Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina affected by the coronavirus pandemic will receive assistance through a new loan of $65.3 million USD (106 million BAM), which was approved by the World Bank on Saturday, December 12th.
The recovery and support project will help businesses to recover through easier access to much-needed long-term financing and through the offer of customized programs, aimed at technology adoption and digitalization.
The project will also support the redesign of government programs to help companies adapt to the post-COVID-19 situation. The project is expected to directly support hundreds of companies, covering as many as 10,000 jobs.
– MSMEs in BiH have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they face a combination of shocks related to reduced demand, lack of working capital and disruption of the supply chain, which is why many of them have to seek external financing to sustain their business, jobs and finally recover from the crisis – said Emanuel Salinas, head of the World Bank office for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
This project is an additional component of a broader response to the crisis and is aimed at assisting MSMEs by the World Bank Group and other development partners. The portfolio of active projects of the World Bank in BiH consists of eleven projects, with a total value of $526.60 million.
Other areas where support is provided are health, transport, employment, energy efficiency, local infrastructure and water resources management.
