SERDA and GIZ invite small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the metal and wood industry in the Sarajevo Canton to apply for a public call for support in energy transition.
The Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency SERDA has launched a Public Call for co-financing energy transition measures for small and medium-sized enterprises in the wood and metal processing industry in the Sarajevo Canton. As part of the Public Call, small and medium-sized enterprises from the wood and metal processing industry can submit applications for technical assistance and grants for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the energy transition of SMEs from the wood and metal processing industry in the Sarajevo Canton.
The public call is implemented as part of the project “Developing sustainable tourism practices and energy-efficient business in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, co-financed by the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton, and is part of the COVID-19 Investment Response/ EU4BusinessRecovery program financed by the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ ), and it is implemented by Deutsche Gesellshaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, UNDP and ILO.
The goal of the project is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the area of the Sarajevo Canton by creating an energy analysis that will include energy efficiency, technological processes as well as transport in the production and service provision processes and defining measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as well as co-financing the implementation of measures, which the SMEs will implement in order to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the processes of production, transport and the use of energy sources for heating production areas.
“The project foresees technical assistance and co-financing of the implementation of detailed energy analyses for SMEs, the identification of potential measures and projects for the implementation of energy transition measures with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies), the implementation of the analysis of energy and environmental benefits, as well as the impact of identified measures and energy transition projects, and the selection of projects for the implementation of energy transition measures based on previously carried out analyses and assessments.
The project includes the implementation of selected measures, i.e. energy transition projects in SMEs with the financial assistance of the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton, as well as monitoring and supervision of implementation and evaluation and verification of the achieved effects after the implementation in SMEs”, said Faruk Cerić, senior program manager at SERDA.
“As part of the project, the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton will finance the preparation of an energy analysis in order to identify and select measures and projects for energy transition in the amount of up to 100,000 KM and co-finance the implementation of energy transition measures in the total amount of up to 395,000.00 BAM, i.e. in the amount of up to 39,500 BAM per SME, and a maximum of 49% of the value of energy transition measures”, said the Minister of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton, Adnan Delić.
The project “Developing sustainable tourism practices and energy-efficient business in Bosnia and Herzegovina ” is implemented within the wider Covid-19 Investment Response/EU4BusinessRecovery project, which provides support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in mitigating the economic consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 Investment Response/EU4BusinessRecovery is worth 13.7 million euros, and is jointly financed by the European Union with 13 million euros, and the Federal Republic of Germany with 700 thousand euros. It is implemented by GIZ, ILO and UNDP.
The European Union and the Government of the Republic of Germany, aware of the inevitability of the green transition and the need for the decarbonization of SMEs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the pressures of export markets and the energy crisis, which has caused numerous problems for BiH companies, continuously provide support to the private sector to strengthen resilience and increase competitiveness. Given that the green transition requires significant investments in new technologies, the introduction of energy and resource efficiency, as well as the use of renewable sources, GIZ provides financial and technical assistance to BiH companies on this path within the COVID19 Investment Response – EU4BusinessRecovery project. Furthermore, the cooperation achieved with the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton is a significant step forward in the joint work of BiH institutions and international donors, and is laying grounds for future programming of joint activities to support entrepreneurs,” said Dania Kreig, project manager at GIZ.
“The investment in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources increases the competitiveness of our companies. This is especially important when we consider the current high energy prices. The project will help SMEs to analyse all measures to reduce energy costs and to introduce a system for monitoring these costs. In addition to reducing costs, the grant-supported measures will contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution, especially air, and to the reduction of energy imports, which means less outflow of money from the Sarajevo Canton and improvement of energy security. In addition, the application of the latest technologies in the relevant industries will be supported, which will improve working conditions in SMEs”, said Prof. Dr. Azrudin Husika from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Sarajevo.
The public call is open until March 22, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact:
Faruk Cerić, Project Coordinator, Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency SERDA
Tel: 033/652-935
E-mail: [email protected]
