FIPA Activities

FIPA representatives at the Economic Forum in Žepče

10/24/2023

Representatives of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FIPA) participated at the 10th Economic Forum of the Municipality of Žepče, which was held on October 19, 2023.

During the Forum, panel discussions were held covering the current topics of businessmen in Žepče: "How grant funds encourage business development", "Economic cooperation with the diaspora - an opportunity for development" and "BiH on the way to the EU - challenges and opportunities through international cooperation and projects".

Through the panels, the experiences of businessmen in applying for projects with foreign donors (from public invitation, application, selection and finally implementation) were exchanged. Frequent mistakes of applicants were pointed out and attention was drawn to the volume of documents required for application.

In addition to companies, development agencies that continuously help businessmen and apply for projects with foreign donors also shared their experiences. Representatives of the Directorate for European Integration of BiH, the International Labor Organization in BiH-ILO and Caritas Switzerland/Niras spoke about the public calls made in BiH so far, as well as the current and future projects to which small and medium-sized enterprises can apply.

One of the topics of the meeting was support for diaspora investments in Žepče, which contributed to the economic development of the municipality with their knowledge, capital and business connections.

 

Testimonials & Success Stories
 

Global Investment Promotion Best Practices 2012 of the World Bank has cited one example of support that FIPA provides to foreign investors who are running business in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to contribute to increase the flow of foreign capital in the country.

The article said:  

„The Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina was an early convert to the idea of providing facilitation services to agribusiness investors as a way to maximize the positive impact of agriculture on the economy.

In 2007, for example, FIPA assisted a Dutch food processing company establish a US$1.6 million production facility to process unused milk ingredients into value-added products in Sarajevo to sell to markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

As part of its aftercare program, FIPA assisted the company with its expansion plans. Among other things, the agency helped facilitate veterinary permissions, navigate various bureaucratic hurdles and played an important role in securing funding for the company’s expansion. It also helped develop a network of local suppliers and customers. As a result of these efforts, the Dutch investor developed stronger links with the Bosnian economy, thus increasing the positive spillover effects on the local economy.

Currently a new investment to establish a drying facility for milk powder is under way. This will further expand the processing facilities of unused milk ingredients. This additional planned investment is worth approximately US$2.8 million, thus nearly trebling the company’s original investment in the country“.

 

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