MK Group received the prestigious award of the Serbian Association of Managers “SAM Annual Awards” in the category of Socially Responsible Company of the Year 2020. MK Group continuously supports the community in which it operates since its foundation, and only this year donated more than a million euros, primarily to help the health system of the Republic of Serbia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the year, MK Group aided healthcare professionals and vulnerable groups of the population when it was most needed. Immediately after the declaration of a state of emergency in Serbia due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company donated 50,000 euros to the Institute for Virology, Vaccines and Serums “Torlak”, to procure the necessary funds for the diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus. The founder and President of MK Group, Miodrag Kostić, gave the use of the accommodation capacity of the hotel in Novi Sad to the Institute for Public Health “Milan Jovanović Batut”. During the pandemic, MK Group and its member companies set aside almost 500,000 euros for the purchase of medical equipment and humanitarian packages for vulnerable citizens of Serbia. In addition, the Company decided not to use the funds allocated by the Government of the Republic of Serbia to help the economy, which left the possibility to redirect these funds in the amount of 5 million euros from the budget to the most vulnerable segments.
The crown of MK Group’s socially responsible activities this year is the Project “For Regional Heroes”, thanks to which 450 doctors and medical staff from Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia received a well-deserved vacation after the first wave of the pandemic. For their vacation in their luxury hotels, the Company set aside 200,000 euros.
„First of all, I would like to thank the members of the Serbian Association of Managers, who recognized the humanity of MK Group and with this award confirmed that we are operating properly and for the benefit of the entire society. I am especially proud that in such a challenging year, we have been recognized as the most responsible company in the country. It is a pleasure to be at the head of a company that in such situations shows that it is not only one of the most successful when it comes to business results, but also in the first place when it comes to social responsibility, ” said Aleksandar Kostić, Vice President of MK Group.
At the festive online event on the occasion of the “SAM Annual Award”, Dragoljub Damljanović, President of the Serbian Association of Managers, pointed out that this year was challenging and very unexpected.
„All managers had to cope, to be very efficient and very empathetic, to try to save their company and their employees. We strongly influenced and tried to show to the State how important it is to react as early as possible, and that is what happened in the end. I am proud of our members who managed to save their employees because that is the key to the success that will come when all this is over. When we talk about 2021, we see a light at the end of the tunnel. What I am sure of is that we will never go back to the old way and that we will not work the way we used to, “said Dragoljub Damljanovic, President of the Serbian Association of Managers.
