The development of entrepreneurship in the region that in terms of development is lagging behind the rest of the country is of great importance for the overall economy of the region. Number of registered small and medium enterprises in the region is significantly lower than in the central and coastal part of Montenegro. For this reason, RDA actively cooperates with the Ministry of Economy, Directorate for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Agency for Foreign Investment Promotion, but also with various organizations and donors in order to prepare projects and activities that would accelerate the growth of this sector. The agency is actively involved in:
1. Youth Entrepreneurship – through cross-border project with Serbia RDA worked with five schools in the region to establish a network of student enterprises and strengthen the capacity of young people to be in business. Trainings for teachers were provided and a strategic document was made in order to influence the decision makers to include entrepreneurship as a regular subject in curriculum.
2. Women Entrepreneurship – in cooperation with UNDP, RDA has provided technical support to women willing to improve existing or create new business. In addition to various trainings for which they themselves have expressed interest, the best entrepreneurs were awarded small grants, as an additional incentive to improve their business.
3. Business zones – RDA cooperates with local governments of Berane and Kolasin, which until now defined the areas for business zones, and supports them in creating conditions for quality work of these zones.
4. Business incubators – with the municipality of Berane RDA worked on the preparation of the project for the establishment of a regional business center with business incubator in Berane. The EU approved the project and its implementation is in progress.
5. Family, small businesses – the region has the largest number of these small businesses, and are primarily engaged in agricultural activities and small manufactures. RDA provides support to these entrepreneurs in terms of providing guidelines for further work, instructions with regard to the legal framework and regulations, marketing and promotion.
6. Innovation – RDA through transnational project worked on responsible innovation in the region, and the aim of the project was to bring the term of responsible innovation closer to the local people, to promote the leaders in this field in their communities, and to present responsible innovation activities to the local population in order to be better replicated.