German "Help" to help realization of small business projects in Serbia with 800,000 EUR

German non-government organization "Help" signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation today (November 10, 2009) with 17 cities and municipalities in Serbia for allotment of 800,000 EUR worth of aid for realization of the small business projects in 2010.

Timo Stegelmann, the regional representative of "Help" for Southeast Europe, said on the occasion of the Memorandum signing in the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (PKS) that about 50 projects worth over 18m EUR had been implemented during ten years of presence of that organization in Serbia.

The Ambassador of Germany to Serbia, Wolfram Mass, pointed out that the Government of Germany had backed the programmes of "Help" with 4m EUR to the date.

He said that "Help" was focused on aid to small business in the region, especially Sandžak and south Serbia where the population was poor and the unemployment rate was high, and he estimated that the work of that organization showed that small projects could help creation of jobs and generation of incomes.

The Ambassador of Switzerland, Erwin Hofer, estimated that his country's aid to "Help" was not donation, but investment in the future of Serbia, private entrepreneurship and the future of Europe, because Serbia was one of the main players in the region.

The event was also attended by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Serbia, Ron Van Dartel, since that country also backs the projects of "Help" in Serbia.

In 2010, "Help" will help entrepreneurs in Aleksinac, Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Gadžin Han, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Leskovac, Niš, Novi Pazar, Pirot, Preševo, Smederevo, Sremska Mitrovica, Surdulica, Trgovište, Užice and Vranje by donating between 10,000 and 140,000 EUR for the projects in these municipalities.