USAID, Divac Teams Up To Promote Town’s Investment Potential
Vlade Divac officially retired from professional basketball in a celebration the size of which the 15,000 residents of his hometown of Prijepolje had never seen. For one day, the population of Prijepolje doubled with a star-studded list of celebrities from the world of basketball that included Chris Webber, Scott Pollard, Sasa Djordjevic, Greg Popovic, Brian Grant, Predrag Danilovic, Toni Kukoc, Magic Johnson, along with Snoop Dog, and Anthony Kiedis joining in via satellite linkup. It was a bigger NBA event than any pre-season game ever organized on the old continent.
Divac and Prijepolje mayor, Nedzad Turkovic, used the occasion to promote Prijepolje’s investment and tourism potential. As parts of its Foreign and Domestic Investment Promotion Project, USAID supported the municipality in this important endeavor by helping them to prepare a brochure to attract investment for the event. As expected, the celebration was a tremendous sucess, but that was just the beginning. The municipality’s preparations for the opening of a Local Economic Development office are underway, as is the launch of the its investor-friendly website, the publishing of a rulebook for internal organization and systematization of municipal staff, and an evaluation of Brownfield investment potential in the municipality-all in cooperation with USAID.
The municipality is also working on the revision of its economic development strategy for 2005-2009 that details 74 projects from different priority sectors, including small and medium enterprise development, rural development, infrastructure improvements, environment, health, and citizen services.
Prijepolje had demonstrated its ability to be a great host earlier this year as the site of the first European rafting tournament on the magnificent river Lim, sponsored by USAID among others. With mayor Turkovic as the captain of the regatta, USAID helped the municipality show its natural beauty to the rest of Europe.
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| Vlade Divac with NBA friends Chris Webber and Scott Pollard at the opening of the basketball museum in Prijepolje, to which he donated his trophies and memories from his 16-year basketball career |
In 2006, USAID spent $53,000 to help fund a Citizens’ Assistance Center in Prijepolje, a recognized tool for local economic development. The new center has helped to reduce the time to obtain a construction permit from approximately 30 days to 1 to 7 days; business permits that were once issued within 7 days can now be obtained within 1 to 3 days. In addition, USAID supported the municipality with $128,000 in 2006 to create a Business Improvement District in downtown Prijepolje. Much more than just a nice road with improved surroundings, the zone represents a strategic partnership to attract businesses and the jobs they bring and to help breathe life into Prijepolje’s quaint city center.
With investments amounting to 10 million Euros, just since 2005, the municipality has experienced considerable revivals in many spheres of life, which has helped this ethnically mixed municipality to serve as a model of peaceful and harmonious existence. “USAID support was key for us to attract the interest of domestic and foreign investors and other donors. It was a sign to them that this is a municipality which they should invest in. We are grateful for the support provided,” said Turkovic.
Earlier this year, Prijepolje was one of the municipalities whose citizens participated in USAID’s “Realize Your Dream” competition, that enabled 41 winners to receive technical and financial assistance, ranging from $5,000 -$ 20,000 each, for realizing their business ideas and a chance to make their dreams come true. And it was that very same message Divac carried to his hometown “It does not matter were you were born”, he said, addressing a large crowd of gathered residents at the town’s main square. “You CAN make your dreams come true. I am the living proof of that.”
And while Vlade never stopped talking about how fulfilling and fun growing up in Prijepolje was for him, there is sufficient evidence that it will be even better in future.
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