BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA WORKFORCE AND HIGHER ACCESS TO MARKETS (WHAM) ACTIVITY QUARTERLY REPORT

Increasing exports and collaborating with market actors will further this growth, drive innovation, and increase opportunities for new employment and high-growth enterprise expansion. Closer interaction with the European Union (EU) and regional markets is key to the stability, growth, and renaissance of this important intersection for trade, relations, and culture between the East and West. The Workforce and Access to Higher Markets (WHAM) Activity is stimulating job creation by advancing Bosnia and Herzegovina's trade integration with, and expansion into, the EU and regional markets. The Activity is accomplishing this goal primarily via a grant program for Bosnia and Herzegovina private enterprises. Grants prioritize high-growth, exporting or export-ready enterprises aiming to expand capacity, reach more markets, and generate employment. The Activity's efforts focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina organizations and enterprises working in, or linked to, three main sectors: wood processing, metal processing, and textile/footwear sectors. During this reporting period, the WHAM Activity continued supporting the implementation of 13 active grants, six of which were signed during this reporting period. To date, grant beneficiaries have created 233 new jobs, achieved expected results, and brought the total number of new jobs created to date to 856. The WHAM Activity provided continual support to all active grant awards this reporting period. The active grants are listed below: WHAM–S–6–5–G-002, WHAM–S–2–6–G-003, WHAM–N–3–1–G004, WHAM–N–8–3–G005, WHAM–N–4–2–G006, WHAM-S-18-7-G007, WHAM-S-42-14-G008, WHAM-S-105-18-G009, WHAM-S-100-30-G010, WHAM-S-24-35-G011, WHAM-S-78-38-G012, WHAM-S-80-39-G013. The WHAM Activity also fielded three international expert volunteers: Mr. Wael Gamaleldin, a textile sector expert; Daniel Weerbrouck, a furniture and markets expert; and, Željko Malečić, an automotive and metal expert. These volunteer experts provided new perspectives for WHAM beneficiaries and partners to increase their marketability and production capacity, as well as new linkages to potential EU and UK clients. The WHAM team concluded the reporting period closing three grant agreements: Chamber of Commerce RS; PREDA; and, Chamber of Commerce Una Sana Canton. The WHAM Activity and Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FTC) signed a grant agreement entitled “EXCERT: Market Access and Certification Support of Metal and Wood Companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Worth a total of BAM, or approximately USD, this grant aids local wood and metal processing enterprises in the following three ways: supported/co-financed the participation of seven local metal sector companies at the renowned Messe Fair in Hannover, Germany, in April 2018; supported/co-financed the participation of eight wood processing companies from BiH at the Internationale Möbelmesse (IMM) Fair in Cologne, Germany, in January 2019; and, assisting/supporting the certification of 10 local metal sector companies with the latest internationally accepted standards and requirements. Between January 14 and 19, representatives and beneficiaries of the FTC grant program attended the EU's largest furniture and interior design tradeshow, the Internationale Möbelmesse (IMM) Fair in Cologne, Germany. With WHAM grant support, FTC organized the participation of these eight companies from BIH, which included companies from the wood processing sector.