REG Newsletter 1

A large and continuous portion of REG work in the tourism sector is

committed to developing new and innovative regional tourism

products in the Western Balkans. Building on previous work, at the end of

June REG had developed a total of 37 new tourism products. The

products have been promoted regionally at: the Adventure Tourism Event

in Nis, Serbia, RCC Tourism Working Group meeting in Belgrade, Serbia,

and an Adventure EDU event in Kosovo.

As part of the product development initiative, REG is planning a series of

Product Development ‘Town Hall Meetings.’ The pilot activity was held in

June in Mavrovo, Macedonia. The town hall meeting was focused on

wildlife tourism and was intended to serve as a knowledge sharing and

networking event. It was attended by businesses which already supply services for tourism

(accommodation providers, restaurants, travel agencies, souvenirs producers and activity providers),

and by entrepreneurs interested in developing and selling new tourist attractions. The event

consisted primarily of businesses local to Macedonia, but also attracted participants from Albania

and Kosovo.

During the meeting, REG

regional consultants introduced

REG’s work in promoting

increased tourism across the

region, with specific emphasis

on the Western Balkans

Geotourism Network (WBGN)

and on initiatives particular to

Macedonia. Attendees then

participated in discussions

about emerging international

tourism demands, as well as a

workshop on the development

and promotion of new tourism

products. in discussions about

emerging international tourism

demands, as well as a workshop on the development and promotion of new tourism products.

REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH (REG) NEWSLETTER VOL.1 ISSUE 5 July 2015

Page 1 - Town Hall Meeting

Page 2 - Western Balkan Companies

and Global Supermarket Chains B2B,

REG Events into 2016

Page 3 - SEE IT Conference, Global-

GAP Capacity-Building Training

Page 4 - AdventureEDU Workshop

Page 5 - B2B Mission to Morocco,

Regional Women in Business Event

and B2B

Page 6 - First TRACTION Camp,

Export Certifications for Business

Linkages

Newsletter Spotlight: TOURISM | FIRST PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ‘TOWN

HALL MEETING’ HELD IN MAVROVO, MACEDONIA

The Town Hall Meeting in Mavrovo, Macedonia.

REG Newsletter 2

Agribusiness companies

in the Balkans have

limited internal capacity

to conduct in-depth

analysis of consumer and

market dynamics, to

understand and fulfill

prerequisites for

supplying large retail

chains, and to establish

direct contact with key potential importers. In

order to ameliorate those issues, REG, in

cooperation with CEED, organized a B2B

matchmaking on May 19th 2015 in Skopje,

Macedonia with the global supermarket chains TESCO and SPAR. The event was attended by 20

producers,

manufacturers, and

exporters of fresh and

processed F&V and

other food products

from Albania, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Kosovo,

Macedonia and Serbia.

Representatives from

TESCO and SPAR briefly

presented on company

requirements quality

standards and control,

demand dynamics for F&V

imports, and general

delivery and contracting

procedures. Afterwards,

attending companies were

able to present their

product ranges and to discuss becoming suppliers

to TESCO and SPAR. Those companies that

were already supplying TESCO and SPAR

supermarkets in some regional countries

discussed possible extension to other markets.

The TESCO and SPAR

respresentatives expressed

serious interest in and

commitment to continuing

discussions with

participating companies

about supplying fresh and

processed fruits and

vegetables and other food

products.

September 18th

Belgrade, Serbia - B2B Matchmaking Event for

Women in Business, with the CEED Network

October 15th-16th

Tbilisi, Georgia- Silk Road Forum

October 20th-21st

Belgrade, Serbia- Regional Trade Facilitation Work-

shop, in cooperation with the CEFFTA Secretariat,

RCC, and IFC

October 27th-30th

Odessa, Kyiv- #FTW TractionCamp Eurasia (for Bel-

arus, Moldova, Ukraine)

November 4th - 6th

Regional Trade Facilitation Workshop on the UN

Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide November

TBC (Tbilisi, Georgia) - #FTW TractionCamp Cau-

casus (for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)

November / December (TBC)

Belgrade, Serbia - Regional PPD Workshop, in coop-

eration with BEP Serbia

December / January TBC

Skopje, Macedonia - Regional Knowledge Sharing

Event on Agriculture financing, insurance, etc.

REG EVENTS: SEPTEMBER 2015- JANUARY 2016

Introduction of Mr. Michael Hartong (SPAR International)

B2B meeting of representatives of EKO Bell from BiH and TESCO

AGRIBUSINESS |B2B BETWEEN WESTERN BALKANS COMPANIES

AND GLOBAL SUPERMARKET CHAINS

REG Newsletter 3

AGRIBUSINESS | CAPACITY-BUILDING TRAINING ON GLOBAL GAP The Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)

standard introduces sustainable farm production

methods such as a reduction in the use of

chemicals and pesticides, animal welfare

protection, and a minimization of the

environmental externalities of on-farm

operations. GlobalGAP is one of the international

standards that food importers and consumers in

target markets want farmers and agribusinesses

to comply with, so the REG Project, in

partnership with IFC Agribusiness Standards

Advisory and RECURA, implemented a Global

Gap training from June 3rd–5th in Pristina, Kosovo.

The training was attended by 24 participants

from Kosovo and Macedonia. These participants

included farmers, representatives of agribusiness

firms, and consultants interested in acquiring

Global GAP certificate for Preferred Farm

Assurers (PFA). During the 3-day training,

participants were walked through all Global GAP

compliance measures then participated in

activities to identify control points in fertilizers

use, irrigation, integrated pest management, and

plant protection, and to resolve specific farm

issues according to Global GAP practices. All

participants received the official Global G.A.P.

materials and documentation in their preferred

language (English or Albanian).

At the end of the training, all participants took

the Global GAP Preferred Farm Assurer exam.

Those who successfully pass the exam will be

awarded a certificate which will enable them to

conduct Global GAP audits. This capacity will

increase the competitiveness of farmers and

companies when approaching large retailers in

the region and in targeted international markets.

IT | SEE IT CONFERENCE The USAID Partnership for Innovation (PI) project from BiH, in cooperation with the USAID REG

project and the GIZ Open Regional Fund for Foreign Trade Promotion, organized a South-East

European Information Technology (SEE IT) conference in Sarajevo on May 21st-22nd.

The main goal of the conference was to catalyze cooperation among participating business entities

for mutual benefit. The SEE IT conference gathered more than 150 participants from ICT

associations, mature and young ICT firms, and

companies from other industry sectors that

use ICT technologies in their business. The

event drew participants from Albania, Austria,

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,

Denmark, Germany, Greece, Kosovo,

Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands,

Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden,

and Turkey. The conference featured panel

discussions on important regional issues as

well as devoted time for more than 70 B2B

meetings with companies from regional and

target markets. Speakers for the SEE IT Conference. Sarajevo, BiH

Onsite visit to Agrovisioni Company to confirm and/or detect

Incompliance with the standard.

REG Newsletter 4

REG, in cooperation with USAID Empower project and Swiss Contact/PPSE, gathered adventure

tourism operators from the Western Balkans gathered in Pristina, Kosovo from June 3rd – 5th for the

ATTA AdventureEDU workshop and a regional B2B event.

The Adventure Travel Trade Association’s AdventureEDU training program is the first training

program focused on educating specialized adventure-travel tour operators. The AdventureEDU

series is part of an overall regional effort to prepare for the ATTA AdventureNEXT event that will

be held in Ohrid, Macedonia in May 2016.

During the two-day AdventureEDU event, experienced and successful representatives from

adventure travel agencies presented on a variety of topics, including: business management; product

pricing; marketing and communication; and contracting. The workshop was attended by 56

operators and service providers from the Western Balkans, all of whom received AdventureEDU

certificates at the end.

On June 5th, a regional B2B event was held, allowing the AdventureEDU participants to expand their

business connections and practice the delivery of their business presentations. Eleven regional

operators form Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, and 12 Kosovo operators took

part in the B2B program. In the survey conducted as a follow up to the event 89% of those who

took survey confirmed that they were able to establish new business contacts during the event.

TOURISM | ATTA ADVENTUREEDU WORKSHOP AND B2B EVENT

REG Newsletter 5

IT | B2B MISSION TO MOROCCO

REG, in cooperation with CEED Macedonia and

CEED Morocco, organized a B2B event in

Casablanca, Morocco in early June. This event

was attended by more than 15 IT companies and

business support

organizations from

Serbia, Bosnia and

Herzegovina. The

activity was designed in

response to a CEED

Morocco report which

identified a need for

cooperation between

the two developing IT

markets of Western Balkans and Morocco.

The purpose of the

event was to establish

linkages and business contacts between

companies from the Western Balkans and

Morocco in order to spur future cooperation.

The event consisted of B2Bs and of in-depth

presentations about the two regions’ respective

IT markets. Mr. Ahmed

Amni from IBM

Morocco and Ms. Rabia

El Alama from the IT

department of the

American Chamber of

Commerce in Morocco

presented on the

Moroccan market, and

Ms. Smlja Krajinovic

from The Vojvodina IT

Cluster and Ms. Zana

Karkin from Bosnia Bit-

Alliance presented

about the IT market in the Balkans.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP | REGIONAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS EVENT AND B2B

The REG Project, in cooperation with CEED

Macedonia and CEED Albania, organized a

Regional Women in Business event and B2B

event on June 11th. The event, which took place

in Tirana, Albania, was intended to educate

female entrepreneurs on regional opportunities

and forms of support,

and to help them find

prospective partners

for future cooperation.

More than 60

participants attended

the event, and

participants included

regional companies and

organizations such as

USAID, UNDP, EBRD,

Albanian Investment Development Agency,

SEECEL Croatia, and RISI Albania. Although the

emphasis in recruitment and programming was

on female entrepreneurs, all entrepreneurs from

the region were welcome to participate.

The event began with a series of presentations.

The first presentation was about USAID and

EBRD activities in the field of female

entrepreneurship. This

was followed by a

presentation on the

overall business and

investment climate in

the region. The final

presentation was about

the challenges that

female entrepreneurs

face, and current

opportunities for

growth and

progression. After the

presentations ended, a B2B meeting and

matchmaking event took place.

Presentation about regional IT Markets

Presentation at the Regional Women in Business B2B

REG Newsletter 6

Filip Stoyanovich

Chief of Party

fstoyanovich@segura-co.net

http://www.regproject.net/

This newsletter is produced by USAID’s Regional Economic Growth REG; Implemented by SEGURA Consulting LLC.

IT | EXPORT CERTIFICATIONS FOR BUSINESS LINKAGES

REG recently undertook a pilot activity related to export certification and business linkages in

cooperation with the Badden Waurttember Business Bridge (BWBB) from Germany. The program

combines export-quality certification with mentoring for entering or expanding in the German

market.

Non-German IT companies face high barriers when entering the German market despite the fact

that German SMEs suffer from a domestic IT skills shortage. In order to respond to those

challenges, BWBB has developed a methodology for training and certifiying IT companies. Holding a

BWBB certification proves a company’s adherence to recognized standards, and thus makes them

more competitive in the German market.

The certification process is as follows: BWBB conducts a questionnaire-based quality assessment of

IT services vendors, analyzing 32 indicators in 8 categories including company/employee information,

technical portfolio, corporate governance, data security, marketing and sales, adherence to social

standards. BWBB validates these indicators through an onsite visit to the company. Once completed

successfully, BWBB generates a certificate and publishes the company online in a directory of

certified vendors. This certification process is augmented by a 2-day extensive mentoring workshop

on entering and expanding in the German market.

BWBB has already certified one regional company under the program and is in the process of

certifying five more. Companies currently taking part in this pilot are: Exekom in Serbia (already

certified); ikubINFO from Albania; Infonet, Ping and Loopfrom BiH; and SIMT from Macedonia.

REG CONTACT

On June 9-11, REG held the first TRACTION Camp

in Mavrovo, Macedonia. TRACTION Camp is a

comprehensive workshop for scalable IT companies,

and the event attracted 19 participants from Albania,

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, and

Serbia. Over the course of three days, six

experienced investment, marketing, business

development, and management experts from the USA

and Europe trained local founders in best practices

related to entering global markets with scalable IT

products. The final event of TRACTION Camp was a pitching competition, which resulted in four

companies from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Kosovo receiving prizes from the New Man’s

Business Accelerator of Skopje, Macedonia.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP | REG HOLDS FIRST TRACTION CAMP EVENT