Market Access and Business Development Services for Kosovo Companies



Contract partner: ECIKS Management Consulting LLC Country: Kosovo Funding amount: € 1.250.000,00 Project start: 01.11.2018 End: 30.06.2022

Short Description:

Overall goal


The overall objective of the project is to reduce poverty and exclusion of the poor in Kosovo owing to higher incomes and employment opportunities in more sustainable market systems.


Expected results


Relevant new digital tools/services are used by Kosovo Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Kosovo MSMEs improve their digitalization level and establish market linkages.

Business consultants provide effective and affordable digitalisation services to MSMEs.

 


Target group / Beneficiaries


ACCESS will facilitate the development of the market for business digitalization services, so that private sector companies become more competitive and have better opportunities for growth and access to domestic and international markets. Therefore, 150 jobs will be created as a result of changes facilitated by ACCESS. The beneficiaries are up to 4,800 private sector companies and the employees of these. The total number of beneficiaries is expected to be approximately 11,000. The direct beneficiaries consist of business support institutions and government agencies.


Activities


Increasing business efficiency through facilitating the implementation and application of Electronic Identification and Authentication System.

Facilitating the provision of digital services for start-ups/MSMEs through the establishment of the Founder Service.

Facilitating the digital transformation of MSMEs through targeted Business Digitalization Services.

Facilitating the internationalization of Kosovo Small and Medium Enterprises through export promotion activities.

Facilitating quality improvement of Business Digitalization Services through certification.

 


Context


The main factors preventing market access and inclusive market development in Kosovo are related to very limited enterprise growth opportunities, a limited sectoral variety of job opportunities, weak economic and business governance, lack of access to Business Development Services, lack of access to and cost of finance, traditional attitudes that do not favour women in business, the ethnic tensions, and insufficient skills. Poverty reduction requires providing physical access to markets, remedying failures in markets that make it difficult for people to obtain the resources needed to invest and innovate. Systemic change in the market is required to tackle these challenges, which is at the centre of this project.


ADA’s contribution equals EUR 1.250.000. In addition, third party contributions from the Ministry of Economic Development/MED (EUR 150.000) as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry/MTI (EUR 150,000) are provided. Total project costs are EUR 1,550,000.

 

project number 8261-00/2018
source of funding OEZA
sector Geschäftwesen und andere Leistungen
tied
modality Project-type interventions
marker Gender: 1
  • Policy marker: are used to identify, assess and facilitate the monitoring of activities in support of policy objectives concerning gender equality, aid to environment, participatory development/good governance, trade development and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health. Activities targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions include the identification of biodiversity, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and desertification.
    • 1= policy is a significant objective of the activity
    • 2= policy is the principal objective of the activity
  • Donor/ source of funding: The ADA is not only implementing projects and programmes of the Austrian Development Cooperation , but also projects funded from other sources and donors such as
    • AKF - Foreign Disaster Fund of the Austrian federal government
    • BMLFUW - Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
    • EU - Funds of the European Commission
    • Others - various other donors are listed in ADA’s annual business report.
  • Type of Aid – Aid modalities: classifies transfers from the donor to the first recipient of funds such as budget support, core contributions and pooled programmes and funds to CSOs and multilateral organisations, project-type interventions, experts and other technical assistance, scholarships and student costs in donor countries, debt relief, administrative costs and other in-donor expenditures.
  • Purpose/ sector code: classifies the specific area of the recipient’s economic or social structure, funded by a bilateral contribution.
  • Tied/Untied: Untied aid is defined as loans and grants whose proceeds are fully and freely available to finance procurement from all OECD countries and substantially all developing countries. Transactions are considered tied unless the donor has, at the time of the aid offer, clearly specified a range of countries eligible for procurement which meets the tests for “untied” aid.
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