public Call for Proposals for Procurement of Equipment and Introduction of Services for Entrepreneurs, Micro, and Small Enterprises resulted in 113 projects (out of 610 applications received) with a total value of 3,564,397 Euros. The EU provided 2,731,787 Euros to support enterprises focused on production and services, including information technology, architectural and engineering activities, health and social care, tourism, and maintenance and repair services. The initiative included job creation proportional to grant size and corporate social responsibility benefiting local communities.