orguts most important service is the management support for long-term multi-disiplinary rural development programmes Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. ORGUT works in Ethiopia since 1974, in Tanzania since 1991, in Vietnam since 1997 and in Nicaragua since 2000. Our experts regularly carry out planning, review and evaluation missions worldwide within our different donor frameworks.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Fostering Interventions for Rapid Market Advancement
ORGUT is part of the team lead by Cardno Emerging Markets USA (former EMG) that was selected for implementation of the USAID and Sida funded Fostering Interventions for Rapid Market Advancement (FIRMA) programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2009. The purpose of FIRMA is to increase sustainable economic growth and generate employment in three sectors wood processing, tourism, and light manufacturing/metal processing. For this, FIRMA aims at enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium size enterprises as an immediate contribution to poverty reduction in Bosnia and Herzegovina and as a long term input to the country’s economic development.
The objective of FIRMA is to generate sustained economic growth. The improved competitiveness of participating firms is measured as increases in sales and exports, growing employment and as improved capacity of private enterprises to withstand competitive pressures emanating from a globalized economy. The Programme provides demand-driven assistance to SMEs in the three targeted clusters for addressing critical constraints for growth. This includes poor quality or product design, inadequate branding and marketing, weak links to global markets, limited supply of skilled labor and restricted access to finance. Another FIRMA component provides assistance in addressing policy constraints for growth of private enterprises in targeted sectors
The focus of technical assistance is on helping SMEs in the three sectors capitalise on their relative comparative advantages, on translating these into strong competitive advantages and on addressing identified and emerging challenges. ORGUT provides technical advisors primarily in the Wood Processing Sector component. Aim is to increase sales of value-added wood products through improved product design, product quality and safety, application of up-to date technologies for efficient, flexible, and exact product fabrication, and workforce skills and capabilities based on true private sector demand. In the initial stages of FIRMA, ORGUT carries out preparatory assignments in areas such as forestry certification; forest-based industries development policies; and forestry governance and law to provide a sustainable framework for further investments in the sector.
Contact person: Ms. Cecilia Brumér
Project website: http://www.firmaproject.ba/
Telephone: +46 8 406 76 20
Fax: +46 8 21 02 69
