SMALL BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECT - …pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MJ7X.pdfsaid Mr. Gorki Balojani,...

SMALL BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECT

Quarterly Report 4 — FY2016

July 1 – September 30, 2016

Contract No: 165-C-12-00101

SUBMITTED:

October 12, 2016

TO:

MS. TATJANA MARKOVSKA

Contracting Officer’s Representative

USAID MACEDONIA

MS. ANETA DAMJANOVSKA

National Programme Officer

EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

in the Republic of Macedonia

Mirjana Makedonska

Chief of Party

SMALL BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECT

Debarca #3, 1000 Skopje

Republic of Macedonia

[email protected]

Eduardo Tugendhat

Project Manager

CARANA Corporation

4350 N. Fairfax Drive #900 Arlington, VA 22203

[email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EU LEADER ............................................................................. 3

MACEDONIA ADVENTURE TRAVEL...................................... 7

LIGHT MANUFACTURING ..................................................... 9

GROW MORE CORN ............................................................ 12

MONITORING AND EVALUATION ....................................... 14

ADMIN UPDATE ...................................................................... 14

ANNEXES ................................................................................ 14

PAGE | 2 SBEP QUARTERLY REPORT 4 — FY2016: JULY – SEPTEMBER 2016

SBEP QUARTERLY REPORT 4 — FY2016: JULY – SEPTEMBER 2016 PAGE | 3

EU LEADER

IN A NUTSHELL

The first Bike and Wine Tour in Mace-

donia was organized by the pre-

LAGs in the Vardar region, with the

support of SBEP and AIRE.

The fourth regional fair, showcasing

products and services from the Var-

dar region took place in Skopje’s

Public Room on September 26-27.

A familiarization tour was organized

for local tour operators and tour

guides in Prespa in early July.

Some 50 tour guides participated in

trainings on Kokino in July, receiving

certification and licenses from the

Kumanovo Museum.

In September, the AgroLider pre-LAG

in Pelagonija hosted a couple of

journalists from Thermik—a German

language paragliding magazine,

which will result in an article about

Macedonia’s paragliding offer.

In Polog, the tenth pre-LAG estab-

lished with SBEP support was officially

registered at the Central Register.

This quarter, SBEP started channeling its support for

the pilot projects implemented by the pre-LAGs

through AIRE, the local NGO which will be the leg-

acy of SBEP and continue to work in the areas in

which SBEP has invested resources to date.

Vardar region

The most recent projects were implemented by

the pre-LAGs in the Vardar region this September.

Two of the three pre-LAGs in the Vardar region

(Vardar Leader and Tikveshka Vinska Dolina)

joined forces, and with the support of SBEP and

AIRE, worked together on developing and imple-

menting the first Bike and Wine Tour in Macedo-

nia. The aim of the project is to develop a tourist

product that tour operators would be able to offer

to interested visitors, which will consist of cycling

across the wine country following a marked trail

and visiting a selection of wineries in the region.

Signposts with information about the biking trails were put up in

the Vardar region

The biking trails include off-road portions The grape picking season allowed participants of the first Bike and

Wine Tour to enjoy the fruit straight from the vineyard


Two trial runs of the tour took place – on Septem-

ber 10-11 and on September 24-25. Participants

included tour operators, biking clubs representa-

tives, as well as guests. The tour was designed as

a two-day expedition, with an overnight in Nego-

tino, and the itinerary included stops at six winer-

ies, and visits of cultural sites, such as the Stobi ar-

cheological locality and the Wine Museum in

Demir Kapija, adding up to nearly 80 kilometers of

on-road and off-road rides. Since it was grape

picking season, the participants had the oppor-

tunity to engage in this activity, in addition to tast-

ing a variety of wines at each winery.

The participants who took part in the trial tours, all

shared their experiences, which will help further

develop the tour as a product that will be readily

available on the market. Some of the suggestions

included developing a one day tour, rating the

difficulty of the trails to cater to the needs of vari-

ous types of visitors.

The other pre-LAG in the Vardar region – Proba-

ton – covering the municipalities of Lozovo and

Sveti Nikole, worked on a project which consisted

of organizing workshops for building the skills of

the women who are members

of the Women’s Organization in

Sveti Nikole. A total of 32 wom-

en took part in a couple of

workshops led by professional

designers, to learn new ways to

design and produce jewelry

that can be sold at various oc-

casions, such as fairs and exhi-

bitions.

Representatives from this group participated in

the Vardar Region Fair, which was organized in

Skopje’s Public Room, and was the fourth such

fair supported by SBEP through AIRE. Around 20

small businesses and artisans from the Vardar re-

gion showcased their products and services.

There were exhibitors from all municipalities, pro-

moting and selling their specific products, includ-

ing honey, mushrooms, cheese, grape molasses,

EU LEADER

During one of the wine tasting stops at Stobi Winery

The trial tour included a visit to the Wine Museum in

Demir Kapija

Participants of the Bike and Wine trial tours included tour

operators, biking clubs representatives, as well as guests

More than 30 women from Sveti Nikole participated in the workshops for jewelry design and production

The fourth regional fair that took place on 26-27 September in Skopje, showcased producers and service providers from the Vardar Region


wine, as well as other traditional products, includ-

ing pottery and fur house slippers. SBEP and AIRE

are planning one more final event in this series: a

fair that will combine exhibitors from all four re-

gions where SBEP has operated, and provide

them with an opportunity to present their offer in

the capital, and thus help to expand their sales.

Pelagonija

In Pelagonija, each of the pre-LAGs worked on

their respective activities. In July, SBEP supported

the Prespa pre-LAG to prepare and implement a

familiarization tour in the region for around a doz-

en tour operators and tour guides. The purpose

was to bring their knowledge of the region’s offer

up to date, as well as provide them with an in-

sight of all the potential local service providers

that can become parts of their network in future

tourism products. The participants of the tour

were very appreciative of the opportunity, as

they lack the time and resources to do such a

detailed scouting of the region, in addition to

having difficulty reaching some of the infor-

mation that is crucial for their work.

Prior to the fam tour, the pre-LAG had complet-

ed a website with up-to-date information about

the region’s attraction sites, accommodation

and places to eat, which enables interested visi-

tors to create a personal tour. In addition, the pre

-LAG has been working on developing a map,

which is in its final phase, and will be distributed

to various touristic points in the region.

EU LEADER

The Prespa fam tour included tasting of local food

The Golem Grad island in Prespa Lake is one of the main

attractions of the region

The Vardar region fair had 20 exhibitors, who among other things promoted honey and grape molasses

Home made preserves were also offered during the Vardar region fair

Thank you for the suc-

cessful FAM tour in Pres-

pa, which I think had a

great effect, especially

with the participants who

were not well acquainted with the re-

gion. Even though I know the Prespa

region and the destinations we visited

quite well, I have found great benefits

from the tour, as I have met new peo-

ple, reestablished existing

connections, and collect-

ed important information

about the condition of the

tourism infrastructure and

services,

said Mr. Gorki Balojani, owner of Bitola-

based Balojani Tourist Services agency

“

”


All these activities are geared towards promoting

the tourism potential of the Prespa region, by

making information available via various chan-

nels, thus contributing to the development of the

local economy.

In the rest of the Pelagonija region, the other two

pre-LAGs continued working on their projects. The

AgroLider pre-LAG completed the billboards with

touristic maps and signposts for the land-marks in

their micro-region and put them up. In addition,

they prepared hand-out maps in time for the

Hang gliding and Paragliding Championships in

Krushevo, which took place in July and August

respectively. In September, AgroLider hosted a

couple of paragliding pilots, who are journalists/

editors with Thermik, a German language para-

gliding magazine, which targets the German

speaking paragliding aficionados. Local paraglid-

ing pilots toured the guests around the main sites

in the region, showing them the potential for this

adventure sport. The visit will result in an article in

the magazine about Macedonia’s paragliding

offer, which should in turn attract more visitors of

this type.

PeLAGonija – the third pre-LAG in the region, has

continued working on the greenhouse nursery,

which is operated by a local cooperative. The

nursery produces pepper and tomato seedlings

for the members of the cooperative, and intends

to apply for certification so that it can start selling.

In order to inform a larger number of farmers

about its products and services, and attract addi-

tional members, the pre-LAG has helped the co-

operative to develop an informational brochure.

It has been completed during this quarter and will

be distributed among farmers in the region, in ad-

dition to informational meetings.

North-East

The pre-LAG Aber 2015 has started working on a

project regarding a solar dryer for fruits and vege-

tables. The pre-LAG’s evaluation committee ap-

proved the project proposal of the local Associa-

tion of Farmers from Kumanovo, which consists of

procuring a solar dryer which would provide local

farmers with a facility to dry their produce, thus

optimizing the use of the crop that has not been

sold fresh. The dryer will have the capacity to pro-

cess around 120 kg of fruits and vegetables a

day, and the idea is that 10% of the proceeds

from the service to be paid annually to the Aber

2015 pre-LAG.

Polog

In Polog, the second pre-LAG – Scardus - has

been officially registered with the Central Register

of the Republic of Macedonia. The municipality

of Jegunovce, 7 local businesses, 4 civil society

organizations and 5 individuals from Jegunovce

and Tearce are the founders of the public-private

partnership.

BB LAG, the other pre-LAG in the Polog region,

which was registered earlier has scheduled a

planning session in October, during which it will

discuss future activities, and shape an action plan

for the coming year.

EU LEADER

The President of the AgroLider pre-LAG, Ms. Daniela

Cvetanoska giving a statement for the media

The greenhouse nursery in Kukurechani has been produc-

ing pepper and tomato seedlings

The brochure includes information about the greenhouse

and the cooperative, and how to become a member


IN A NUTSHELL

A total of 52 tour guides participated

in three trainings about Kokino in July,

subsequently receiving certification

and licenses.

In Krushevo, the European Hang glid-

ing and Paragliding Championships

took place in July and August re-

spectively. Municipal authorities re-

port around 1.000 visitors during that

period.

Two EU LEADER pre-LAGs focused on

adventure travel projects: the Bike

and Wine Tour in the Vardar region

and the visit of two journalists from

the German language paragliding

magazine Thermik to Pelagnija.

Two SBEP supported adventure sports

events took place this quarter: the

Sky Race in the Jegunovce munici-

pality and the Popova Shapka Moun-

tain Festival, attracting a combined

350 athletes and twice as many visi-

tors.

Nearly 40 stories have appeared in a

variety of media as a result of the Ad-

ventureNEXT Conference. The esti-

mated value, calculated as advertis-

ing equivalency amounts to half a

million US dollars. MACEDONIA ADVENTURE TRAVEL

In the North-East region, the major

activity that took place this quarter

were the three rounds of training

for tour guides in Kokino, which

were organized in July. A total of

52 tour guides participated in the

trainings, and subsequently re-

ceived certificates and licenses

from the Kumanovo Museum, the

institution responsible for managing

the Kokino locality. From now on,

any group visiting Kokino will have

to be announced and accompa-

nied by a licensed tour guide. In

addition, the Kumanovo Museum

has started charging entrance fees

as of August 1st, which on the one

hand will bring additional funds for the preser-

vation and conservation of the site, and on

the other, provide information on the number

of visitors, and thus help plan for future infra-

structure interventions. All this is part of the

SBEP supported efforts for the further develop-

ment and promotion of Kokino as a sight

worth seeing in the North-East region.

In Krushevo, both the Hang gliding and Para-

gliding European Championships took place

this summer, from July 16-30, and August 8-20,

respectively. In addition to the 250 participat-

ing pilots, members of their supporting teams

stayed in Krushevo, throughout the two weeks

of competition. Municipal authorities report

around 1.000 visitors during the summer, which

is a 20% increase compared to last year, a fig-

ure that can be largely attributed to the in-

Custodians from the Kumanovo Museum, the institution responsible for managing

the Kokino locality, held the trainings for the tour guides

The 52 tour guides who participated in the three trainings, received

certification and licenses from the Kumanovo Museum


MACEDONIA ADVENTURE TRAVEL

creased interest of Krushevo as a paragliding lo-

cation. SBEP has supported the municipality of

Krushevo, as well as the local paragliding clubs in

improving both the necessary infrastructure and

the tourism offer of the town and the region, so

as to enable the growth of these particular ad-

venture sports, which contributes to the develop-

ment of the local economy.

In August, SBEP supported two adventure sports

events, both in the Polog region: the Sky Race in

the Jegunovce municipality and the Popova

Shapka mountain festival. The events attracted

nearly 350 athletes, and at least twice as many

visitors.

In September, two of the pre-LAGs’ projects were

focused on tourism related activities: the Bike

and Wine Tour in the Vardar region, and the visit

of the journalists of the specialized paragliding

magazine in German - Thermik - by the AgroLider

pre-LAG. Both initiatives are reported upon in

more detail in the EU LEADER section of this re-

port.

SBEP continues to gather evidence of the im-

pact that the AdventureNEXT conference, held

this May in Ohrid, has had on the local adventure

tourism business. In a recent conversation with

Mr. Vasko Velichovski, who organizes horse riding

tours, he revealed that his business has consider-

ably increased as a result of his participation in

the Conference. In addition, a number of other

local tour operators and service providers are

reporting new enquiries and new tourists as a di-

rect effect of the Conference. SBEP plans to cap-

ture these first results during a session organized

together with ATTA, on November 3rd, when the

local participants of the Conference will come

together to hear the developments and out-

comes of the event, but also share their insight

and experiences since then.

SBEP also monitors the stories about Macedonia

and the region that appear in the media, as a

result of AdventureNEXT. To date, in the four

months following the Conference, nearly 40 sto-

ries have appeared in the print and online me-

dia, worth more than a half of a million US dollars,

calculated as advertising value equivalency.

The 14th FAI European Paragliding Championship in

Krushevo gathered more than 150 pilots from 45 countries

My business has increased signifi-

cantly since the AdventureNEXT

Conference. I have

registered a 60% increase

compared to last season,

said Mr. Vasko Velichkovski,

owner of Sherpa Horse Riding

“ ” One of the articles has appeared in National Geographic:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/destinations/

europe/balkans-adventure-in-kosovo-macedonia-bulgaria/

The local business organizing horseback riding has reported

a 60% increase since AdventureNEXT

The 19th FAI European Hang gliding Championship took

place in Krushevo this July, gathering more than 100 pilots

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/destinations/europe/balkans-adventure-in-kosovo-macedonia-bulgaria/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/destinations/europe/balkans-adventure-in-kosovo-macedonia-bulgaria/


LIGHT MANUFACTURING

IN A NUTSHELL

The Macedonia Manufacturing EXPO

2016 took place on September 15th,

gathering 18 local and international

buyers and 66 local suppliers.

Organizers of the conference were

SBEP, MAMEI - the Macedonian Asso-

ciation of Metal and Electrical Indus-

try - and Macedonia Invest, with the

support of AHK - DMWV, the German

Macedonian Business Association,

AmCham, the Dutch Embassy, and

the Directorate for technological in-

dustrial development zones - DTIDZ.

A total of 170 B2B meetings took

place, and according to preliminary

information, around a dozen deals

are already being negotiated.

In parallel, the consultants have been

working on a number of requests

coming from Germany, Romania

and Japan, from companies interest-

ed to invest or outsource in Macedo-

nia.

MACEDONIA MANUFACTURING EXPO 2016

The main bulk of the work within SBEP’s Light Manu-

facturing initiative this quarter revolved around the

preparation and organization of the Macedonia

Manufacturing EXPO 2016 – the conference and B2B

event, which took place on September 15th in Skopje.

The continuous promotion of the event, both to po-

tential buyers and local suppliers, resulted in a total of

18 companies registered as buyers, and 66 compa-

nies registered as suppliers. Of the 18 buyers, six were

FDIs already operating in Macedonia, one was a lo-

cal company that was registered both as a buyer

and supplier, while the rest were companies from

abroad: five from Greece, four from Germany, two

from the US, as well as companies coming from Bul-

garia, Belgium, Holland, Italy, the UK and Australia.

Prior to the conference, the consultants managed

the process of matching buyers with potential suppli-

ers, including searching and pre-selection of local

companies that can best suit the buyers’ interests, as

well as adjusting the selection based on buyer feed-

back and coordinating with local companies to as-

sure their capacities and capabilities.

The conference went according to plan, with wel-

come speeches from the main donors and partners,

including addresses by the US, the Swiss and the

Dutch Ambassadors to Macedonia, as well as the

Macedonian Minister of Finance. Following were the

presentations by the Macedonian Agency for For-

eign Investment and Export Promotion (Invest Mace-

donia), and by locally based buyers - as WABTEC,

Ariljemetal and Brako - who presented their compa-

nies and discussed the opportunities and challenges

The 52 tour guides who participated in the three trainings, received

certification and licenses from the Kumanovo Museum SBEP’s Light Manufacturing consultants, Mr. Dejan Janevski and Mr. Goce Peshev (second and third from left), presented

activities and results within the initiative to date


of sourcing locally. The Executive Director of

MAMEI, who was the official host of the event,

presented their activities and results to date, as

well as future plans for expanding their platform

for B2B ties. Finally, the representative from

Scoutbee, a German based aggregator of de-

mand in the automotive and machine industries

in the EU, presented their proposal for supporting

Macedonian based suppliers in connecting

them with EU demand.

The B2B meetings took place during the second

part of the one-day event, where the 18 buyers

had a total of 170 meetings with local suppliers.

Around 90% of the meetings were pre-

scheduled through the on-line matching system

that had been developed by the Project and

administered by the consultants. The rest of the

meetings were organized ad hoc, as there were

companies that had not registered in advance,

but still attended the conference.

LIGHT MANUFACTURING

Representatives of 18 buyers and 66 local suppliers, along with donors and organizing partners

participated in the Conference

At least a dozen deals are being negotiated as a result of

the B2B meetings

Some local suppliers had stands with information about

their capacities

A total of 170 B2B meetings were held during the second

part of the event

In addition to the pre-scheduled meetings, participants also arranged to meet

on the spot


The companies present at the event appreciat-

ed very much the opportunity to meet with po-

tential partners, present their offer and express

their interest. A statement (below) by one of the

participating buyers illustrates the sentiments

shared by the majority of the companies that

were looking for local suppliers in Macedonia.

The current available information is that at least

around a dozen deals are being negotiated as a

result of the meetings held during the B2B event.

The consultants will continue tracking the poten-

tial deals that will come out of the connections

established during the Macedonia Manufactur-

ing EXPO 2016.

EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to working on preparing the confer-

ence, the consultants also pursued a number of

requests from foreign companies interested to

find suppliers from Macedonia. A couple of them

were not able to make it to the EXPO, although

initially they had the intention. One such compa-

ny is the Japanese Makita, whose request

reached the consultants through the Cabinet of

FDI Minister Mickovski. Makita is interested in local

producers of casting engine parts, stamped

parts, plastic components and electronics. The

consultants have identified nine companies that

are interested to collaborate with the Japanese

buyer and are ex-

pecting a visit from

Makita representa-

tives in the coming

period.

The other compa-

ny that could not

attend the EXPO is

Hitachi’s branch in

Romania, which

contacted the

consultants via the

Macedonian Economic Promoter that covers

Romania. Hitachi is looking for potential suppliers

in Macedonia for casting and forging, and the

consultants have managed to identify five com-

panies and sent the information to Hitachi.

During the quarter, three enquires came from

German companies through the Economic Pro-

moter responsible for that country: one company

was interested in starting production of solar

panels in Macedonia; another one produces

physical fitness devices; the third one is interested

in stamping and bending capacities. The con-

sultants identified a number of local companies

that fit the needs specified by the potential in-

vestors, sent the information and are awaiting

their reply in order to proceed with activities.

The Economic Promoter based in Russia also

contacted the consultants. He has been working

on organizing a B2B visit of companies represent-

ing a cluster in the automotive and machine in-

dustry from the region of Tatarstan. The consult-

ants sent profiles of MAMEI members, but also

other companies worth noting. They also com-

municated the information to a broader number

of local companies, which have shown interest.

All this information was forwarded along, and

now the Russian cluster is to reply.

In addition, this quarter the trial order by the

Dutch company producing airport transport

carts and dollies with Brako from Veles took

place. This initial deal is worth around US$

338.000, and should be completed by the end of

the year. If all goes well, and based on the sales

success from the Dutch, there is potential for big-

ger deals, amounting to up to 2 million US dollars.

LIGHT MANUFACTURING

Consultants will follow up with participants on the poten-

tial deals that have been made during the B2B meetings


IN A NUTSHELL

SBEP’s joint project with the Swiss

funded Nation Conservation Pro-

gram implemented by Pharma-

chem, for growing rice with drip

irrigation is going well. Farmer Jor-

dancho Lefkov is using seven

times less water compared to tra-

ditional methods.

A couple of corn harvesting

events took place this quarter:

the silage harvest in the village of

Malo Konjari took place on Au-

gust 30, and a month later, on

September 30, there was a corn

grain harvest in the village of Ka-

ramani.

SBEP’s Grow More Corn initiative

has been acknowledged in two

consecutive sustainability reports

of Netafim, the Israeli company

that is the world leader in drip irri-

gation systems and technology.

GROW MORE CORN

This quarter, SBEP has continued monitoring the pro-

gress of the rice crop that is being grown with drip

irrigation on the pilot plot in the village of Cheshino-

vo. It has been developing well, and the harvest is

scheduled to take place on October 20th. SBEP has

been providing support to the farmer Jordancho

Lefkov with guidance and advice about the proto-

cols of using the drip irrigation system. The yields are

expected to be at least as high as those when tradi-

tional irrigation methods are used. However, the

greatest benefits lay in the water savings - the farmer

has been reporting using seven times less water than

usual - and in safeguarding the environment, as the

system enables the fertilizers to reach the plants

more effectively, instead of ending up in the

(underground) waters. SBEP plans to develop a bro-

chure with information about the protocols of using

this technology for growing rice, as well as the bene-

fits it provides for the farmer and the environment.

The second pilot plot at the Rice Institute in Kochani

had become irrelevant early on in the testing, as the

Institute decided to flood it in accordance with tradi-

tional methods, due to inadequate handling of the

drip irrigation system.

SBEP is implementing the pilot project of growing rice

with drip irrigation together with the Swiss funded Na-

ture Conservation Project, implemented by Pharma-

chem from Skopje.

Also this quarter, two corn related events were orga-

nized: one was the silage harvest in the village of

Malo Konjari near Prilep on August 30, and the other

was the grain harvest in the village of Karamani near

Bitola on September 30.

The first event took place on the corn field of farmer

and cattle breeder Ilcho Daskaloski. This season, Mr.

Daskaloski and fellow farmer Goran Pavlovski from

Karamani, have received a donation in liquid fertiliz-

ers for one hectare of their land from Alkaloid, the

biggest Macedonian pharmaceutical company,

which also produces fertilizers. Alkaloid approached

The pilot plot of rice grown with drip irrigation at the end of July The same plot in the village of Cheshinovo at the end of August


GROW MORE CORN

SBEP early on in the season for consultations on

whom to donate the fertilizers to. Mr. Daskaloski

has reported a doubled yield this year – he pro-

duced 80 tons per hectare, compared to the 40

t/ha that he used to produce.

The second event was organized on the occa-

sion of the corn harvest of farmer Goran Pavlov-

ski from Karamani. He has been the record setter

among the Grow More Corn farmers, and even

though he hasn’t completed this year’s harvest

yet, the estimates are that he will reach nearly 18

tons of grain per hectare. SBEP is already collect-

ing information from farmers about the results of

this season, and expects to have at least prelimi-

nary information for the final report.

One more piece of information worth noting is

that Netafim, the Israeli company that is the

world leader in drip irrigation systems and

tehcnology, has been acknowledging and re-

porting on the success of the use of drip irrigation

for growing corn in Macedonia through SBEP’s

initiative in two consecutive issues of their Sustain-

ability Report – in 2013 and in 2014-2015.

http://www.netafim.com/Data/Uploads/

Sustainability%20Magazin%20146%20BOOK.pdf

http://www.netafim.com/data/uploads/

Netafim%20Sustainability%20report%20EN.pdf

Farmer Goran Pavlovski has been setting records in pro-

ducing corn since joining the Grow More Corn initiative

Drip irrigation has helped farmers double or even triple

their yields

http://www.netafim.com/data/uploads/Netafim%20Sustainability%20report%20EN.pdf





In parallel with the implementation of its activi-

ties, SBEP routinely continues to collect infor-

mation in accordance with the indicators in its

Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP). Field visits

and events are being documented, as well as

quantitative and qualitative data is gathered for

the purposes of reporting, and for assessing fu-

ture trends and opportunities for development.

SBEP maintains regular communication with

partners and beneficiaries, which provides us

with anecdotal evidence of the impact of

SBEP’s initiatives.

Following are highlights for FY2016, illustrating the

achievements for this fiscal year. For more de-

tails, please refer to the complete PMP table,

which is attached in Annex I to this report.

408 retained or new jobs, 119 of which

(29.2%) are occupied by women. This figure

combines seasonal jobs of the wild-gathered

products collectors; new full-time and part-

time jobs at the women owned small busi-

nesses in Polog; jobs at farms that have intro-

duced drip irrigation for growing corn, as

well as the estimated number of jobs that

have been retained and created as a result

of SBEP’s Adventure Travel initiative.

US$ 16.526.522 of new revenues facilitated

through SBEP activities. The bulk of this figure

- nearly US$ 17 M - represents the revenues of

all SBEP supported dairy farmers from the in-

creased corn and hence milk production,

i.e. from selling milk and corn.

US$ 3.378.059 worth of combined investment

facilitated through SBEP’s activities. More

than US$ 2.5 million comes from the invest-

ment of corn and dairy farmers in new dairy

cows, farm modernization, and inputs for

growing corn with drip irrigation.

In addition, SBEP estimated that the media ex-

posure, both online and print, as a result of the

AdventureNEXT conference (in the four months

following the event) was worth approximately

US$ 522.500, calculated as advertising value

equivalency.

At the same time, worth noting is also Indicator

No. 9, which refers to the number of MSMEs that

have been linked to the value chains of larger

firms. While the target for the life of the Project is

250, by the end of FY2016, SBEP has reached 82.

It needs to be clarified that the target had been

set with a different approach in mind, which

consisted of plugging local companies in the

supply chains of larger firms. However, early on

in the implementation, SBEP thoroughly assessed

the circumstances on the ground, and wit-

nessed a number of challenges that affected

this process, and therefore the approach had to

be amended. Namely, in lieu of just supporting

companies to become suppliers of larger firms,

the entire value chains needed to be strength-

ened. The lack of middle agents and aggrega-

tors, the weak links and insufficient awareness of

the elements of the various value chains about

each other, necessitated a different approach,

which would be targeted towards remedying

these deficiencies. That is how SBEP proceeded

in tackling the value chain related challenges in

the different initiatives, and therefore the indica-

tor, as is, has become somewhat less pertinent.

In terms of administrative work, during the last

quarter, SBEP has issued a formal request to

USAID Macedonia for the disposition of non-

expendable property procured under SBEP –

drip irrigation systems for 160 farmers (each of

one hectare) and equipment for seven benefi-

ciaries that are part of the Women and Youth in

Business initiative. USAID has approved both re-

quests and SBEP staff is currently working on

completing the paperwork and officially trans-

ferring the equipment to the beneficiaries.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

ADMIN UPDATE

Annex I: SBEP Performance Monitoring Plan table for current reporting period

Annex II: SBEP Activities and Events Calendar for current reporting period

SMALL BUSINESS EXPANSION PROJECT - …pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MJ7X.pdfsaid Mr. Gorki Balojani,...

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