We need to work on improving the rule of law, further relaxation of bureaucratic and administrative procedures in Serbia, as well as greater transparency in public procurement processes, Israeli Ambassador Alona Fisher Kamm said in an interview for the special publication “Investments in Serbia 2000-2020”.
What are the most important Israeli investments in Serbia and for which sectors of the economy are Israeli companies most interested?
Israeli investment in the real estate sector has been a trademark of Israeli investment since 2000. So far, companies in this area have invested more than two billion euros in business parks, shopping malls, retail parks and, more recently, residential parks – condominiums.
In addition to the real estate sector, we note the increased interest of Israeli companies in investing and cooperating in the sectors of renewable energy, IT, agriculture and water treatment and management technologies. The Israeli company Enlight Energy built the Kovacica wind farm, with an installed capacity of 104MW, contributing to the achievement of Serbia’s goals in this area.
There are only a few investments in production. Why? What can be done to attract investment in industry and production?
One of the recognizable domestic coffee brands is 100% Israeli owned, as well as the second largest bus carrier in the country. In the production sector, we also have a Foundry of Precision Castings from Ada, as well as furniture manufacturers from Kursumlija as an Israeli investment.
One of the reasons for the lower level of Israeli investments in the manufacturing sector of Serbia is the very structure of the Israeli economy. It is an economy led by the services sector, where more than half of the exports of services are in the high technology sector.
Technology is therefore what we export, not finished products. Another reason lies in ignorance and insufficient information about the potential of the Serbian market.
Why would you recommend companies from your country to invest in Serbia? And what would you warn them about?
Serbia’s economy has stabilized in the last few years, emerged from recession and recovered from the effects of the global economic crisis. Also, Serbia has advanced on the World Bank’s Doing Business list, and raised its credit rating. We are witnessing an increased level of investments, which are largely motivated by incentive policies, primarily in the manufacturing sector, recently especially related to the cable industry as part of the automotive industry.
Certainly, we need to work on improving the rule of law, further relaxation of bureaucratic and administrative procedures, as well as greater transparency in public procurement processes.
In the last two years, significant progress has been made in creating the environment and conditions for investing in the startup ecosystem, registration and operation of venture capital funds, so-called “venture funds”, and placing the creative industry in the matrix of strengths and advantages of investing in Serbia. These are sectors in which Israeli companies are leaders, and we hope to witness many joint investments and cooperation in the years ahead.
The Israeli economy is known for a good startup scene. What is key to creating an environment for an innovative economy?
The DNA of Israeli entrepreneurship is unique, and it consists of: compulsory military service for girls and boys, the so-called ‘hutzpah’ attitude, which we will explain below, lack of natural resources, cooperation between universities and industry, and government support measures.
Military service enables girls and boys to master and learn to use various technologies, and puts them in a position of decision-making and improvisation on the real field. In addition, friendships from the military often grow into real business partnerships. As we know, a good team is the most valuable asset of any startup.
In order to overcome the lack of natural resources, we were forced to innovate. Thus, Israel has become a leader in water treatment technologies, drip irrigation, various technologies in agriculture that enable the promotion of yields with more efficient use of limited resources.
The specific geopolitical situation has contributed to high technology becoming the main generator of economic growth, ie. knowledge that is the basis of the technologies we export.
At the beginning of the development of our innovative ecosystem, ie in the 80s and 90s, the support of the government was necessary and of special importance. With the help of the government’s Yozma program, the first 10 venture funds were created that are still active today and are privately owned among many others. What was established then, and exists and functions today, is an institution that was once called the Office of the Chief Scientist, and today the Israeli Agency for Innovation in Free Translation.
This institution, through a grant program, provides grants to startups that meet the criteria of the program.
It is also important to point out that Israel is among the first countries to place cyber security as an important aspect of national security. This contributed to the fact that Israel started to develop solutions in this area much earlier, and today it is a global leader in this field.
The Israeli model of developing an innovative ecosystem is well known in the world. Each country has its own specifics, and in that sense our model should be adapted to the needs of each country, its advantages and disadvantages.
Compared to Israel, Serbia has a lot of agricultural land, but little developed agribusiness. Where do you see the potential for improving Serbian agriculture?
I guess you mean the use of technology in agriculture when you say “not very developed” given that agriculture is one of the important generators of the Serbian economy and exports.
Israel had no choice but to work on overcoming natural shortcomings in terms of fertile land and water, as well as to take advantage of the Mediterranean climate to grow certain crops.
Today, Israel produces and meets the needs of the domestic market for fruits and vegetables, and chooses significant quantities for export. On the other hand, since our land and climate are not suitable for growing cereals, compared to Serbia, we are forced to import wheat and corn.
Cooperation between our two countries in the field of agriculture is significant and has an upward trend in the last few years, despite the absence of any preferential agreement. The Embassy of Israel has performed with the national stand at the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad for the last three years. Local companies representing Israeli technology on the Serbian market presented themselves at the Fair. Also, last year, Serbia performed with a national stand at the “Israfood” fair, presenting a rich offer of processed fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh and frozen programs.
Over the past years, we have had a significant number of participants from Serbia in courses in the field of agriculture organized by the Israeli Agency for International Cooperation and Development – Mashav. This was crowned by the recent signing of the Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia and Mashav, which will enable the application of Israeli technology on various projects in the country, Nova Ekonomija reports.
