“Russians are becoming more active in opening companies in Serbia,” writes the Russian publication Komersant, indicating that large industries and logistics companies have been replaced by cafes and beauty salons.
Local business consultants shared these observations with Komersant, stating that by the end of 2023, there were nine thousand companies and individual entrepreneurs from Russia involved in Serbia.
In 2022, there were six thousand, and in 2021, less than two thousand.
Analysts expect that newly established companies have a greater chance of success.
The proximity to Europe, a friendly attitude toward Russians, and a three-hour flight to Moscow have convinced many who left Russia to start businesses in Serbia.
According to their statements, the process of registering a company or an individual entrepreneur is similar to the Russian procedure but takes longer—around two months.
Anatoly Pobozhyev, co-owner of the Kofilin coffee chain, says that the $10,000 invested in founding the business paid off within eight months.
If you search for “Kofilini Belgrade” on Google, you will find three such establishments in downtown Belgrade.
“Finding delicious coffee is difficult. We had to search for suppliers. Overall, the HoReCa segment there is at the level of Russia in 2010. You buy lids from one supplier, glasses from another. There isn’t even a holder for lids – it’s just cardboard boxes. Almost 80% of the guests were Russians; then, Serbians tried them, including cheesecakes,” Pobozhyev tells Komersant.
He adds that in Belgrade, people found it incomprehensible that fresh cheese and products made from it could be sweet.
“Several local bloggers have written about us. Investments range from €12,000 to €30,000, depending on the type of space you find.”
The difficulties in sourcing materials are also mentioned by manicurists. Many people have entered this business simply because they couldn’t find the usual quality of service in Serbia.
“Russian nail technicians charge around €20, while the standard price for this service in Serbia is half that amount. This unaffordability has a downside: if a technician quits, finding a replacement quickly won’t be possible. You might lose income for the entire season,” says Irina Plotnikova, head of Beba beauty & bar. She mentions it’s not easy to find workers either.
“Many materials are simply unavailable. A lot comes from China. Overall, Serbia has friendly trade relations with China, but in terms of quality, we are not satisfied. We work with Russian materials, but they are much more expensive and have to be transported – that’s something we weren’t prepared for. Our format is not just a nail salon, but also a bar, concerts, and parties. You don’t need an alcohol permit in Serbia,” she explains.
In the past two years, Russians have opened kindergartens, bookstores, cosmetics production, and development companies in Serbia.
However, IT specialists have been the most active in mastering the market, benefiting from greater incentives provided by Serbian authorities.
Small-scale developers acknowledge that even before the war in Ukraine, they had clients in Western countries. To continue working with them, they needed an office on neutral ground. Moreover, such moves often need to be concealed from clients in Russia, admits Mikhail, owner of one marketing agency.
“Srbija is not such a big market. Instead, for companies rooted in Russia, it’s an opportunity to be listed as a non-Russian legal entity. Of course, I’ve always wanted to enter the international market and develop there. A lot has changed in a year and a half. Some things have become digitized. Now you can apply for a residence permit even online, but to confirm payment, you need to visit a bank branch. I remember how it was 15 years ago; we also had to go somewhere with receipts.”
Among the advantages of the Serbian market, Russians point out, for example, the income tax rate of only 15 percent.
Tariffs for utility services and average wages are lower than in EU countries – around a thousand euros.
Serbia is a transit hub for major transport corridors. This has attracted logistics companies, but as the fight against sanction evasion intensified, such business became increasingly challenging to manage.
Overall, about a third of the players registered a year ago couldn’t continue operations, notes Nina Barudzija, a leading consultant at the “Welcome to Serbia” association.
“Either this was too expensive for them, or those who relocated already planned to move on, and Serbia was just a transit stop.
It’s more challenging when opening activities that require licensing, financials, and, of course, manufacturing. In 2022, more relocation firms were opened.”
“Branches associated with European and American companies were also present. In 2023, they were more significant companies engaged in import-export and manufacturing.
You can feel the difference; it took a lot of time to make decisions.
Banks have already restricted the activity codes they work with. More information is required when opening an account.”
Relocated businessmen increasingly find themselves competing for clients in Belgrade with other Russian companies, say sources speaking to Komersant.
Visitors from Moscow and St. Petersburg, for example, are sharing cafes and cosmetic salons opened by entrepreneurs from the same cities.
“We need to get out of that. For instance, shift to the B2B segment and procure consumables, including from your competitors.”
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