Project Description
Promotes local economic development through support to municipalities to improve their business enabling environment and their private sector outreach activities.
- Financed by: USAID/Sida GOLD Project
- In the period: 24.04.2015 to 08.08.2016
The USAID Sida GOLD Project (GOLD = Growth Oriented Local Development) promotes local economic development through support to municipalities to improve their business enabling environment and their private sector outreach activities. On one hand, the project focuses on building the sustainable infrastructure and human resource capacity of municipalities to analyze their business environment, private sector activity, and the needs of local employers and potential investors. Much of this is based on the framework provided by the SEE Business Friendly Certification process (BFC).
On the other hand, the project works with municipal local economic development officials on practical measures to meet businesses, identify strategic industries and firms, and to design activities to stimulate further training and employment of the local workforce, increase investments, sales and exports, and devise ways to improve entrepreneurship and access to finance.
Overall objective
Promotion of local economic development through support to municipalities to improve their business enabling environment and their private sector outreach activities.
Specific objectives
- Improved local economic management capacity
- Improved economic tools for economic activity
- Functioning, sustainable, transparent, institutionalized mechanisms for engaging public and private sector actors
- Strengthened capacity of the private sector
Proposed activities
The project’s core results are focused on local economic development targeted on generating jobs, investment, sales and exports. The GOLD project has 47 partner municipalities which are organized by our six (6) Hubs – Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina, Ljubuski, Sarajevo and Tuzla.
REZ Agencija has concluded a contract of IDIQ (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity) type with the USAID/Sida GOLD Project. This type of contract provides for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time. Accordingly, envisaged activities are:
- Generate a network of local economic development facilitators who will implement activities in conjunction with partner municipalities
- Through the local economic development facilitators, generate calls for proposals to firms within partner municipalities to implement the above.
- Monitor results of all activities and report results to the GOLD project.
Achieved results
- As a partner, REZ Agency was co-ordinator of activities for the “Partnership Agreement” of the project “Job creation through critical workforce development training activities”. Other signatories of the agreement were: USAID Sida GOLD Project; The Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton; Federal Employment Service; Municipalities: Visoko, Maglaj, Zavidovići and Olovo; Companies: D&T Company Visoko, HM Promet Maglaj, ZOKO Zavidovići, ALMA RAS Olovo, ALMA RAS Visoko, SINERGA Visoko and EXCEL Assemblies Maglaj.
- Total of 7 projects implemented until the end of 2015.
- Total of 699 new workers employed.
