NALED time line 2006 2007 2008 March July January The National Alliance NALED Managing NALED positioned for Local Economic Board held its first itself as a leader in Development was cre- constitutional meet- promoting public- ated within USAID’s ing. The project port- private dialogue and municipal support folio was defined. The cooperation. It moved program. Its first steps Certification Program to its own premises in were supported by the for business-friendly the centre of Belgrade, President of Serbia municipalities was becoming self-sustain- and the U.S. Ambas- launched. able and independent. sador. June Eight months before the Comprehensive Regulatory Reform NALED initiated its “Out of the Maze” campaign for cut- ting the red tape, and started preparing the first Grey Book of procedures. 2009 2010 TODAY December September NALED The “Top Reformer” 32 local governments in is one of the most award was established Serbia have improved influential associations, to recognize most their business envi- introducing standards active representatives ronment through the into the work of public of the public adminis- NALED certification administration and tration, as viewed by program. Billboards stimulating changes at NALED members and promoting investments the local and national broader public. The to Serbia have seen level in accordance with first awarded minister the light of the day at the requirements of a was Mlađan Dinkić. Belgrade airport. competitive economy. November Pilot-project Calcula- tor was launched – a unique on-line appli- cation for calculating and comparing costs of doing business in Serbian municipalities. Contents 7 WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT 8 NALED IN NUMBERS 9 EXECUTIVE OFFICE REPORT 11 WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED TOGETHER 12 Investment promotion and business support 24 Business guided policy reforms 29 Municipal capacity building 37 CaPACITIES OF THE ALLIANCE 38 Organizational structure 41 Sources of financing 43 Financial results 45 NALED membership 47 NALED partners 49 COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING 50 Media presence 52 Communication strategy he year 2010 was a challenge to the natio- We have promoted the implementation of legal re- Word from the nal economy and to all of us who do our best forms with active participation of the business sector. president to stimulate its growth. Serbia has officially Upon our initiative the Government has fully or par- Tcome out of a period of recession quicker than most tly implemented 16 recommendations from the Grey of its neighbors, with a mild increase in exports and Book aimed at simplifying bureaucratic procedures, overall economic activity. resulting in multimillion worth savings to the natio- This has slightly opened the door to optimism whi- nal economy. We have advocated the establishment ch is a necessary element for success not only in the of a legal framework in the field of public-private economy but in all other spheres of life as well. Howe- partnerships through public debates with decision ver, this alone will not be sufficient for a genuine re- makers, experts, domestic and foreign investors. We covery and overcoming the crisis. When it comes to have pointed out the problems businesses face when competitiveness, Serbia’s economy is still lagging be- calculating local taxes and fees and offered a soluti- hind the majority of countries in the region according on in a form of an on-line Calculator that computes to reports and rankings by international institutions. and compares signage and land usage fees in 20 local If we take a look at what’s behind such ranking, we governments. We have launched a unique investment shall see that inefficient administration, corruption promotion campaign at the airport that has drawn and political instability are provoking the majority huge attention from foreign and domestic investors, of criticism. Maybe this is not such a bad thing after improving Serbia’s image as an investment destina- all – at least we know that the faith of our economy tion. We have contributed to a better business envi- is in our hands. ronment in 32 local governments in Serbia through We in NALED see the enhancement of Serbia’s the Business Friendly Certification Program. These competitiveness as the common goal which unites all are just some of our successful initiatives. the activities of our Alliance. Boosting competitivene- Finally, when we look back at 2010, we in NALED ss is not only a priority for the businesses, but also for may be very satisfied with what we have accomplished. every state institution, local government, the entire We believe that we have assisted many entrepreneurs, education system and the non-governmental sector, businesses and local governments to get through the as they can all contribute to and benefit from a more year behind us, and expect that we will have some competitive economy. more success stories to share in the years to come. In order to have an economic recovery and growth we will definitely need new foreign investments and incre- ased exports, things which will not be achieved without introducing a sustainable and stimulating business en- vironment and lessening the administrative pressure on the economy. The NALED Managing Board focused exactly on these issues when defining the Alliance’s stra- Vladimir Čupić, tegic orientation and activities in 2010. President, NALED Managing Board NALED in numbers 128 NALED members including successful businesses, local governments and NGOs work together on removing the barriers for economic growth in Serbia 20 Government institutions, international development agen- cies and associations support NALED efforts and goals 32 local governments have improved their business environ- ment through the NALED certification program 16 partly or completely implemented Grey Book recommen- dations have brought multimillion savings to the economy 225 thousand national and foreign passengers have seen the in- vestment promotion campaign at the airport 33 conferences and round tables with ministers, ambassadors and investors gathered around 2,400 visitors 9 workshops and two study tours have strengthened internal capacities in 19 local governments 130 thousand visits to the company web-site and its Database of available funds and Legislative tracking system proved NALED to be a reliable source of information 518 media announcements and 22 TV appearances ensured high visibility and influence of the organization espite the crisis, in 2010 NALED has membership in the realization of all events. Executive Office achieved growth in all fields. Thirty new Program activities of the organization respond to report members, the doubling of the budget and the common ideas and needs of our membership. Da growing support of institutions and international In order to ensure their efficient realization we have organizations prove that we have justified the trust obtained additional funding from leading donors of our members and partners and have built strong operating in Serbia such as USAID, GIZ, CIDA, foundations for future endeavors all in accordance the Open Society Fund, LEDIB and others. By se- with the priorities of the municipalities, the econo- curing donor funds and international support, NA- my and the citizens gathered in NALED. LED is in the position to successfully implement In order to strengthen the capacities of the or- economic growth programs, offering additional ganization, NALED has expanded the Executive value to its members. Office by engaging new expert staff and renting The crown of our activities is high visibility and additional office space equipped with the support media attention – over 500 media announcements of USAID. NALED staff is now including highly were made during 2010 as a result of a well prepa- qualified foreign experts engaged with the support red marketing approach and a synergy of activities of the German embassy and CIM centre, as well as of all members. newcomers from the “First Chance” program who Plans for 2011 include activities aimed at agri- are gaining their first work experience in our team. culture and rural development, networking with The network of institutional partners coope- young people from the country and abroad and rating with NALED is getting stronger. As of this establishing standards of corporate social respon- year, we are joined by the Ministry for the Nati- sibility. Only with additional engagement and lea- onal Investment Plan, the Ministry of Public Ad- dership coming from our membership we can ma- ministration and Local Government, the National ke all these new initiatives happen. Agency for Regional Development, the Free Zones On behalf of the NALED Executive Office I sin- Administration, and Nikola Tesla Airport which cerely thank you for your generous support to the has supported our campaign for promoting inves- activities of the organization and for your personal tments to Serbia and our municipalities. contribution to the reforms which are so signifi- Apart from intensifying activities on existing cant for the economy; I am convinced that the key projects (certification of municipalities, Grey Bo- results of our joint efforts are yet to come. ok, public-private partnerships), in 2010 we have launched several new and interesting initiatives such as the Calculator of local business costs and certification program for rural areas. We have or- ganized and supported 33 conferences and round tables with institutional and business representa- Violeta Jovanović, tives from country and the region, involving the NALED Executive Director What we have accomplished together The mission of NALED is to improve the business environment in Serbia through institutional reforms with active participation of businesses, municipalities and citizens. NALED implements its mission by operating in three key areas of activities: • Investment promotion and business support • Business guided policy reforms • Municipal capacity building Investment promotion and business support Calculator of business expenses ing the use of renewable energy sources. LTS During the year NALED started develop- attracts more than 15,000 visits per year to the ing a unique on line system for calculating NALED web-site.