Željana Vulović, founder and general director of SYSQBIT HOLDING and director for information technology and software at the Association of Business Women eŽena, is calling for stronger business cooperation between women in Serbia and Montenegro and more practical use of artificial intelligence in companies. She said the association should help members find clients, partners, investors and routes to new markets, rather than limit its work to networking events.
The association brings together businesswomen, and Vulović wants it to provide a space for connection, collaboration and concrete commercial opportunities. Her approach reflects experience spanning science, technology and entrepreneurship: science gives an idea depth, technology offers a way to apply it, and entrepreneurship provides room for it to take hold.
For women running companies, the priority should be access to useful business opportunities, rather than declarations of support. “She asks for a client, business partner, investor, market, information or contact that can change her business,” Vulović said. The emphasis is on resources and relationships that can contribute directly to a company’s work.
eŽena’s network is intended to connect women across different sectors, including technology and artificial intelligence, tourism, trade, finance, manufacturing and services. Bringing together members with different expertise and businesses could create links between products, services and markets, rather than confining the association to one industry.
Vulović does not view women’s business networks as evidence that women cannot succeed independently. Connections, information, recommendations and cooperation can open opportunities that an individual might not reach alone. In that model, networking is a way to support business activity, not an end in itself.
The aim is to make connections useful after members meet. Women in the region can act as business partners, rather than only as colleagues or competitors, because they have knowledge, experience, companies, products, contacts and markets that can contribute to cooperation.
From contacts to cross-border projects
Serbia and Montenegro offer scope for stronger business ties between women entrepreneurs, Vulović said, pointing to their proximity, shared language and culture, and existing business connections. Those links provide a basis for building cooperation between members in the two countries.
The network she wants would go beyond conferences, panels and exchanges of contact details. It should help members pursue joint projects, distribution, technology solutions, services and entry into new markets. “I would not want connections to end at a conference, panel or exchange of contacts,” she said.
The proposed network would help members find business partners, clients, investors and mentors, as well as opportunities to enter new markets. The intended focus is on turning introductions into working relationships that can support a company’s commercial activity.
Vulović’s examples include connecting a member with a product to another member who has access to a market, or matching a technology solution with a company that needs it. Those links could bring together members with complementary products, expertise or access to customers.
Her message to businesswomen in both countries was: “Let us not just meet — let us do something together.” The objective is for the association’s connections to lead to collaboration, rather than stopping when participants exchange details or attend an event.
That cross-border approach also fits Vulović’s view of the association as a place where women from different sectors can find relevant partners. A business with a product could connect with a member able to distribute it, while a company seeking a technological capability could meet someone with a suitable solution. These are examples she gave of how members might put a network to use.
Making technology useful to smaller companies
Artificial intelligence has already changed business and is no longer a subject reserved for IT companies, Vulović said. She identified potential uses for small firms in automating administration, analysing data, communicating with customers, preparing documentation, improving marketing and making better business decisions.
Those applications extend beyond the development of software. A small firm could use technology to handle administrative tasks, examine its data or prepare documents, while also considering customer communications and marketing. Vulović’s focus is on how such tools can be applied to the needs of a business.
She wants the information and communications technology work at eŽena to make technology practical, understandable and applicable for businesswomen. That role would bring the subject closer to members who want to consider its uses in their companies, without requiring them to work in the technology sector.
“Women should not see artificial intelligence as something to fear, but as a tool they can use,” Vulović said. “Not every woman has to become a programmer. But every businesswoman should know what technology can do for her business.”
Her research interests include areas where artificial intelligence can make a practical difference: intelligent data processing and analysis, process automation, and systems that support decision-making. She is particularly interested in translating theoretical knowledge into systems that can function in real-world settings.
Science, technology and entrepreneurship are linked in her work, including her scientific papers on technology and artificial intelligence. The research focus on data analysis, automation and decision-support systems reflects her interest in turning theory into functioning tools, while her entrepreneurial work connects that interest with business.
Vulović defines leadership as making decisions, accepting responsibility and creating room for other people to grow. A woman does not need to be the loudest person in the room to lead, and leadership does not mean doing everything alone, she said. In her view, it depends on a clear vision, persistence, a good team, strong relationships and a network of people.
