BIGMEV Foundation has been successfully working for four years on the attracting of investments from Turkey and help to companies when exporting BH goods and services to the Turkish market. Besides mentioned, BIGMEV also works on the establishment of strategically cooperation based on the reciprocity principle, development of sustainable links between business worlds, students exchange programs during and after the studying, strengthening relationships between Bosnians living outside Bosnia and Herzegovina and their country.
Something more about the connection and cooperation of Turkish BH businessman, projects realized thanks to the BIGMEV, in a talk for a business portal eKapija.ba revealed the project manager of BIGMEV in Turkey Cenita Özgüner.
On which particular project you are currently working on?
“Until now I have led BIGMEV’s three projects: fundraising, cooperation with the diaspora and social media. Since these projects are already prepared, the online platform has been done, through which the mentioned projects will start with the implementation, soon I am going to join the team in business matchmaking center of BIGMEV that works on the linking of businessman of BiH and Turkey.
Can you give us some good examples of business cooperation?
“Currently, BIGMEV has a cooperation with companies in almost all sectors. Since we already have a good database and successful communication with companies with which we have cooperated, we are able to give appropriate recommendations for cooperation which are enabling connectivity that targets the results. In the last year we have successfully established the link between the export of chestnuts and raspberries from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, we are opening a few companies in different sectors for our customers from Turkey, and some of them are already finished, some are close to the end, and altogether we can be proud on the year of work for our Foundation.
As you have mentioned, in this year the arrival of 2.000 investitures from Turkey to BiH is planned? How should BH companies prepare themselves for Turkish investitures?
“In 2014 together with the Turkish Directorate for Small and Medium Enterprises (KOSGEB) we have started the cooperation by which the Business Matchmaking Center of BIGMEV had been opened in Sarajevo and Bursa, which will enable Turkish companies to use the organizational and consulting services of BIGMEV, for which the Directorate subsequently bears at least 50% of the cost. This step proved to be a positive initiative which was accepted by Turkish companies as a stimulus for the development of relations between BiH and Turkey. Also, in 2014 we have successfully finished the education for writing investment projects in eight cities in BiH, which resulted by the preparation of good projects and business ideas of companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina. 120 SMEs from Bosnia and Herzegovina got a chance to participate in a five-days training led by experts from KOSBEG. We can say that this education was somehow the preparation for BH companies. Currently BIGMEV has over 170 projects from BiH in its database, which we are ready to offer to investitures from Turkey. Since BH companies are increasingly targeting the foreign market, I considerate that the support of the State to companies is very important, grater stimulations, and on this issue we can see the model of Turkey, we have to prepare companies for the cooperation with the foreign partners, they should be familiar with the procedures in export, they should be aware that they are not independent actors on the international field but that they are representing their country, and that every “glitch“ in the international field is very difficult to correct.”
(Source: ekapija.ba)
