Business Boom

Connect with clients and colleagues in dynamic Belgrade.

- KRISTY ALPERT

On the surface, life appears to move slowly in the capital city of Belgrade, where sidewalks are for strolling, drinks are for sipping, and lunch is an event lasting upwards of three hours. But the reality is this industrious city has fought long and hard for the joie de vivre so prevalent throughout its streets today. After centuries of tumultuous taking and overtaking — from Attila the Hun to Slobodan Miloševic — the “White City” finally can enjoy its long-deserved liberation and flex its hard-earned free-market muscles.

Belgrade has long been desired for its strategic location between Western and Central Europe, at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, and for that reason it remains such a desirable city for doing business today. Located in the heart of the CEFTA zone, Belgrade enjoys non-tariff access to nearly 30 million consumers and houses a highly educated workforce that continues to boast the highest percentage of English speakers in Central and Southern Europe. As Serbia awaits its confirmation into the European Union (it was accepted as a candidate in 2012), its capital city continues to grow, including plans to launch a $5.2 billion metro construction project in December 2021 that will integrate four urban railway lines into the two new metro lines spanning the city and its outlying suburbs.