Activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SME Promotion Project in BiH (Technical Cooperation Project)

Period : February 2007 to May 2009
Counterpart Organisations : (Central Government)
• Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (Entity Government)
• Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Craft (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Ministry of Economy, Energy and Development (Republika Srpska)

With more than 10 years passed since the end of the conflict, Bosnia and Herzegovina is moving from a stage of economic reconstruction to the stage of the promotion of market-oriented economy, and stablishing economy that does not rely on outside assistance is of at most importance.

It is necessary to create strong market economy for the promotion of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), however, government assistance does not reach to each SMEs enough because of the complicated government structure and not-well-coordinated activities of related government bodies.

JICA is conducting a project aiming to a better coordination among government institutions with regard to SME promotion through a combination of dispatch of experts and training in Japan. This is the first project in SME promotion sector in BiH.