Annual Summary Report for the Diaspora Invest Activity

The policy work has resulted in adoption of two diaspora strategies that will improve the underlying conditions for diaspora investment in the country. The BiH Diaspora Marketplace has generated private sector investment and employment that exceeded the set targets. The work on diaspora investment platforms has grown substantially, both in terms of scale and scope, expanding the services to new areas. The adoption of diaspora strategies by the Federation of BiH and the Brcko District Governments marks a major milestone in Diaspora Invest policy work. The FBiH Strategy was adopted at the 196th session of the FBiH Government held on October 24, 2019, and the Brcko District Strategy at the 72nd session of the Brcko District Government held on December 17, 2019. The state-level strategy has yet to be adopted by the Council of Ministers. The BiH Diaspora Marketplace has been successful in generating private sector investment and employment. Two Business Plan Competitions were held during the year with 17 new grant agreements signed. Diaspora Invest received 82 applications during the two public calls with applicants coming from 21 countries. The selected grantees have been awarded grant assistance with the ceiling of $384,683, while the planned co-investment from these beneficiaries is expected to total $4.57 million. The implementation of small grants generated 74 new jobs and yielded a total of $6.52 million in investment ($1.58 million in cost share and $4.94 million in fixed asset investment) by the grantees during Year 3. USAID-disbursed co-financing to grant beneficiaries amounted to $451,548, thus leveraging each dollar invested by the USG with approximately 15 dollars of private investment during the year. Twenty grants were closed-out, with companies graduating from the BiH Diaspora Marketplace. The closed-out grants were stemming from RFA 2 (7 grant agreements), RFA 3 (9 grant agreements), and RFA 4 (4 grant agreement). The work on diaspora investment platforms has grown substantially, both in terms of scale and scope. Non-grant TA interventions were initiated with 37 new beneficiaries, more than doubling the number of investors receiving technical assistance compared to the previous year. The services have been expanded to new areas, and the activities implemented and the results achieved to support the realization of key objectives include the following: Component 1 has resulted in adoption of two diaspora strategies, Component 2 has generated private sector investment and employment, and Component 3 has grown substantially in terms of scale and scope. The implementation strategy for the Diaspora Invest Activity was scaled up to achieve the expected results. The activities implemented and the results achieved to support the realization of key objectives include the following: Component 1 has resulted in adoption of two diaspora strategies, Component 2 has generated private sector investment and employment, and Component 3 has grown substantially in terms of scale and scope. The Diaspora Invest Activity has achieved several important milestones during the third year of implementation across all key intervention areas. The policy work has resulted in adoption of two diaspora strategies that will improve the underlying conditions for diaspora investment in the country. The BiH Diaspora Marketplace has generated private sector investment and employment that exceeded the set targets. The work on diaspora investment platforms has grown substantially, both in terms of scale and scope, expanding the services to new areas. The implementation of small grants generated 74 new jobs and yielded a total of $6.52 million in investment by the grantees during Year 3.