DG Inter Fashion: Dreams shouldn't be patched, they should be tailored

"When we reached a certain level of education, we wanted to transfer everything we saw and gained from that tradition into our business activity," she explains. And that's when the development of the company DG Inter Fashion, engaged in the production of work clothes, starts, with the ambition to develop its own brand—for both domestic, and global markets.

With a great vision, but also with real challenges, Ivona and her team found themselves in a situation where they produced more pieces than they had a market for. "In the heat of business, we made more than we could sell. We sought the help of expert mentors, learned how to reach new clients, how to overcome stagnation—and that's how we got working capital and solved the problem."

In running her own business, she says, the most valuable things to her are freedom, the opportunity to learn through practice, to make contacts, broaden horizons, change directions and correct mistakes. But she is also aware of the challenges: great responsibility, constant stress, unforeseen costs, a changing market and external factors beyond her control.

As a young woman, Ivona also knows that some obstacles are not the same for everyone. "Women often face a lack of trust from investors, clients or even colleagues. It's harder for them to enter business networks, they rarely have mentors. But that motivates us even more to grow and develop."

The EU grant of 7,815 Euros, extended through the EU PRO Plus programme, brought about a key change. "It was a wind at our back and as a very important factor the faith in ourselves. The confidence given to us was our incentive to believe even more strongly in our vision."

For everyone who is just thinking about their path, Ivona has a simple advice: "Find someone successful in the field you are interested in and ask them to be your mentor. Invest effort and work—success will follow."

Today, Ivona is not only an entrepreneur—she is a symbol of a persistent generation of women who are positioning themselves in the business world. And her success, like the clothes she sews, has clear lines, tight seams and heart in every detail. As per her own measure.

This initiative was part of a broader effort by the EU PRO Plus programme to strengthen local economic development through backing of micro and small enterprises in local self-governments across Šumadija and Western Serbia, and Southern and Eastern Serbia. The Public Call for Support to Women and Youth Entrepreneurs resulted in 42 selected projects. The European Union provided 337,919 Euros in support to entrepreneurs aged up to 30 and women. The funded equipment and services focused on improving products and services, enhancing productivity, introducing high-value and import-substituting goods, and supporting innovation to facilitate market expansion. All 42 projects were successfully completed, resulting in the creation of 64 new jobs.