A large number of small and medium businesses in BiH have suffered huge financial losses during floods in May 2014. The floods directly affected companies’ business operations leading to a stoppage in production, destroyed crops and cancellation of orders, including loss of clients and customers. Due to the EU mutual dependence of businesses, negative economic effects were evident across the country.
Recognizing that recovery hindered their further development, the European Union and the German Government initiated Programme for Local Self-Government and Economic Development– EU ProLocal implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Euroinvest is an agrobusiness company from Brčko District that suffered direct losses as a result of the floods amounting to over 125,000 KM, including damaged raw materials and finished products, but indirect losses were much bigger. Euroinvest, like other companies who applied and received grants, barely managed to recover, mostly spending donors’ but also their own funds.
Dusan Pavlovic, the financial and economic adviser in the company, said that the grant they received through EU ProLocal were used to purchase a new tractor, having four times more horsepower than the one they owned before. Consequently, their yields increased up to 50 percent, as they managed to exploit better the soil using the new machinery. This enabled the employment of a new worker. Pavlovic also pointed out that the financial aid helped them reach the level of business they had had before the floods and that they are ready to start exporting some of their production. The assistance provided through EU ProLocal to the company to follow through on all steps during the implementation was particularly important for them.
