The German Robotics Centre in Tuzla (DKR) was visited by Eva Näher, Programme Manager of GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to discuss the project of digitalisation and progress of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

This visit marked the continuation of a long-term cooperation between GIZ and DKR for the purpose of improving the conditions for the promotion of innovation, digitalisation and progress of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The German Robotics Centre, or the Tuzla-based company Industrial Automation d.o.o., and its partners, the Ministry of Economy of Tuzla Canton and Strascheg Centre for Entrepreneurship GmbH (SCE) from Munich are part of the DIH initiative ”Industrial Hub”, which is part of the wider project EU4DigitalSME, financed by the European Union and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ).

This DIH is specialised in automation and robotics. The vision of the ”Industrial Hub” is to become a leading digital hub in the region that supports the growth of companies through high-tech solutions, ensuring their competitiveness in the EU market.

The idea of the Tuzla-based consortium Industrial Hub is to support local and regional companies in the process of digital transformation towards modern technologies, and especially in the process of automation and industrial robotics. This would be achieved through mentoring, trainings and use of state-of-art equipment.

Ms. Näher became acquainted with the work, projects, training and industrial services offered by the German Robotics Centre (DKR) and its plans for the coming period.

The project focusing on the establishment of a digital innovation hub in Tuzla aims to ensure access to technical expertise and, among other things, enable small and medium-sized companies to ”test before they invest” in order to improve their competitiveness and business operations by improving business processes, products or services through digital technologies. It is planned that Industrial Hub will also provide innovative services, such as consultancy, training and development of skills needed for a successful digital transformation.

The establishment and support to the development of DIH services is one of the key activities of the project EU4DigitalSME implemented by GIZ. Its goal is to contribute to the establishment of an ecosystem for digitalisation, automation and innovation at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.