Diaspora for Development: An Investment Fund amounting to 1,400,000 KM was established in cooperation with the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

June 22, 2018

An Investment Fund focused on the economic sector, which will ensure the award of grants for the purpose of supporting investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with the diaspora, was established today in Sarajevo in cooperation with the Development Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the framework of the project ''Diaspora for Development'', a project of the Government of Switzerland and Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in partnership with UNDP BiH and IOM BiH.

″In my opinion, the partnership between the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the project 'Diaspora for Development' is only the beginning of high-quality and, first of all, useful cooperation between these two institutions. It is obvious that our entrepreneurs or the society in general benefit directly from our cooperation. In case of this project, applicants have the possibility to apply for both for a grant and a loan from the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under extremely favourable conditions and loan terms, so that the whole package is a very favourable development project for entrepreneurs. In addition to conducting a financial evaluation of the suggested investment and a due diligence of the creditworthiness of the beneficiary, the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will also conduct the technical and financial monitoring of the implementation of selected or approved projects,'' said Salko Selman, Director of the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The project Diaspora for Development published a public call for submission of investment proposals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including also guidelines. They are available at the following link:  https://bit.ly/2K0d6ZW. The proposed investment projects will be implemented in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brčko District, and they are planned to be completed by June 30, 2020. The maximum financial grant per project amounts to 200,000 KM, whereas the minimum grant per project amounts to 88,000 KM, and the applicant submitting an investment project must ensure co-financing amounting to at least 60%.

″One of our goals is to support partnerships between the businessmen from the diaspora and representatives of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in competitive sectors such as IT industry, processing industry with a high share of final products, etc., and to transfer know-how, business networks and capital in order to create new investments and jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina″, said Merima Avdagić, Diaspora for Development Project Manager.