Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina are under growing competitive pressure. To meet increasing competitive demands, SMEs need to boost innovation through greater use of digital technologies in order to improve productivity, increase efficiency and reduce costs. As modern digital technologies offer opportunities for increasing the long-term competitiveness of local businesses, the digital transformation of the economy based on information and communications technologies (ICT), thus constitutes an important factor for economic growth and development in BiH.

The “EU4DigitalSME” project is aimed at creating an enabling environment for SMEs to successfully undertake digitalisation and innovation transformations. Through better access to innovative technologies, skills and services across value chains, the project supports the creation of a conducive business environment for technological transformation of SMEs in competitive sectors. This will result in an increased performance of companies, in particular SMEs, start-ups and mid-caps, to become more competitive with regard to their business/production processes, products and services by using digital technologies.

Besides addressing the digital transformation needs of SMEs, the project also involves actors at the macro level to improve the overall framework conditions for the promotion of innovations and digitalisation of SMEs. As such, the project supports the development of a more beneficial operational framework for innovative business models, thus strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina's capacities for collaborating on advanced technology solutions in the joint regional and EU projects, following the best EU practices, including support to setup of Digital Innovation Hubs.

EU4DigitalSME is a Multi-Donor Action jointly co-financed by the European Union and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented as part of the BMZ project “Strengthening Innovation and Digitalisation in SMEs in BiH”. GIZ activities will be complemented by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which will provide intermediated financing and direct advisory services to SMEs.