Workforce and Higher Access to Markets (WHAM) Activity Quarterly Program Performance Report, April 1– June 30, 2019, Fiscal Year 2019

The WHAM Activity aims to stimulate job creation by advancing Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) trade integration with, and expansion into, the European Union (EU) and regional markets. The Activity focuses on BiH organizations and enterprises working in, or linked to, four main sectors: wood processing, metal processing, textile/apparel, and information and communications technology (ICT). The WHAM Activity includes three key intervention areas: Workforce Development, Access to Markets, and Product Quality and Capacity Building. The objective of Workforce Development is to help the BiH workforce gain the skills needed for employment in high-growth enterprises. The Access to Markets intervention aims to support high-growth enterprises in identifying and accessing new customers in existing or new markets to increase exports from BiH. The Product Quality and Capacity Building intervention enables enterprises to meet the product and quality requirements of target markets in the EU and the region. During the reporting period of April 1 to June 30, 2019, the WHAM Activity continued supporting the implementation of 20 active grants. Nine new grant agreements were signed with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that submitted grant applications in response to Request for Applications (RFA) 2, RFA 3, RFA 4, and RFA 5. These public calls were published concurrently in the first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year. The total value of grants awarded to these nine SMEs is not specified. Grant beneficiaries created 68 new jobs during this quarter, bringing the total number of new jobs created to date to 924. The WHAM Activity also fielded two international expert volunteers: Mrs. Leekei Wai Han Tang as a textile sector expert; and, Željko Malečić, an automotive and metal expert. These volunteer experts provided new perspectives for WHAM Activity beneficiaries and partners to increase their marketability and production capacity as well as new linkages to potential EU and United Kingdom (UK) clients. The WHAM Activity provided continual support to 20 active grant awards this reporting period. The active grants are listed below: - Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00001) in Sarajevo Center, with a grant start date of March 27, 2018, and a grant end date of June 30, 2019. - Chamber of Economy of FBIH (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00001) in Sarajevo Center, with a grant start date of March 27, 2018, and a grant end date of March 28, 2020. - Privredna komora RS (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00001) in Banja Luka, with a grant start date of April 11, 2018, and a grant end date of April 10, 2019. - Chamber of Commerce of Una-Sana Canton (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00001) in Bihac, with a grant start date of April 11, 2018, and a grant end date of April 10, 2019. - Regional Development Agency for Central BiH (REZ) (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00001) in Zenica, with a grant start date of October 11, 2018, and a grant end date of September 30, 2019. - SARAJ-KOMERC (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00002) in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, with a grant start date of February 15, 2019, and a grant end date of April 14, 2019. - ATT (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00002) in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, with a grant start date of February 15, 2019, and a grant end date of August 14, 2019. - SINKRO (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00003) in Ilidza, with a grant start date of February 15, 2019, and a grant end date of August 14, 2019. - MIVIKO (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00005) in Posusje, with a grant start date of March 6, 2019, and a grant end date of March 5, 2020. - TEM MANDEKS (WHAM-AID-168-LA-17-00005) in Siroki Brijeg, with a grant start date of March 6,