Dr. Milan Vemić Answers Our Questions
What is your professional background that gives you the knowledge needed to lead this publication?
Dr. Milan Vemić: A solid professional reputation built over a 40-year career delivering high-quality financial and non-financial SME services at both policy and operational levels. With 20+ years of continuous technical assistance across 20+ countries in Europe and Central Asia, I have fostered culturally adaptive SME solutions and implemented innovative approaches under challenging conditions. Multilingual and equipped with advanced analytical, facilitation, communication, and project management skills, I have consistently delivered exemplary results on complex international development projects funded by USAID, EU, and other major donors. My expertise spans designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating sustainable business development initiatives, value chain strategies, and private sector linkages. Key achievements include fostering public-private partnerships, building regional development agencies, and supporting the development of regulatory frameworks for capital and commodity markets, the non-bank financial sector, and sustainable access to finance. These initiatives targeted agriculture, textiles, construction, IT, and tourism sectors, and included SME-specific mechanisms such as credit schemes and incubator support. A full professor of economics and finance, I am passionate about leveraging technology, sustainable finance, and cultural inclusiveness to create resilient SME ecosystems. This includes integrating cutting-edge solutions like AI, machine learning, and digital platforms to address global challenges such as climate change, digital disruption, and post-pandemic recovery.
What inspired you to write your book?
Dr. Milan Vemić: I participated in projects supporting EU candidate countries that were funded by major international development agencies, focusing on entrepreneurship and SME development, access to finance, regional and rural economic development, and fostering financial and non-financial support for entrepreneurs and SMEs. I came to the conclusion that my experience requires empirical validation and that in such a way I might be able to add additional value as a researcher.
What is your mission for the title?
Dr. Milan Vemić: Continuous technical assistance and consulting which I provided in the entrepreneurial development of all EU candidate countries represented the groundwork and key motivation to approach the development of a book with this title. By providing a deeper understanding of their mid-market and the Jewish contribution I had an anticipation that the book will accelerate and further facilitate the accession process of the nine candidate countries. Additionally, I hoped that the title will attract further research and understanding of these countries in relation to a number of studies empirical criteria such as mid-market, vouchers, demographic trends and role of the Jewish community.
How is your research going to impact your field and how does it relate to current trends and social matters?
Dr. Milan Vemić: EU accession is accelerating in light of geopolitical and economic developments that emerged after the global financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic which creates opportunities for pursuing this research and assisting EU candidate countries in achieving the performances. and levels of development of more advanced European countries.
Who is the publication intended for? Who ultimately will benefit from this title?
Dr. Milan Vemić: The book presents an engaging exchange on how demographers, entrepreneurs, SME policy professionals, and researchers can employ diverse tools and strategies to achieve their goals, vision, and strategy within different socioeconomic communities, particularly in EU Candidate Countries. While inevitable controversies may arise, astute developers, leaders, and managers can leverage these dilemmas to enhance the economic value added by different demographic and entrepreneurial experiences in EU Member and Candidate countries. Ultimately, the author aims for a clearer understanding of the general approach to scientific research within these development concepts, paving the way for future lines of inquiry.
What do you want people to know about your publication before they read it?
Dr. Milan Vemić: The Jewish contribution to entrepreneurship in EU candidate countries was unjustifiably underrepresented in the accession process and this is a gap that lifts an opportunity for not only revitalizing this community but also for improving the economic prospects of the candidate countries, especially keeping in mind the levels of economic development and prosperity achieved in Israel itself.
How does your publication stand out from others like it?
Dr. Milan Vemić: Entrepreneurial and Demographic Challenges in Economic Development of EU Candidate Countries distinguishes itself by integrating innovative methodologies, such as applying quantum-inspired principles like complementarity and uncertainty to economic systems. It addresses underrepresented areas, particularly the entrepreneurial and demographic potential of ethnic-confessional communities like the Jewish population, within the context of EU accession. By adopting a holistic, three-pronged framework and combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book explores midmarket dynamics and advances cutting-edge research into complex, interdependent systems often overlooked in conventional business and management studies.
What are some future directions for your research?
Dr. Milan Vemić: In the entrepreneurial area, it is pursuing the implications of my book Entrepreneurial and Demographic Challenges in Economic Development of EU Candidate Countries. In the financial field, it is continuing my work on novel ideas for optimizing working capital in medium-sized enterprises and generally researching the midmarket. With the application of quantum theory in economics, the direction is in continuing my exploration of Implications of Bohm’s Wholeness and Implicate Order Concept in Theories of Finance.
What are other topic areas that your readership would find of interest?
Dr. Milan Vemić: Integration and entrepreneurial processes in other emerging economies and less developed parts of the world should be researched comparatively with the growth of entrepreneurship in advanced economies. Furthermore, in my opinion, artificial intelligence, trade facilitation, and financial market deepening will undoubtedly attract further research work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
About the Author
Milan Vemić, Ph.D., is a Full Professor of Economics, and head of the Department of Economics and Management at the University Union - Nikola Tesla, Faculty of Business Studies and Law in Belgrade, Serbia. He specializes in entrepreneurship and finance. He earned his Master’s degree in 2003 and completed his first Ph.D. in 2005, titled Development of the Systemic Model of Management of Rural Entrepreneurship. His second Ph.D., received in 2010, was titled Optimization model for management of working capital in medium enterprises in Serbia. He served as council chairman, scientific research vice dean, and as an SME expert. He taught economics and finance on graduate and postgraduate courses in Central and Eastern European countries and CIS. He has authored and edited 11 books in economics and finance in English or Serbian and has reviewed several other books. He has published over 100 scientific works in learned and professional publications on SMEs, entrepreneurship, regional and rural development, capital markets, financial management, venture capital, microfinance, and project management. As a keynote speaker, he presented papers at many industry forums and conferences in Bishkek, Aktobe, Belgrade, Subotica, Novi Sad, Rotterdam, Sofia, Tekirdağ, Brașov, Bratislava and Košice. He worked as an expert on many USAID and EU international economic development projects such as the EFSE Annual Impact Study 2007 (2007-2008), the EBRD BEPS II project Banking Environment/Performance Survey (2012), the EBRD Trade Ready Project in Serbia and Georgia (2017-2019), and the EIB support to SMEs channeled via the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro (2019). Milan is a member of the editorial review board of the International Journal of Applied Management Theory and Research, the International Journal of Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making, and the Business Trends Journal. For further details on his work, you can visit his profile on the website of CRIS.