EU grants for women and young entrepreneurs - Time for Great Business Ideas!

For this initiative aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the local economy in the 43 least developed programme municipalities[1], the European Union allocated 375,000 Euros to encourage entrepreneurship and increase employment.

Unemployed women and young people aged 18 to 30 years who are registered with the National Employment Service at the time of publication of the Public Call, have a permanent residence and plan to start a business in one of the 43 listed local self-governments, can apply for EU support within the Lot 1 of this Call. The entrepreneurs and micro and small businesses owned by women or youth, registered in 2022 or after, are also eligible to participate within Lot 2.

"We are working together with our partners from the European Union, to improve economic conditions in the country, especially in less developed cities and municipalities. Through this Call, the EU will support women and youth who have good business ideas to start and develop their business, while having a positive impact not only on their and lives of their families, but also on the local economy", said Tanja Miščević, Minister of European Integration.

"By encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit among women and young people, the European Union helps to address the problem of unemployment. With initiatives like this we  create opportunities for people to stay and work in their communities," said Emanuele Giaufret, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia. As he added, the process of European integration brings benefits to all citizens, and European support reaches all parts of Serbia through programmes such as EU PRO Plus.

The amount of support per individual project ranges from 5,000 to a maximum of 10,000 Euros, and the Call is open until 12 September 2023.

More information about this Call as well as application documentation is available on the website of

EU PRO Plus programme: Public Call for Proposals for Supporting Women and Youth Start-ups through Procurement of Equipment and Introduction of Services. In order to present the conditions of the Call , EU PRO Plus will hold informative sessions during August 2023.