My name is Emiliano; I'm 23 years old and come from Serbia. I grew up in the village Bojnik in the south of the country. Everyday life there was tough because my family was poor. My parents wanted a better future for us so we left for Germany in 2010.

We lived for three months in an initial reception facility in Germany. Finally, we found an apartment. My brother and I attended school and learned German. But after six years our asylum application was rejected – we had to return to Serbia. 

Arriving there, I asked the Roma association for support. I was advised to contact the German Information Centre for Migration, Training and Careers (DIMAK) in Belgrade. The team of DIMAK advisors informed me about the opportunities I could find in Serbia. They enrolled me in a training course for digital marketing. This course taught me how to design websites and write computer programs. I soon wanted to start my own IT company.  

So I attended a training course for business start-ups. DIMAK also helped me to come up with a business plan. And I was given equipment as start-up capital. Now I'm the owner of a company specialising in internet marketing. Working as a freelancer gives me hope. I am very happy to say that today my small company is very successful and is continually growing. Since I have recently established business relations with some German companies there is a need and a plan to hire several new employees.

As of 03/2020