Health Equilibrium in Kladovo

With the support of his brother, Lazar established the first rehabilitation clinic in Eastern Serbia. “So far, we’ve helped more than 10,000 patients, which makes us incredibly proud and keeps us motivated to move forward.”

The biggest challenge they faced in the beginning was the lack of financial resources, as they had just completed their studies. “The first few clients we successfully treated became our friends and helped us financially, enabling us to invest in the clinic and buy our first equipment,” Lazar explains. Their support, along with that of their family, was key to developing the business.

A turning point in the clinic’s growth was receiving a grant from the European Union in the amount of 12,934 Euros through the EU PRO Plus programme. “With the purchase of new shockwave and TECAR therapy devices, we were able to offer more effective treatments to our clients, which increased demand and allowed us to hire three new employees,” says Lazar. Thanks to the new equipment, they became more competitive on the market and managed to shorten patients’ recovery time, significantly improving the quality of their services.

In addition to business success, “Equilibrium Fizio” is also committed to the local community by providing free services to organisations supporting people with developmental disabilities, as well as offering therapeutic exercises for post-COVID patients.

Lazar’s advice for future entrepreneurs is simple: “Make sure your business idea is in the right niche and that you’re ready to put in a lot of effort and discipline.”

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 local self-governments across Šumadija and Western Serbia, and Southern and Eastern Serbia. The Public Call for Proposals for Procurement of Equipment and Introduction of Services for Entrepreneurs, Micro, and Small Enterprises resulted in 113 projects (out of 610 applications received) with a total value of 3,564,397 Euros. The EU provided 2,731,787 Euros to support enterprises focused on production and services, including information technology, architectural and engineering activities, health and social care, tourism, and maintenance and repair services. The initiative emphasised job creation proportional to grant size and corporate social responsibility benefiting local communities.