EU ProLocal, a joint programme of the European Union and the German Government supporting local self-government and economic development in BiH, implemented by GIZ, on the 1st of July published the Call for Expressions of Interest for Participation in Grants for small and medium-sized Enterprises and Development Partnerships from the metal-processing and wood-processing sectors, as well as agribusiness and tourism from 20 partner municipalities (Prijedor, Prnjavor, Derventa, Gradiška, Laktaši, Kozarska Dubica, Srbac, Zenica, Gračanica, Brčko, Teslić, Tešanj, Žepče, Posušje, Široki Brijeg, Grude, Ljubuški, Prozor-Rama, Jablanica and Konjic).
239 expressions of interest were received upon the Call of Expression, out of which 191 from individual companies, while 48 were filed as the result of formed partnerships to strengthen competitiveness of those sectors. The information collected during the procedure showed that entrepreneurs in BiH are mostly interested in grants which could help them optimize business processes and improve access to markets.
In the scope of the program, GIZ has, in the period from July 27th to 29th, organised Informative Forums in Teslić, Laktaši and Široki Brijeg for SMEs and development partnerships which had express interest to take part in the upcoming call for award of grants.
The forums aimed to introduce the EU ProLocal programme, including the concept for the award of grants in the total amount of 4 million Euros, as well as the results of the Call for Expressions of Interest. Frequently Asked Questions by participants in the forums were related to co-financing, access to grants and procedures for public call for grant applications. Also, forums served as an opportunity for entrepreneurs from local communities to meet and exchange experiences.
“This project is of crucial importance for the development of the country’s economy,” said Slavko Dobrilović, during the forum in Teslić, on behalf of the Cooperative Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina and thanked the donors for funds earmarked for the programme implementation.
Ms. Karin Rau, Sectoral Development Coordinator and Head of Banja Luka GIZ Office addressed the participants of the Teslić and Laktaši Forum, noting that she had been positively surprised by the number of expressions of interest received, and welcomed active participation of interested parties.
Businessmen from local communities expressed in the forums their expectations from the grant award process: “We plan to improve the technology; in fact, we want to move forward as a company in accordance with the advancement of new technologies. We would like to have new machines that will improve production of light metal packaging produced by our company,” said Alma Šarić, an entrepreneur from Grude during the forum in Široki Brijeg.
Follow-up to preparatory activities for allocation of grants includes trainings that will support the preparation of high quality applications for the upcoming call.
The priority in the allocation of grants will be given to municipalities / companies affected by floods in 2014. In addition to the grant, the programme will provide a series of measures and technical assistance in order to strengthen competitiveness of selected partner municipalities and small and medium enterprises in these municipalities.
The total value of EU ProLocal program is 13 million Euros, of which 9 million Euros are provided by the EU within the framework of the project Recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises in flood-affected areas and strengthening their competitiveness based on partnerships for local economic development, while the remaining funds are provided by the German government. The project is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
For more information please contact GIZ, Lejla Adanalić, e-mail: lejla.adanalic@giz.de.