GIZ and OECD have presented the key findings of the situation and needs of companies undergoing digitalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the event entitled ”Strengthening of Innovation and Digitalisation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. It was concluded that it was necessary to strengthen the company monitoring and evaluation system, improve access to information through online platforms and stimulate the provision of tailor-made services for companies in order to ensure a favourable environment for their operation.

The event entitled ”Strengthening of Innovation and Digitalisation in Small and Medium-sized Companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina” was held in the framework of the EU4DigitalSME project that is co-financed by the European Union and the Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ) and is implemented by GIZ.

After a presentation of the analysis, policy creators from all government levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, members of the Small Business Act (SBA) working group, OECD and GIZ experts, representatives of the Delegation of the EU, the Chamber of Commerce and the private sector discussed priorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the further development of tailor-made business support services for companies.

Eva Naeher, GIZ programme manager, pointed out that the survey was focused on the verification of availability of digitalisation services for small and medium-sized enterprises and in particular the availability of consulting and support services for the process of digitalisation.

‘‘We have concluded that a very good service quality verification system has been established. However, when it comes to more sophisticated services such as trainings and consulting services, there is room for improvement, especially in order to ensure better access to innovative technologies, skills and services across value chains, which will result in a higher productivity of companies. Digital technologies will improve production processes and make companies more competitive”, Naeher said.

As underlined during the event, it is of the utmost importance to establish a support system in order to provide services that do not only involve finding consultants that will help the companies, but also ensures a long-term and systematic solution. Today’s event is the first step towards establishing a systematic approach, starting with an analysis of existing needs of companies, which will eventually result in the establishment of a database that entrepreneurs will be able to use in order to find information on types of business services in a simple and transparent manner.

The Innovation and Digitalisation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU4DigitalSME project that is co-financed by the European Union and Government of the Federal Republic of Germany aims to create a favourable environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to enable them to successfully implement the digitalisation and innovation transformation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.      

2 min

30/03/2023