In Sarajevo, incentive programs for the economy are ready

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton today published on its official website a Public Call for the second set of programs from the Annual Implementation Plan of the Small Economy Development Program for 2021. The Public Call is available at https://mp.ks.gov.ba/aktuelno/konkursi/javni-poziv-za-odabir-korisnika-poticajnih-sredstava-po-programima-za

“The programs relate to incentives for subsidies - reimbursement of interest on taken loans, reimbursement of costs for technological modernization, application of quality standards and business digitalization, as well as incentives for new investments in technological modernization and application of quality standards, incentives for small economy start-up entities, and incentives for the development of female entrepreneurship,” stated Minister Delić.

He explained that the program “Subsidies - reimbursement of interest on taken loans” includes, among other things, reducing financing costs and stabilizing business operations. The minimum loan amount for which a portion of the interest costs for 2019 and 2020 will be subsidized is KM 30,000, while the maximum loan amount is KM 1 million per entity.

The program “Reimbursement of costs for technological modernization, application of quality standards and business digitalization” involves submitting applications for the Public Call for subsidizing - reimbursement of eligible documented costs for the procurement of machinery, equipment for the application of technical norms and quality standards, and business digitalization in order to support liquidity and/or new employment.

“KM 400,000 is planned for this program, while the maximum amount that individual business entities can receive per Public Call is up to KM 20,000,” said the minister.

The third program from the Public Call presented today is “Incentives for new investments in technological modernization and application of quality standards”, through which it is planned to strengthen competitiveness and encourage the development of small economy entities. It includes subsidizing/reimbursing eligible costs incurred after the publication of the public call for starting new and maintaining existing production and jobs, up to fifty percent, or up to KM 15,000 per individual beneficiary. The total funds planned for this purpose amount to KM 150,000.

The Ministry's Public Call also relates to submitting applications for incentives for the development of female entrepreneurship and start-up entities of the small economy, which Minister Delić highlighted as important programs. The planned funds for these two programs amount to slightly more than half a million KM.

“It is important to emphasize that the incentive for start-up entities of the small economy is a program that differs from the Support for Youth in Starting Start-up Businesses program, given that the inquiries we often receive at the Ministry indicate that they are somehow linked. These are separate programs, and the incentive for youth will be announced next week, while the one we are announcing today relates to the reimbursement of certain costs for start-up business entities established in the period from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2020. Each individual start-up can receive reimbursement of eligible costs in a maximum amount of up to KM 15,000,” explained the minister. He added that the total funds planned for this program amount to KM 260,000.

The program for incentives for the development of female entrepreneurship implies that the entity is majority-owned by a woman, i.e., at least 51%, and reimbursement of eligible costs for the period 01.01.2019 to 31.12.2020, while the incentive amount per individual entity is the same as for start-up entities, i.e., up to KM 15,000.

Minister Delić emphasized that the public calls will be published in the next issue of the Official Gazette of KS, which will most likely be on Thursday, July 15, 2021, and, as prescribed by law, the duration of the public calls will be counted from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

He also reminded that the public calls presented last week were published yesterday in the Official Gazette of KS.

“The Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton informs business banks and small economy entities that are eligible to participate in the relevant public calls that the deadline for submitting applications is 30 days from the date of publication of these notices,” said the minister, adding that the application forms for the first set of public calls have been published on the Ministry's website, along with a link to each relevant public call as an additional document.