A public call for the participation in the technical support and grants award programme as part of investment support for the purpose of improving the occupational health and safety (including also protection measures against COVID-19) in the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina was published in the framework of the EU4BusinessRecovery project, which is co-financed by the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany.
By publishing this public call with a value of 600,000 KM, the European Union will enable business companies to participate in the programme that includes training and technical and financial support in relation to occupational health and safety. Following the participation in the training and technical support offered by the project, companies will qualify for financial support in the form of investments amounting between 10,000 and 30,000 KM, which will be used to implement the recommended occupational health and safety measures (including also measures against COVID-19).
Selected companies will participate in the training on legal aspects and importance of applying occupational health and safety measures free of charge. In addition to this, the companies will also be provided technical support in order to assess the current state of occupational health and safety, verify working environment conditions and will be provided recommendations on the improvement of working environment. They will also be supported in the development of a risk assessment document for every workplace, an internal occupational health and safety document, including the necessary protection equipment and/or training of employees on occupational health and safety. The mentioned technical support will be tailored to the individual needs of a company.
Sole proprietorships, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, micro, small and medium-sized companies that have been registered for at least a year before the publication of this public call and that engage in primary agri-food production or processing of agricultural products and raw materials can apply for participation in the public call. For any project, an applicant must ensure his/her own funds for the co-financing of the project amounting to at least 15% of the total amount of acceptable costs of the suggested investment. The public call and supporting documents may be found directly on the website eu4business.ba. All persons interested in participating in the public call should submit the necessary documents through the online platform javnipoziv.undp.ba in the period from November 28, 2022 to December 23, 2022.
The implementation of these investments aims to support the modernisation of the agri-food sector and improvement of rural economy. The key goal is to ensure the survival of micro, small and medium-sized companies in important economic sectors of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19. The project EU4BusinessRecovery provides an important economic and social contribution to hygiene and occupational safety, job security and product innovation and digitalisation.
The project is co-financed by the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).