An Annex to the Agreement on the Establishment and Management of the SEE Regional Business Registries Portal (“Business and Financial Data Exchange - BIFIDEX”) has been signed in Tirana today by Director of the Serbian Business Registers Agency, Mr. Milan Lučić, who is the President of the BIFIDEX Management Board, and Ms Pranvera Fagu (Behushi), General Director of the National Business Center of the Republic Albania.
As a result, the business registration authority of the Republic of Albania, which holds data on about 160,000 registered business entities, has joined the Regional Portal. In July 2019, the Portal was joined by the Agency for Intermediary, Informatics and Financial Services of the Republic of Srpska and the Tax Administration of Montenegro, Central Register of Business Entities.
The establishment and development of the SEE Regional Business Registries Portal was supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Serbian Business Registers Agency and the Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia have facilitated the commencement of the Portal's operation. The UK Good Governance Fund has joined the initiative and financially supported the accession of other Western Balkans jurisdictions to the Portal.
A Workshop "Development of the SEE Regional Business Registries Portal - BIFIDEX" has been held in Tirana today, where representatives of the Western Balkans and SEE business registration institutions have been informed of the current status of the BIFIDEX, its business model, market demand analysis, past experiences and the "roadmap" for new "Western Balkans Six" partners.
The SEE Regional Business Registries Portal is an information platform that represents a unique point of access to the official and up-to-date information on registered business entities. Since its launch on 29 March 2019, it has been offering non-commercial services to interested users, comprising various business and financial data from the business registers of the Republic of Serbia and Republic of North Macedonia.
The aim is that other regional business registry authorities join, i.e. technically integrate, on the Portal in the coming period, so that it offers a wider range of business information and services that would facilitate cross-border trade and business, with the aim of improving the business climate in the Western Balkans region.