BANJA LUKA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), November 15 (SeeNews) – The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF) said on Tuesday it is funding 50 hours of business advice for 30 start-ups in Bosnia in partnership with the Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency (SERDA) to support the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
The selected start-ups represent a broad range of industries, including raspberry farming, forest fruit harvesting, furniture restoration, IT, 3D printing, and designer eyewear production, EFSE said in a statement.
The mentoring programme represents a form of support for MSMEs based on a system SERDA previously developed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
"Mentoring services are designed to teach entrepreneurs new skills and help them overcome obstacles by identifying the best solutions for their business", EFSE noted.
The mentoring will take place over six months.
EFSE DF committee chairman Markus Aschendorf said in the statement: “Supporting entrepreneurs remains one of our core goals, and programmes like these offer the kind of assistance often required by managers of new businesses. The DF sees such mentoring as part of its financial inclusion mandate as the professionalization of start-ups increases their bankability and is thus an important factor for company growth and resilience.”
The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF) was created in 2006 to support the fund’s development finance mandate.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) was initiated by German development bank KfW with the financial support of the German ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ) and the European Commission. It aims to foster economic development and prosperity in 16 countries in Southeast Europe and the European Eastern Neighbourhood.