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A DECADE OF ENHANCINGCOMPETITIVENESS

RCI REGIONALCOMPETITIVENESSINITIATIVE

Index1. RCI in Numbers

2. Participants and Events throughout the Years

3. RCI Partners

4. Sample of Co-funded Activities and Events

5. RCI Satisfaction Survey – Comments

6. Information Sharing

7. The Websites Developed by RCI

Success Stories:• Case Study: Centers of Excellence and Innovation (CEIs) in South Eastern Europe

• RCI: Excellence in IT

• Innovation in Kosovo

• Tourism Development in the Western Balkans

• Western Balkans Geotourism MapGuide Portal

• Regional “Postharvesting Management” Training in Sarajevo

• Access to Finance Forum in Sarajevo

• RCI/CEED Trip to Israel and Jordan under the Global Engagement Initiative

• Global Engagement Initiative in Action

• Opportunities Are Just Around the Corner

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RCI in Numbers: Participants and Events throughout the Years

USAID Regional Competitiveness Initiative Project

Despite recent economic growth across the region, incomes in many of the E&E countries still remain below pre-transition (1989) levels. To address these issues, the USAID Europe and Eurasia (E&E) bureau launched the Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) in 2004.

RCI strives to improve competitiveness across Europe and Eurasia by engaging the bilateral efforts of USAID Missions, USAID Projects and other local stakeholders. Through a regional approach, RCI increases the cooperation between competitiveness and economic growth programs, leading to increased trade and job expansion in host countries. RCI effectively coordinates activities and enhances information sharing between different stakeholders (USAID, other donors, public and private sector organizations) in selected sectors. RCI is implemented by SEGURA Partners LLC.

RCI supports activities in 11 countries from South East Europe, Central Eastern Europe and the Caucasus: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.

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RCI PartnersThe work of RCI is closely connected to a multitude of stakeholders operating in the Western Balkans, the Caucuses, and beyond.

Cooperation mechanisms vary across activity sectors, countries, organizations, etc. In addition to beneficiaries, other donors serve as major partners of the RCI Project.

Below are illustrations of the various entities that RCI has cooperated with throughout the years.

Sample of Co-funded Activities and EventsRCI: Leveraging other donors funds for greater impact

In every sector of activity (IT, agribusiness, etc.), RCI activities are implemented in partnership with regional stakeholders from sector-specific donor organizations, business associations, firms and individuals that provide a significant part of the financing of the activities and further support them after the initial pilot projects.

The participation of other stakeholders not only leverages the RCI funds spent on the program, but also ensures the following:

• Cost-sharing creates a stronger commitment from private sector participants, other donors

• Long term sustainability of initiative after RCI support has ended

• Each donor gets more done with a smaller investment

• Similarly, the private sector gets high value for small investment

• The funding is streamlined so that all involved are following a country or regional strategy, and more can be done

• No repetitive or overlapping activities by any of the stakeholders (which is really appreciated by the local public and private stakeholders)

• Because the activities do not overlap, this actually allows technical assistance to build on successes and do more

• With so many challenges to address in the region, donor coordinated co-funding ensures more issues can be tackled on both the public and private sides.

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RCI Satisfaction SurveyIn the beginning of 2013, RCI asked its network of partners to give an assessment of its work throughout the years. Questions were centered around the main channels of raising competitiveness: the regional events, workshops, trainings, etc; the information sharing activities, and the websites created with support of USAID.

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What has been the value added of RCI activities/support for your country or sector?

“The added value has come in the creation of a regional tourism team as part of the W.Balkans Geotourism council which has ceated cooperation between tourism businesses in different countries. The process is unfinished but has already helped my company increase revenue through the creation of joint tourism offers.“

- Jack Delf, Black Mountain Montenegro Ltd, Montenegro

“Awareness of IT sector importance for business improvement in Serbia. Centers of Excellence filled in the gap between regular organization of work and sucessful management, primarily in IT companies but applicable in all developned systems. Networking between Centers and stakeholders will bring benefit to the region as a whole.”

- Svetislav Pantic, Center of Excellence and Innovation Nis, Serbia

The RCI Newsletter is a quarterly publication compiled and edited by RCI, which allows information sharing between the USAID projects in the region. In the period 2009 – March 2013 17 issues have been published online. They can be found on: http://www.rciproject.com/compnewsletters.html.

As a part of its information sharing activities, RCI is disseminating tourism and agriculture news through all its networks in the region and beyond on a weekly basis. In the period 2009 - March 2013 1488 tourism and 920 agriculture articles have been sent out.

Infoshare bulletin from March 2013

Information sharingInfoshare weekly – the Infoshare is an RCI bulletin that contains articles with news related to the RCI countries (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine). It is disseminated online every Friday through the RCI network. In the period 2010 – March 2013 88 issues with 5874 articles have been sent out.

“Excellent synergies between RCI and UNDP/BSTIP on IT and Tourism cross-border cooperation programs.”

- Artur Nadcrinicinii, UNDP

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The websites developed by RCI

Throughout its active years, the RCI Project supported the creation and running of several websites in a couple of sectors. Starting with the RCI website, where a lot of the work of the project is visible and freely available to users, the Regional Competitiveness Initiative also contributed to the development of the Western Balkans Geotourism Map Guide (together with National Geographic), and the two websites focused on IT quality services, all featured below.

Results from the RCI Satisfaction Survey filled in by RCI counterparts, February 2013

RCI strives to improve competiveness across Europe and Eurasia by engaging the bilateral efforts of USAID Missions, USAID Projects, and other local stakeholders. Through a regional approach, RCI increases the cooperation between competitiveness and economic growth programs, leading to increased trade and job expansion in host countries. RCI effectively coordinates activities and enhances information sharing between different stakeholders (USAID, other donors, public and private sector organizations) in selected sectors.

http://www.rciproject.com/rcihome.html

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The Western Balkans – Land of Discovery Geotourism website, created through a collaborative process, highlights the cultural, historic, and natural assets unique to the Western Balkans region. Through this partnership, the region benefits from the National Geographic’s considerable expertise.

The Western Balkans Geotourism Stewardship Council has partnered with the National Geographic Society to capture the history and heritage of the Western Balkans through an interactive website. The Western

Balkans – Land of Discovery Geotourism website project seeks to celebrate the region as a world-class destination, while contributing to its economic health by promoting sustainable tourism. History buffs and adventurers, backpackers and foodies, artists and sightseers can discover unique destinations based on recommendations from those who know best - the residents of the Western Balkans.

http://www.balkansgeotourism.travel/index.php

Eastern Europe Training and Certification Network – a web platform for the ICT quality-training and certification market in Eastern Europe.

The first step in building the ICT T&C Network aims to envelop ICT training and certification providers in the Eastern Europe region into a common capacity fund. This initiative will make ICT training and certification more effective and

accessible for ICT companies and individuals, resulting in increased benefits and profits for both sides.

The network constitution is a continuation of the systematic USAID activities to support the establishment of a common regional ICT brand based on high quality and innovations.

http://www.quality2it.org/welcome.aspx

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IT 2 BUSINESS solutions catalogue is a source of successful practices and Information Technology (IT) solutions for businesses.

In today’s knowledge economy and Information society, IT is the main competitiveness enabler. Among the various traditional B2B (Business To Business), G2C (Government To Citizen), and G2B (Government To Business) initiatives, here is the “backbone” – IT 2 BUSINESS.

The IT 2 BUSINESS catalogue is an important element of the systematic support towards increased ICT competitiveness in Eastern European and Caucasus countries by the USAID funded RCI (Regional Competitiveness Initiative) project.

http://www.it2business.org/

Gergana Valova, Jorge Segura, RCI Annual Event 2006, Bucharest, Romania

Stephen Eastham, South Caucasus Workshop 2008, Yerevan, Armenia

Filip Stojanovic, South Caucausus Workshop 2008, Yerevan, Armenia

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RCI Annual Event 2009, Kiev, Ukraine

Neal Nathanson, RCI Annual Event 2009, Kiev, Ukraine

RCI Annual Event 2010, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

RCI Matchmaking June 2011, Skopje, Macedonia

RCI Annual Event 2012, Tirana, Albania

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THE CHALLENGE:

The transition economies of South Eastern Europe (SEE) have experienced weak or non-existent economic growth. The countries have suffered from increasing unemployment and poverty rates. In these conditions, external investments motivated by the relatively low production expenses have significantly decreased, and could not be considered a driving force for increasing competitiveness in the region. Even though labor and other production costs in SEE are significantly lower than in the EU, in many cases the local enterprises have lower productivity, poor management, and old fashioned technologies.

In order to improve their international competitiveness, the countries in SEE need to boost their economic growth with high value added production and services. Stimulating innovations, excellence, and quality is one of the prerequisites for increased competitiveness and sustainable economic growth.

THE INITIATIVE:

In the last 6 years, the USAID-funded Regional Competiveness Initiative (RCI) program recognized ICT in SEE as one of the sectors that can compete on local, regional, and European markets, and can also significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of other economic sectors through improved management processes, optimized production operations and modernized technologies.

In the beginning of the RCI program, the team was focused on increasing the competiveness of the ICT sector through process improvement and the assessment of ICT companies according to international quality models.

Once a fair number of ICT companies in SEE successfully implemented international standards, RCI focused on creating regional networks and promoting domestic suppliers of local and/or customized ICT solutions (Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Facility Management, etc.) to other sectors.

At the last stage of the program, when sustainability of the results was with the highest priority, RCI decided to provide small grants for creation and development of Centers of Excellence and Innovation (CEI) in the region. The grants were provided to five centers that demonstrated capacity for sustainable development. These centers were located in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis, Pristine, and Skopje. They were integrated into a wide-scale network of centers in the region that RCI supported through access to highly professional trainings, capacity building expertise, and linkages to EU and US research centers and programs.

SUCCESS STORIES

THE RESULTS:

As a result, the overall network of CEI includes centers in Bitola, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Tirana, Varajdin and other organizations, most of which are represented in the RCI regional platforms for excellence and innovation – Quality2IT.org and IT2Businness.org. Now most of the countries in the SEE region are connected in a network of CEIs specializing in stimulating innovations and providing services across a wide range of priority sectors such as Agriculture, Automotive, eGovernment, Electronics, Food-processing, Telecommunications, Tourism, and others. In order to achieve their mission, the centers are using cutting edge methodologies and technologies from world leaders in ICT such as Apple, Software Engineering Institute- Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft, IBM, and HP, amongst others.

The importance of a cross-sector approach is illustrated by the CEI in Skopje. The center is designing and developing a hybrid cloud solution that will provide affordable local IT services for Macedonian tourism and agriculture. The portfolio of modern cloud-based services that will be used by the small agro and tourism enterprises includes ERP, CRM, and web and document management systems. It is expected that the center will intensify the use of ICT in other sectors, and will enhance their competitiveness while simultaneously benefitting the ICT industry in Macedonia due to the increased local demand of IT solutions.

Another example of CEI success is the CEI in Kragujevac which promotes the use of CAD/CAM systems for automotive industry in a region heavily dependent on the growth of automotive and related industries.

With small grants for Centers of Excellence and Innovation (CEIs), RCI supported the establishment of five new centers in South Eastern Europe. In addition, RCI worked for the further integration between existing CEIs created by other USAID initiatives, international donors, and businesses. The initiative has not only supported the ICT sector, but has also contributed to higher competitiveness within other sectors.

Regional CEIs and other relevant stakeholders are discussing the SEE network development strategy during the Regional IT and Entrepreneurship Conference in Banja Luka, 11-12 December 2012

Centers of Excellence and Innovation (CEIs) in South Eastern Europe

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Events and Statistics

In cooperation with our partner, the European Software Institute (ESI) Center for Eastern Europe, RCI has three different kinds of events related to excellence that lead to certification – awareness, training and appraisals. The events took place in 13 countries in Southeast and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Summary statistics for the period June 2005 – February 2013:

RCI: Excellence in IT

Overview

One of RCI’s most strategic sectors is information technology (IT). RCI is a leader in developing IT in each country and enhancing competitiveness in

the Western Balkans and the Caucasus. One of the main activities RCI supports is the excellence of IT companies through training and certification.

The result is that the IT companies improve their organization, processes and products, which leads to higher productivity and expanded business opportunities.

• Excellence event – 87

• Companies involved in the excellence events – 470

• Certified companies – 42

• Excellence trainees and participants – 2,095

• Qualified individuals – 966

• Associations involved in the excellence activity – 21

• Feedback from our companies:

• 82% of companies increased their competitiveness by more than 20%

• 85% of firms reported increased client satisfaction and 58% reported decreased “time to market”

• 37% of companies reported sales increase of 20% - 50%

Testimonials from Beneficiaries

“The most visible result we have seen is having real-time reporting on what is really happening within our company. Our managers have online access to all of their projects and can instantly see which tasks are on time, which are lagging behind schedule so they can push the team or add more resources to the team to get the task done on time.”

- IT Company from Macedonia

“When implementing ITMark and as recommended by CMMI we introduced a new practice in our work with Banks: When we receive requirements we create a prototype of our vision of the product and then discuss it again with the client. In 80% of the cases our vision appeared to differ a lot from the client’s vision. Previously this created a lot of rework. Now we can assure a correct vision of the requirements and final product that are understood correctly by us and the clients.”

- IT Company from Moldova

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Six Kosovo Companies Receive USAID-Funded Grants to Support Innovation

On March 1 2013, the Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK) recognized six startup companies that received USAID grant support to build their innovative businesses. The awardees include an internet service provider, a developer of educational software for kids, and a developer of videogames for Facebook, iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Designed to propel business innovation and create jobs in Kosovo, the USAID Innovation Grant Fund provides support, on a competitive basis, of up to $5,000 to selected ICK incubator tenants to develop their product or service and bring their innovation to the market.

USAID Mission Director Maureen Shauket and Norwegian Acting Ambassador Jon Hansen both spoke at the event, highlighting the importance of accelerating business growth in Kosovo. “I am very pleased to be able to award grant certificates to the first six ICK tenant companies, two of which have women co-owners. With these grants, you will be able to promote your businesses, test your new products and services, and launch your products in the market.” said Mission Director Maureen Shauket.

The ICK Foundation was established and operates with funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managerial and technical support from founders Athene Prosjektledelse Norway, the Kosovo Association of Information and Communication Technology (STIKK), and the main implementing partner Crimson Capital. It is designed to assist entrepreneurs in developing innovative and commercially successful companies that create future-oriented jobs. ICK provides workspace, mentoring, and training to select entrepreneurs, and has already supported 19 companies on a cost-shared basis.

The USAID Innovation Grant Fund is made possible via a grant from the USAID Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) to ICK as a center of excellence, and is an example of close donor cooperation and co-financing. Under the grant, ICK is also providing training in Computer Aided Design (CAD) and iOS programming to local professionals.

Innovation Grant Fund recipient Ms. Blerta Thaci of Eduapps LLC, together with USAID Mission Director Maureen Shauket and Acting Ambassador of the Norwegian Embassy Jon Hansen at the Awards Ceremony

Tourism Development in the Western Balkans

Based on The World Bank publication “Transformation through Tourism Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods”, Source: The World Bank, Transformation through Tourism (2012)

THE CHALLENGE:

The competitiveness of the Western Balkans (WB) region as a travel destination lies in its rich historical heritage, authentic culture, and well-preserved nature. While each individual country has a lot to offer, the joint marketing of the Western Balkans as one destination enhances the competitiveness of the entire region. For many travelers, the ability to combine two or more countries into one itinerary is a large factor in the ultimate purchase decision. Unfortunately, uneven economic development, socio-political dynamics associated with the break-up of former Yugoslavia, and severe military conflicts has made cooperation in the region difficult. To function as one integrated travel destination, countries in the region had to establish an effective means of cooperation to develop joint tourism products (common themes, joint attractions and routes, etc), and market themselves as one destination.

Tourism and the Local Context:

The power of tourism lies in its significant economic impacts. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council and Oxford Economics, in 2011, tourism generated 9% of the global GDP. In Europe, tourism is the biggest employer, exceeding the auto industry by a factor of 3.

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To continue the effective and valuable partnership with NG for the joint promotion of the region, RCI supported the development of an online MapGuide for the Western Balkans (www.balkansgeotourism.travel). It serves as an integrated platform that promotes the region as a single destination, and enables travelers to plan trips that reveal the authentic spirit of WB countries. The MapGuide showcases various tourism attractions and experiences, and provides market access to small, local tourism service providers that generally have limited market access. The MapGuide program also facilitated stronger commitment to the principles of

sustainability. While RCI/ USAID provided the main financial support, countries contributed with additional funding and active participation. Stakeholders were exposed to by NG’s team on the principles of geotourism which are at the core of organization’s value system. National Geographic defines geotourism as:

THE INITIATIVE:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) project facilitated the establishment of a regional network of tourism stakeholders. They embarked on the search for a uniting initiative appealing enough for all to stakeholder to put their differences aside and join forces. The RCI team came across the opportunity to develop a promotional insert for the National Geographic’s (NG) Traveler magazine – a brand associated with values that all tourism stakeholders in the region related to, and with an audience matching the profile of the travelers the region targets. Activities related to developing and publishing the insert were partially funded by RCI/ USAID, but required additional investment and active involvement from each of the participating countries. The supplement was included as a promotional insert of the magazine, reaching over 225,000 subscribers from the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

“…tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”

First Page of the promotional insert for the National Geographic Traveler Magazine

THE RESULTS:

WB MapGuide portal was launched in June 2012. There are several important results that this activity produced:

Facilitate productive regional cooperation

By supporting the development of the insert and the MapGuide, and inviting National Geographic into the process, RCI/USAID secured the point of unification of the interests of regional stakeholders. The MapGuide program facilitated the creation of a new mechanism for regional cooperation – the WB Geotourism Stewardship Council which continues to function as an entity that plans and undertakes cooperative initiatives to promote the region on international markets.

Involve private sector

The MapGuide became a platform that enabled market access for local businesses and energized many tourism entrepreneurs and business owners.

Facilitate Recognition and Prominence for Local Assets

By putting the spotlight on the authentic and the local, the MapGuide program generated more focused attention on the value and hidden potential of underutilized cultural and natural attractions. One of the continuing roles of the Council is identifying, recognizing, and classifying such sites.

Generate buzz and promotion

The launch of the online portal was marked with promotional events in Washington DC (reception at NG Society, and exhibitions in downtown Washington, DC and at USAID headquarters). All events were planned and implemented by RCI (USAID), NG, and tourism stakeholders from WB region. At least 2000 people were exposed to the regional promotion, which generated word of mouth and garnered active media coverage.

Generate momentum for next steps

The excitement about the launch of the MapGuide inspired regional partners to look for new ways to market the region. Council members continue to be in regular communication, and are beginning to utilize contemporary means (such as social media) for promoting the MapGuide and travel to the region.

Photo from the Western Balkans Exhibition at Farragut Park Square, June 2012, Washington DC 2524

Western Balkans Geotourism MapGuide Portal

OverviewThe Western Balkans (WB) Mapguide website is a regional portal designed by and co-branded with National Geographic. The MapGuide project took one year to complete. It is the first regional joint effort to promote the Western Balkans as a single destination by highlighting the rich natural and cultural wealth of the area. The effort was supported by the USAID RCI project, and was implemented by the National Geographic Maps Division and the Western Balkans Geotourism Stewardship Council (WBGSC). WBGSC is a regional partnership of representatives from the six participating countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. WBGSC has assumed ownership of the Mapguide and will be responsible for its continued management.

WB Mapguide is an interactive information platform that highlights the natural, cultural and historic attractions of Western Balkans destinations. It provides travelers with an online map that authentically captures and conveys the region through the eyes of the local people.

During its first nine months of existence (data as of 4 March 2013), the portal was visited 28,088 times by 23,826 different people from more than 100 countries. Other data collected about the regional portal include:

Most Viewed Pages

Geographic Origin

Traffic Source

WB MapGuide Portal

• 70,268 page-views; 57,446 unique views

• The most viewed page is the home page (18%), followed by the Macedonia main page (5%), and the Interactive Map (4%).

• WB Countries – 41.12%

• U.K. – 4.6%; Germany – 3.6%; Italy – 2.52%; Netherlands – 2%

• US & Canada – 13%

• 57.34% have come from search engines (keywords include different events and attractions from the region)

• 29.36% from sites linking to the WB Mapguide Portal;

• 13.30% direct traffic

• 219 nominations in 11 categories

Promoting the Western Balkans as a Tourism Destination

In June, 2012, the Western Balkans Geotourism Stewardship Council in partnership with National Geographic Maps Division launched in the Western Balkans Mapguide portal (www.balkansgeotourism.travel) an effort supported by RCI/ USAID

Just a few months since its launch, Google demonstrates positive results for the effort – many attractions uploaded to the portal appear on the first page of search results

Comments on attractions posted on the portal: “It is not just for the great canyons of 8 waterfalls and the fantastic rafting experience we had, but through this adventure you can really feel the Albanian hospitality and the spirit of the commitment of the team. U guys rock! We’ll come back soon.”; “Hotel Manastir is one of most authentic hotel in Macedonia. My Folk Seminar is always in that hotel every summer.”

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THE CHALLENGE:

Around the developing world, an average of 40 percent of harvested agricultural product is lost before it can be consumed. Reducing this postharvest loss is usually the most effective way to increase the incomes of producers and other businesses in the supply chain.

THE INITIATIVE:

In support of the objective of reducing postharvest loss, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Competitiveness Initiative and 10 USAID projects in ten countries cooperated to hold a regional Postharvest Management Training in Sarajevo for 89 agricultural professionals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Serbia. In addition to the USAID support, SIDA, the Swedish Development Agency, and CzDA, the Czech Development Agency provided funding.

The course was taught by professors from the University of California at Davis. The UC Davis Post Harvest Institute is widely recognized as having among the world’s best experts in this subject. They provided instruction, text books, and computerized training materials for the students to use in the future. By facilitating and co-funding this activity, RCI reduced the cost of attending by up to 10 times per participant.

THE RESULTS:

This event represented a remarkable partnership among many donors and countries. It not only provided training for professionals, but served to promote future regional collaboration. This graduate school level coursework has allowed the participants to receive training that would have been prohibitively expensive had they been required to travel to the UC Davis campus in California to receive it.

The participants received instruction on how to properly manage fruits and vegetables following harvest, including temperature management, handling, packaging, transport, the use of modified atmospheres, symptoms and treatments for diseases, and numerous other topics. They were given practical exercises in grading and product selection, and had the opportunity to visit commercial packing operations. The graduates are expected to return to their respective countries and train others in the technologies and practices they learned during this valuable course.

Regional “Postharvest Management” Training in Sarajevo, October 24-28, 2011

Participants rated produce items using a variety of quality measuring instruments and scales.

Investors Flock to Sarajevo for USAID “SEENOVATE“ Access to Finance Event

At “SEEnnovate,” an Access to Finance Forum in Sarajevo held on June 19, 2012 that was organized by RCI in coordination with USAID projects FIRMA, FARMA, PARE, PFS, and RCC, with additional support by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Centers for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED), twenty entrepreneurs from Bosnia and Herzegovina presented their businesses to investors who attended the conference. At least two of these presentations will result in investment deals.

The event gathered close to 200 participants, including representatives of more than 30 international investments funds, some of which were visiting Southeast Europe for the first time. Two of the investment funds present at the event – Meta Group from Italy and Globe Forum from Sweden – have decided to expand their businesses in order to support early stage financing instruments in the region, including further developing the venture capital industry and business angels’ networks.

The event also announced launch of the Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility Platform (EDIF), a new EUR 142 million (USD 192 million) instrument to support innovative SMEs in the Western Balkans, and the EUR 100 million (USD 192 million) Venture Capital Investment Program (VCIP) for early and growth stage companies operating in the technology sector. RCI is actively working with its regional partners at the institutional and local levels to prepare them to apply for the incoming funding from EDIF.

The event gathered close to 200 participants including representatives of more than 30 international investments funds, some of which were visiting Southeast Europe for the first time.

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RCI/CEED Trip to Israel and Jordan under the Global Engagement Initiative

From December 1-7, 2012, the CEED leadership team from SEAF led a group of 20 entrepreneurs from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Romania, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan to map the landscape and meet visionaries, technologists, financiers, and entrepreneurs in three technology clusters.

With the help of the well-known Israeli investor, Yossi Vardi, and Dr. Glenn Yago, Director the Milken Institute in Jerusalem, CEED was able to introduce members of the group to a Who’s Who of change makers in Israel. Erel Margalit (Founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners), Bob Rosenschein (founder of Answers.com), and Jonathan Medved (Founder of Our Crowd) were just a few of the marquee names among the 40+ people who met in intimate surroundings with the group to share their stories, compare experiences, and discuss their outlooks for the future. Many sessions included new and experienced entrepreneurs pitching their businesses and meeting with our group to look for synergies and ways to work together.

In Ramallah, the team visited with entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials over a working lunch at the Movenpick Hotel. The meetings opened up the team’s eyes to a wealth of talent, especially in ICT, that the West Bank has to offer.

In Jordan, Samer Asfour, the Senior Economic Counselor to His Majesty, King Abdullah II provided us with an excellent overview of the booming tech sector in Amman. Over the next two days, the delegation met with investors, entrepreneurs, and industry facilitators who all made a convincing case to the group that Jordan can be their gateway to the Arabic-speaking, Middle Eastern market.

Participants left with a platinum Rolodex of contacts in all three clusters. They also acquired a perspective on the opportunities and challenges involved in doing business in the Middle East.

“Being exposed to the differing ecosystems in the region was very interesting. Juxtaposing the Israeli model with the Jordanian model created a very tangible and visible difference in their levels of sophistication, government support and general evolution. This was a fantastic event!”— Jon Mooney (United States).

Twenty entrepreneur members of the USAID-sponsored CEED program journeyed to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan to immerse themselves in three different entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Global Engagement Initiative in Action

On June 28, 2011 in Izmir, Turkey, at EBILTEM (a local university entrepreneurship center), CEED Global and its local partner BATI-BINOM (Western Anatolia Chamber) implemented a two day ICT business-to-business matchmaking event - “Regional Opportunities for Growth Conference.” The B2B event was made possible by the Global Engagement Initiative with the support of the Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI).

Informatics, Electronics, and Telecommunication were among the key new technological industries represented at the event. The goal was to establish a platform for effective collaboration and regional integration among ICT companies from the South East Europe region. A total of 60 companies participated at the B2B company matchmaking of which 19 were from Eastern Europe where CEED has offices (Bulgaria, Kosovo, Slovenia, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, BiH), and 41 were local firms, universities and organizations.

In the morning opening session, Dr. Serdal from TEMEL presented information on business and trade development in the Izmir region. This was followed by a presentation by Mr. Peter Statev, Chairman at the Bulgarian ICT Cluster who spoke about the IT market situation in Eastern Europe, and based on his personal experience, provided the audience with the business know-how on how a foreign company can open a representative office in Turkey.

Later, one of the leading Turkish producers, VESTEL Electronics, spoke about its R&D management, presenting a video demonstration on new areas of technological involvement. The last speaker from the Bulgarian IT Association, BASSCOM President George Brashnarov, spoke on the topic of internationalization and cooperation.

The afternoon program continued in the form of “Speed Networking” to increase communication and collaboration opportunities by having prearranged face-to-face meetings with individual companies. These 15 minute meetings (80 in total) allowed company representatives to exchange information and created the opportunity to talk in further detail about actual business ideas.

The event resulted in 15 potential cooperation connections and post-event contacts. Following the success of the event, the two organizing partners CEED and BATI-BINOM agreed to continue this regional collaborative work, and do another follow-up event focused on establishing further business partnerships. The participating companies themselves also expressed the need for continued and deeper involvement so that the regional ICT networking could further expand and flourish.

Regional Opportunities for Growth Conference

June 28, 2011

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Opportunites are Just around the Corner

Many entrepreneurs today have products and services ready to be used, but they lack connections and networks through which to channel them. CEED’s main objective is to enable entrepreneurs and their management teams to develop their companies by gaining practical know-how, mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, and regional and international business cooperation.

In January 2013, CEED Albania launched its Top Class Program targeted to small and medium enterprises, aiming to increase their business knowledge, and expand their networks in order to create new business opportunities. The main goal of the event was to introduce the participants to each other and to create a positive atmosphere in which new business relationships would breed.

This activity afforded participants the opportunity to spend a whole day in a relaxed business environment getting to know each other, and thus sparked many business possibilities. Even by the end of the first event, the participation in the Top Class Program enabled some of the entrepreneurs to look at new business opportunities. Impress Studio, a graphic designing company made an agreement with the company BTC, which is the authorized dealer of Kaspersky computer viruses for Albania, and Elite Travel, a tourism operator, for exchanging products and services according to their current needs.

“I am very satisfied with the organization of this first event and people I have met. I am grateful to CEED for creating this program and enabling me to meet with new business partners” said Arvid Tartari, the representative of Impress Studio.

Andi Bogdani from BTC also felt that this first event exceeded his expectations; “I have found a new partner. Impress Studio will prepare the marketing materials for my company and at the same time agreed to use the antivirus services that we are providing” said Bogdani.

CEED Albania started its second generation of the Top Class program by organizing Team Building.

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Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) 1919 N. Lynn StreetArlington. VA 22209

Phone: +1 571 882 5000Fax: +1 571 882 5100www.rciproject.com

Contacts:

Neal W. NathansonSenior Competitiveness Advisor

U.S. Agency for International Development301 Fourth Street, SW - Room 252 H

Washington DC Telephone: +202-567-4057

E-Mail: nnathanson@usaid.gov