Measure I.1– Improving the productivity and competitiveness of the area’s economic, rural and environmental resources.
Project Title: Over the Border Raspberries
Project Budget:
| Project Value | EU Contribution | |
| Republic of Serbia | € 164,982.33 | € 137,925.23 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | € 154,435.11 | € 129,107.75 |
| TOTAL | € 319,417.44 | € 267,032.98 |
Beneficiary of funds in the Republic of Serbia: Business technology incubator of technical faculties Belgrade
Beneficiary of funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Innovation and Technology Foundation (BIT Center Tuzla)
Partners: Incubator Užice, University of Tuzla
Area of implementation:
- Serbia: Zlatiborski District
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: North-East Region
The target groups of the project: Young potential entrepreneurs, existing entrepreneurs, research institutions
Project duration: 01.12.2010 – 31.07. 2012
Project objectives:
The overall objectives:
To provide positive and sustainable impact on overall economic activities in the border region between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia by supporting entrepreneurial activities of young individuals
The specific objectives of the project:
- To foster cooperation and rise capacity of the project partner to address better the needs of potential young entrepreneurs.
- To promote entrepreneurial activities of young individuals and provide training and support in the process.
- To promote concrete cross-border project initiatives, cooperation between businesses and research sector
Activities and results of the project
This project implemented with the aim to enable exchange of experiences, build capacity and enable young people to realise their entrepreneurial ideas, as well as to promote entrepreneurial initiatives for cross-border cooperation between existing businesses.
Under the project performed activities which had purpose to exchange of experience, raise awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship and motivate young people to participate in workshops and training. 2 joint workshops for exchange of experiences, 5 joint trainings on basics of entrepreneurship and technical trends in IT; and 1seminar were held to improve capacities of project teams.
The activities target final year technical faculty students and young people with formal education in technical studies with no working experience or relevant practical skills.
Also, 272 young people and 35 stakeholders were interviewed on both sides of the border and 4 information workshops, 3 motivation workshops, 20 training session, follow up business planning training were held. Participants were trained on entrepreneurship and acquired skills that will help them start their own businesses. The sessions included the following themes: Introduction to entrepreneurship, Technical aspects of new businesses, Legal aspects of businesses, Financing your own business, Accounting and finance, Management of small businesses, Marketing and promotion, Business plan preparation, Project management principles and Intellectual property rights protection. In addition, direct consulting support was provided to the young people to further develop their ideas, prepare business plans or learn how to register a business. A one-month briefing practice included mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, during which 31 young entrepreneurs participated in practice in 25 successful companies.
In another phase, project activities focused on enterprises and research institutions to promote cross-border cooperation between businesses in the region and enable exchange of experiences and good practice. For this purpose a series of meetings were organized amongst enterprises from both sides of the border. Promotion was focused on dissemination activities through promotional material and reports in media.
