Women’s entrepreneurship in Serbia: the power of choice, despite the odds

Women in Serbia aren’t starting businesses because it’s "trendy". 

In 68% of cases, they become entrepreneurs because they can’t find a new job. 

For women under 30, every second one (51%) steps into entrepreneurship simply because there are no other options. Behind every percentage is the same story: when the labour market closes its doors, women build their own.

Why are women starting businesses?

Yes, lack of jobs is a big trigger. But there are also positive reasons women mention more and more often:

• a desire for greater independence
• a need for a more stable income
• the search for a better balance between work and family

Research by UN Women/NALED, published in 2019, showed that work–life balance is the dominant motive for women in Serbia, far more than for men. The context is simple (and uncomfortable): women still carry most of the unpaid care work at home, earn lower wages, and receive lower pensions. In that reality, entrepreneurship is not just “a dream”. It’s a strategy for economic security.
Where do we see women as entrepreneurs?

Current data in Serbia shows clear patterns:

• Women own around 31% of sole proprietorships.
• Only about 1 in 5 women-led businesses has ever received any financial support from state programmes;
• Around 30% of all entrepreneurs are women, most of them in micro-businesses (up to 10 employees)
• They are concentrated in services: hair & beauty salons, hospitality, accounting, bookkeeping, audit, consulting services (like mine)…

According to the latest GEM 2024/2025 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report:

• 3.4% of women globally closed a business in 2024 (vs 3.8% of men)
• 21% of women cited family or personal reasons as the main cause

for men, that share is 14.3%.

In other words, women are 47% more likely than men to shut down a business because of family obligations. We already know this intuitively: for many women, entrepreneurship is a double marathon – professional and family – run at the same time.

Women don’t need to be “empowered”. They need barriers removed.

If we are serious about wanting more women-led businesses in Serbia, then we have to:

• create equal conditions for women on the labour market
• ensure accessible, quality childcare
• design long-term, not one-off, support measures
• make access to finance simpler and fairer for women-led businesses

Because every supported woman-owned business brings:

• more people employed
• higher economic participation of women
• a healthier balance between private and professional life

Positive measures are not a “nice to have”. They are a precondition for development.
Support for women’s entrepreneurship is not a “women’s issue”. It is economic policy, development strategy – and one of the smartest social investments a country can make.
And the most important part: women in Serbia are not waiting for perfect conditions. They are creating them.

Societies that recognise that, grow faster!

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Žensko preduzetništvo u Srbiji: 

Snaga izbora, uprkos okolnostima

U Srbiji sve veći broj žena bira preduzetništvo — često ne zato što je to laka odluka, već zato što tradicionalni putevi zapošljavanja ne nude dovoljno prilika.

Prema istraživanjima, u čak 68% slučajeva žene pokreću biznis jer ne mogu da pronađu novo zaposlenje. Kod devojaka mlađih od 30 godina, 51% njih ulazi u preduzetništvo jer drugih mogućnosti jednostavno nema. Ali iza svake brojke stoji nešto važno: uprkos preprekama, žene biraju da stvaraju sopstvene puteve.
Zašto žene pokreću svoje biznise?

Pored nedostatka radnih mesta, žene sve češće navode i pozitivne razloge:

• želju za većom nezavisnošću
• potrebu za stabilnijim prihodima
• težnju za boljim balansom između privatnog i poslovnog života

Istraživanje UN Women/NALED još 2019. godine je pokazalo: upravo balans života i rada je najdominantniji motiv, mnogo izraženiji nego kod muškaraca. Više možete pronaći na linku OVDE.

Razlog?

Žene i dalje nose najveći teret neplaćenog kućnog rada, dobijaju niže plate i niže penzije — pa ekonomska sigurnost kroz preduzetništvo postaje logičan izbor.
Gde se žene najviše pojavljuju kao preduzetnice?

Podaci iz literature pokazuju jasne obrasce:

• vlasnički udeo žena u preduzetničkim radnjama iznosi 31%,
• samo svaka peta preduzetnica dobila je bilo kakvu finansijsku podršku na konkursima za razvoj biznisa,
• oko 30% preduzetnika u Srbiji su žene, najčešće u mikrobiznisima (do 10 zaposlenih),
• najviše su zastupljene u uslužnim delatnostima: frizerski i kozmetički saloni, računovodstvo, knjigovodstvo, revizija, ugostiteljstvo ili konsultantske usluge (kao u mom slučaju).

Ipak, postoji jedan podatak koji zabrinjava:
Čak 40% biznisa koji se ugase u prvih pet godina vode žene. To znači da žene ne osnivaju manje — ali jesu pod većim pritiskom da odustanu. Najnoviji globalni podaci: žene 47% češće zatvaraju biznis zbog porodičnih razloga!

Prema izveštaju GEM 2024/2025 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report (iz novembra 2025):

• 3.4% žena globalno zatvorilo je biznis tokom 2024. (3.8% muškaraca)
• 21% žena kao razlog navodi porodične ili lične obaveze
• kod muškaraca je to samo 14.3%

Žene su 47% sklonije nego muškarci da ugase biznis zbog porodičnih obaveza.
To potvrđuje ono što već znamo: preduzetništvo žena je dvostruki maraton — profesionalni i porodični, istovremeno

Žene ne treba „osnaživati“ — treba im ukloniti prepreke

Ako društvo želi više ženskih biznisa, onda treba da uradi sledeće

• stvori uslove za ravnopravno učešće žena na tržištu rada
• obezbedi dostupnu, kvalitetnu brigu o deci
• uvede i održi dugoročne mere podrške (ne samo kratkoročne subvencije)
• omogući lakši pristup finansijama

Jer svaki podržan ženski biznis donosi višestruku korist:

• više zaposlenih
• veću ekonomsku aktivnost žena
• bolji balans privatnog i profesionalnog života

Upravo zato, pozitivne mere nisu luksuz — već preduslov napretka. Podrška ženskom preduzetništvu nije „ženska tema“. To je ekonomsko pitanje, razvojna strategija i društvena investicija sa najvećim povratom.

I najvažnije:
Žene u Srbiji ne čekaju savršene uslove. One ih stvaraju. A društvo koje to prepozna—raste brže.
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[1] Izvor: Danas, UN Women/NALED

[2] Izvor: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Women Entrepreneurship Report 2024/2025