Jacobs, Cordova & Associates designed a targeted set of reforms for Serbia that in a three-year period helped to boost Serbia into first place as the world’s top reformer among 155 countries in the World Bank’s 2006 Doing Business indicators (see http://www.doingbusiness.org). Jacobs, Cordova & Associates worked with the Ministry of Economy and Privatization to diagnose key regulatory problems, and to tackle these problems systematically. We assisted the government to reduce the burdens of business start-ups and operation by reforming the Entrepreneurs Law (2001-2004), and by setting up and operating the Regulatory Reform Council of Serbia (2002-2005) to oversee and promote the regulatory reform program of the Government of Serbia. Among the most important reforms was our design, based on best European practices, of a new commercial registry of the Republic of Serbia. This successful reform created the most advanced business registry in the Balkans, which began operation in January 2005. The new registry reduced the time needed for company registration from 31 days to 10 days in 2005, and further reduced it to 5 days by 2007, while increasing market transparency and ease of access to information. (Nov 2002 – April 2004). The capital requirement for starting a new business was cut from €5,000 to €500. The number of new registered firms in 2004 jumped by 42% over 2003.
Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo thanked Jacobs, Cordova & Associates on our “crucial contributions” to the success of these reforms. We also assisted the Serbian government to create the Regulatory Reform Committee to promote good regulatory practices, and to set up the RIA system that is now operating in Serbia, the first RIA system in the Balkans.
Link to Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo officially thanked Jacobs, Cordova & Associates on it “crucial contributions” to the success of these reforms.
LetterfromMinisteBubaloSerbiaSep2005 (1)
Serbia, World Bank, 2001-2005.
