Sectors	Competitiveness and innovation
EU Acquis Chapters	Enterprise and industrial policy
EU funds	368 766 €
Implementation period	2010 - 2024
Categories	Civil society;  Digital ;  Gender ;  Climate action (Mouse hover to see significance)

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the generators of new employment and growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is clear that support to MSMEs is crucial for future economic development in BiH. However, MSMEs are still facing a number of barriers for their growth and development. Removing those barriers requires coordinated and partnership based actions of all relevant stakeholders and counterparts. The European Union recognised those needs, and provided series of development projects to contribute to the increase of the growth, job creation and export potential of MSMEs in competitive sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, like metal and wood industries, dairy, fruits and vegetables and medial and aromatic plants. In that respect, this European Union project aimed at generation of economic growth and employment through targeted assistance to the BiH wood industry by introducing modern production technologies, knowledge-based economy and advancement of the production technique for added value products through EU compliant standards certification, with an ultimate goal of improving competitiveness of BiH wood products on internal and external markets.

With the European Union funding, this project had significant impact on increasing standards and quality control as well as on improving market positioning of competitive SMEs in wood industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this assistance, we directly enabled improvements in the business environment, removing complex obstacle to exporters of wood products from BiH to the EU markets. Nowadays, there are more than 100 BiH companies that are highly competitive exporters of wood products country-wide. Those companies benefited from our support in infrastructure works, equipping and accreditation process of the first laboratory for furniture and wood testing in BiH – “Lind” which has been accredited by the European Accreditation body for testing and calibration of wood products. The laboratory, located in Techno Park Zenica, is now certified for performing testing of furniture and wood products in security standards - stability and resistance - and is enabled, according to the European Accreditation, to issue testing reports on compliance with the EU security standards, valid for export to the EU. Physical infrastructure and the space arrangements required specific conditions to comply with – level of humidity, temperature, chambers for delivery and maintenance of products under testing etc. It also required highly sophisticated machinery ring to perform series of testing methods – crucial elements of that ring are: • 3 D machine that checks dimensions of products, • machine for testing stability performances and universal testing platform, so-called four cylinders’ machine for testing security and conformity of usage and • so-called drop test machine that tests resistance of the construction of products to pressures and strokes. Nowadays, the BiH accredited laboratory, performs tests of security standards for furniture in the following categories: sitting furniture of all types, desks of all types, office furniture. The laboratory will continue upgrading its standards and performance, and it is expected that will apply for expanding their certification to other fields of competitive products, like furniture for children and schools. Competitive companies from BiH as exporters of final wood products (furniture) can now directly benefit from the fact that there is an accredited laboratory for testing their products for export to EU in their country of origin. We also contributed to the institutional recognition of the laboratory, through its representation in relevant bodies in the country. Local partnerships have proven the benefit of closely coordinated work and efforts of all actors concerned (public, private and civil society).