Project Description

Facilitating Value Chains under the USAID/Sida FIRMA is about identification of needs and constraints for implementation of the project interventions, strengthening of cooperation with local stakeholders from private and public sectors.

  • Financed by: USAID/Sida FIRMA Project
  • In the period: 01.01.2010 – 31.12.2014

FIRMA = Fostering Interventions for Rapid Market Advancement

Overall objective

Support to small and medium enterprises and local authorities in identification of needs and constraints for implementation of the project interventions, strengthening of cooperation with local stakeholders from private and public sectors in order to encourage a significant increase in sales, exports, employment and financing in three focal sectors (wood processing, metal processing and tourism).

Specific objectives

  1. Create and manage grants from USAID/Sida FIRMA Project and provide technical assistance.
  2. Achieve an impact on at least 40% of the value chains in the sectors of wood processing, metal processing and tourism in BiH.
  3. Enable increase in sales by 50%, employment by 35%, exports by 60% and funding by 40%.

Proposed activities

  • In partnership with USAID/Sida FIRMA Project, REZ Agency realized about 50 activities.
  • The project “Fund for the introduction of internationally recognized quality standards” was implemented.
  • Organization of participation of BiH enterprises on 9 international fairs and business meetings for customers from the Netherlands.
  • Implementation of at least 15 seminars/workshops on different topics.

Achieved results

Some of the results that have became shared references for USAID/Sida FIRMA Project and REZ Agency are:

  1. Beneficiaries of the project have increased its turnover by 40% by the end of the fourth year of implementation.
  2. Increased employment registered among beneficiaries of the FIRMA Project to 38% by the end of the fourth year of implementation.
  3. Companies that participated in the fairs signed contracts worth over 86 million KM.
  4. Enterprise, beneficiaries of the FIRMA Project assisted to more than 2,000 people to improve their working positions or to find a new job.
  5. The project implemented various programs of workforce development involving over 4,000 people.