Cooking up a feast in Kosovo
Entrepreneurs look to local produce to stimulate the economy in northern Kosovo. The missing ingredient, though, is seed capital.
Brewing up a storm
Lubomir Radovic is brewing up a storm. He has just produced his first batch of fruit brandy. People in the municipality of Zvecan think it is excellent and have given it their seal of approval.
Inspired by the pears, plums, apricots, quince apples and cherries which grow in his own orchard, Lubomir has come up with a two-in-one business plan that involves fruit processing and the production of one of the Balkan's most famous drinks - fruit brandy or "rakija". He produced the first trial bottles using some old equipment he managed to locate, and distributed them to neighbours and friends to taste. They were duly impressed. Although not yet fully matured, the rakija idea has been germinating for over a year.
It all makes quite a change for the 52-year-old who became the youngest person ever to graduate with a degree in economics from Pristina University in 1970. Over the years, Lubomir has amassed a broad range of experience in both the private and public sectors. He has worked at the Trepca mine, managed his own financial services business, been involved in economic development at municipal and regional level. His last business, before the conflict, was based in Mitrovica. Today, the premises and all the equipment in it - unlike the orchard - lie fallow.
Entrepreneurial spirit
Entrepreneurial spirit obviously runs in the Radovic family. Lubomir's 29-year-old nephew, Veselin works in the Leposavic crystal factory.
He is also the Kosovo representative for Agrobalkanika - a Yugoslav NGO working with agricultural projects. In his spare time, he has been working on putting together nine separate project proposals in co-operation with other members of the community in Leposavic - from organic farm produce to raw materials for clothing to education projects on the environment. Any and all of the projects would have a positive impact on the development of this predominantly rural area. "But", said Veselin, who is a lawyer by profession, "I needed some knowledge about economics and the practical skills to make the ideas a reality."
OSCE training
To help them get their plans off the ground, Veselin and his uncle Lubomir did a course on project management last year. Organized as part of the seminar programme provided by the OSCE's Institute of Civil Administration, the course taught them how to write, run and evaluate projects of any kind. They covered topics such as budget planning, modern leadership and marketing - essential business skills in a market-driven economy. According to trainer Orjan Fridner, it is skills like these that send the right message to donors.
Fridner has worked in several other developing economies, such as Russia and Estonia. He is impressed by what he has seen here in Kosovo. "Lubomir's plan is the best I have ever come across," said Orjan. "It is very detailed and his ideas are extremely good."
The missing factor
But despite their determination and the quality of their project proposals, Veselin and Lubomir both face the same obstacle - lack of money. While the ideas are flourishing, the seed capital to help small business enterprise get off the ground in northern Kosovo is in short supply.
Centuries ago, this region was made rich and profitable by the silver deposits buried deep underground. In Tito's Yugoslavia, the Trepca mining complex was the largest lead and zinc producer in Europe. It was also a significant employer in the area. Today, although the plant is undergoing repairs and a huge environmental clean up, it will be years before it is operational again. Instead of heavy industry, small business may be one of the only realistic hopes for economic development in this part of Kosovo for the time being.
Like Lubomir, Sladjana Radovic is a former Trepca worker. Now unemployed, she is keen to start up her own business and is on the lookout for a "niche" market in Mitrovica city. The 36-year-old mother-of-two is a qualified economist. She, too, did the OSCE project managers course. "The education system we all went through focused exclusively on theory", she said. "There was no practical work. During the OSCE course, we discussed real problems and how to tackle them." Problems like where to find funding.
Sladjana, however, is an optimist. "Times are changing. If we compare this year with last year, there are now more organisations working here in northern Kosovo". That, she hopes, augurs well for those seeking support for small enterprise ventures.
But Sladjana, Lubomir and Veselin say they are not looking for special treatment just because they are Serbs and live in northern Kosovo. "What we'd like to see is healthy competition between the Albanian and the Serb communities in Mitrovica," said Lubomir. "If two people approach a donor with similar business plans and the one from the south side is better, then they should receive the funding. All we are asking is to be treated equally."
Like his uncle, Veselin has had no shortage of support and goodwill from within his own community for his farming projects. Those who would produce the goods, shop owners who would sell them, as well as many others, including key figures in the community like doctors and teachers, know that his projects would benefit all of them. They have put their signatures and official stamps on paper as proof of their support for Veselin. But he is worried that they will begin to lose faith in him if can't bring the ideas to fruition. Refusing to be disheartened though, he continues to locate potential buyers for the goods they hope to produce. And he's just completed another course with Orjan Fridner - this time on the process of tendering and drawing up contracts, vital skills for any supplier of goods.
Looking for solutions
As far as economic development is concerned, this is OSCE's main role - to provide training in the skills required. It has also recently established a Small Investment Fund for members of Kosovo's minority communities. Funding is also available from other organisations. Usually, though, there are conditions attached and these don't always suit the needs of the applicants. Lubomir, for example, found that he was eligible for a loan with the EU credit scheme. It, though, requires the borrower to start making repayments after 6 months. This was no use to Lubomir whose rakija takes up to three years to mature.
Another scheme, administered by the UN, provides up to 50% funding. The recipient, though, must put up the other 50%. Not something someone dependent on social welfare - like Lubomir - is likely to be able to do.
After a year of trying, Lubomir has finally managed to secure some seed capital from a European NGO. With it, he has just purchased premises for the fruit-processing factory. At last, things are beginning to move in the right direction. The question now is how to keep the momentum going? Foreign investors helped rejuvenate mining activity in Trepca in the early 1900s. Almost 100 years on, its hinterland needs outside support once more to get the wheels of industry turning again.