Within the framework of the study tour to Serbia, the heads of manufacturing enterprises held a number of meetings with public and private structures, as well as with local businesses to share experiences in developing and supporting businesses and suppliers.

The working group of 16 persons was headed by the Deputy Chairman of the Board of "Kazakhstan Industry and Export Center "QazIndustry" JSC Aidar Kakimzhanov.

The participants of the event visited Vojvodina Metal Cluster (VMC), the largest business association for improving the competitiveness of Serbian metallurgical sector. The Association unites over 100 companies: manufacturing companies and various institutions.

During the meeting, the objectives and current problems of small and medium enterprises were discussed, and representatives of the association also shared the experience of cluster development in Serbia.

As part of the trip, the Kazakhstan delegation visited local producers in the cities of Cacak (Čačak), Zlatibor, Temerin,  Novi Sad and Obrenovac, also met the manufacturer of steel road barriers UNIPROMET, supplier of steel pipes and other ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy products Atenic Commerce, Termovent, Tim-Cop and IVA 28.

Meetings were also held with the management of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs and the Serbian Ministry of Economy.

“The Supplier Development Project in Kazakhstan” has been implemented jointly with the World Bank support for more than a year. The main goal is to expand market ties of small and medium businesses with large local and international corporations operating in Kazakhstan. A trip to Serbia is another step to the development of domestic enterprises. The participants learned first-hand about the experience of the Supplier Development Project in Serbia, met  and established contacts with Serbian business community.

In general, business environment in Serbia is very favorable: low tax rates, skilled labor, low cost of doing business. The country is an export-oriented country; Serbian factories export about 90% of their production. Our goal is to adopt the best experience and support our manufacturers," said Aidar Kakimzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of "Kazakhstan Industry and Export Center "QazIndustry" JSC.

According to Igor Issupov, one of the event participants, Director of Promanalit Group and PromMonitoringGroup, the trip turned out to be effective.

"I did not expect that participation in the Supplier Development Project, and in particular in the Study Tour, could yield good results. As a result of the Study-tour, we launched negotiations with a Serbian company, analyzed with them what certificates are needed to supply equipment to Serbia. In this regard, we are considering two options: either to assemble the equipment in Kazakhstan and send it to Serbia, or to manufacture here and assemble in Serbia. We plan to establish a new supply chain for our company", - he noted.

Zhandos Gaziz, Deputy Chairman of JSC "Kaskor-Mashzavod":

"As part of the Study Tour in Serbia, we were interested in the possibility of cooperation with "Termovent", which is the leader in the production of equipment "HVAC", and "Iva 28", which specializes in precision CNC processing for mechanical engineering. In cooperation with them, it will be possible to implement a number of projects in Kazakhstan for large subsoil users".

Assylbek Abuov, Director of KazTurboRemont KTR (repair and metalworking):

"During the Study-Tour we met same companies that provide services and produce goods on the level of our company. We met a representative of Atenic Commerce, the company is a supplier of metal, and we plan to conclude a contract with them on metal supply".

Berik Biyatov, Director of "Pavlodar plant "TEMIRMASH" LLP:

"I was interested in cooperation with three companies. Now we are negotiating. We are planning to conclude a cooperation agreement with "Termovent" company, which is a leading manufacturer of "HVAC" equipment".

The event was held from 1 to 7of November, 2020 in the framework of the "Small and Medium Enterprise Competitiveness Project", implemented by the Ministry of National Economy with the financial support of the World Bank.

One of the subcomponents of the project is the provision of "Services for the establishment of the Supplier Development Service, development of its competencies and implementation of pilot projects for the supplier development “SDPK”. The Supplier Development Project in Kazakhstan (SDPK) is being implemented by Euroconsultants SA (Greece) in partnership with JSC "Kazakhstan Industry and Export Center "QazIndustry" and NCE "Atameken".