A joint program of the EU and the Government of Germany for support of local self-government and economic development in BiH – EU ProLocal, which is conducted by GIZ, organized informational forums recently in Teslic, Laktasi and Siroki Brijeg, as a continuation of preparatory activities for the allocation of 4 million EUR worth grant to small and medium enterprises through public tenders.
Invitation for expressions of interest for participation in the grant for small and medium enterprises and development partnerships from metal and wood-processing sectors, as well as agribusiness and tourism from twenty partner municipalities, was published on the 1st of July.
At the invitation came 239 applications, of which 191 applications of individual enterprises, while 48 were submitted as a result of formed partnerships in order to strengthen the competitiveness of this sector.
Partner municipalities that participated in this invitation are: Prijedor, Prnjavor, Derventa, Gradiška, Laktaši, Kozarska Dubica,Srbac, Zenica, Gračanica, Brčko, Teslić, Tešanj, Žepče, Posušje, Široki Brijeg, Grude, Ljubuški, Prozor-Rama, Jablanica and Konjic.
The aim of the forum was to present the EU ProLocal program including the concept for the allocation of the grants, as well as the results of the public invitation. Obtained information showed that companies in BiH are interested, first of all, for the resources by which they are able to optimize business processes and improve access to the market.
The EU ProLocal program has the total value of 13 million EUR, of which 9 million EUR is financed by the EU within the framework of the project “Recovery of small and medium enterprises in the areas affected by floods and strengthening of their competitiveness on the basis of partnerships for local economic development”, and the remaining funds will be provided by the German government. The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Besides the grant, the program will provide a series of measures and technical assistance aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the aforementioned municipalities and small and medium enterprises in these municipalities. The priority in the allocation of grants will be given to municipalities or companies that have been affected by floods in 2014, as stated from the GIZ.
(Source: akta.ba)
