Context
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) has made little progress in implementing political and economic reforms in recent years. In international rankings assessing economic performance, BIH is consistently ranked lower than other countries in Europe. For example, in the last World Bank "Doing Business Report 2019", BIH has score of is 63.82, and came out as 22nd out of 23 countries in Europe and Central Asia (total: 89 out of 190 countries worldwide).
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are driving the growth and creating jobs. However, they face many challenges preventing them from successfully competing in national and global markets.
EU4Business project stimulates competitiveness of MSMEs and development of entrepreneurship, in the export-oriented sectors, tourism and agriculture.
Objective
The capacity for generating growth and employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina is strengthened through the support of competitiveness and innovation.
Approach
EU4Business provides technical and financial support. An overall EUR 10 million is available in grants to MSME, farmers and entrepreneurs, with a focus on women and youth. While grants stimulate developments in the private sector, capacities of institutional partners are improved simultaneously. As a result, financial incentives meet a more sustainable business environment. This enables growth and job creation. Digitalisation of business processes and administrative services will be a key enabler of these developments.
The project is jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).