Within the framework of the joint project of the European Union and the German Government – EU4BusinessRecovery, to help businesses mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has issued a public call for project proposals in the metal and wood-processing sectors.

Within the Call for proposal, a grant fund worth EUR 3 million is available for reset and recovery measures for micro, small and medium companies in metal and wood sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The amount of possible funds per project is up to 48,000 EUR and can be used for projects focusing on activities such as: implementation of industry standards, implementation of state-of-the-art energy efficient machinery, dual or multi-source strategies in purchasing, development of business market entry strategy, digital marketing innovation etc.

Nils Wetzel, project manager at GIZ, said: „Manufacturing industries have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply chains have been disrupted, factories closed during lockdown and a large number of jobs has come at risk. On the other hand, customers in core markets have started to reorganize their business models, to look for suppliers closer to their locations, meaning that nearshoring could be become a major strategic development. For this reason, the European Union and the German Government will help SMEs in metal and wood-processing industries to restore supply chains, increase access to core markets and to put their business models on a more resilient footing. „

Applications can be submitted online via the following link: https://eu4business.core-enigma.com/.

The EU4BusinessRecovery project supports micro, small and medium enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue business activities and preserve jobs, especially entrepreneurs, young people and other vulnerable groups in starting their own businesses and overcoming the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic by creating a more resilient business environment. The total value of the project is 13.7 million euros, jointly funded by the European Union (13 million euros) and the German Government (0.7 million euros). EU4BusinessRecovery is jointly implemented by GIZ, ILO, and UNDP, from 2021 to 2023.