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SARAJEVO, January 9 (FENA) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU are successfully implementing the program "Support to the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH-SME-CSF)", and after a year and a half, EUR 15.7 million of the EBRD / EU Small Business Loan Facility have been secured, and small companies are expected to receive more than four million euros of grants from the EU funds.
The EBRD stated that the biggest problem for the private sector and small and medium enterprises, apart from administrative barriers, is the lack of capital, and that the experience of developed countries shows that entrepreneurs need favorable financial incentives to secure investment funds.
Head of the EBRD Office in BiH, Ian Brown, said they are satisfied with the success of the program and that they are grateful to the EU for continuous support.
“We have complementary goals, and our approach and working together enables us to influence the development of the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Brown.
Head of the Department for Economic Development, Natural Resources and Infrastructure at the EU Delegation to BiH Andrea Vera said that the EU has established long-term cooperation with the EBRD in implementing the SME support program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, complementing the EBRD loan with a grant from IPA funds.
“These programs have provided significant benefits. The EBRD’s experience in SME policy in the EU aims to maximize benefits and further synergy by facilitating the introduction of EU standards by providing adequate advisory services and better access to funding,” said Vera.
The ongoing support of the EBRD and the EU is aimed at improving the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in the domestic, regional and European markets, through harmonization with the EU directives and standards in the field of occupational safety and health, environmental protection and product safety and quality.
So far, 58 projects have been financed through the EBRD loan program, of which 44 projects have already been finalized and verified, and five will be verified within next two months. Most of the financed projects are from wood processing industry (22 percent), metalworking industry (12 percent) and food industry (10 percent).
"Pađeni" dairy from Bileća is one of the companies which has aligned its operations with the EU directives, and whose products have been present in the EU market since 2016.
Manager of the dairy Nenad Vukoje said that the EBRD / EU project has motivated them to complete the launched investment, which this year amounted to about 800,000 euros, the EBRD said in a press statement.
(FENA) S. R.
