Skopje, 16 January 2024 (MIA) - Domestic medium and large companies have an opportunity to enhance their export capacities and become more competitive, but also significantly improve their performances and be hired as suppliers of foreign investors in the zones, by obtaining advisory services from renowned experts, international and local consultants, through applications at the call of the Directorate for Technological-Industrial Development Zones (DTIDZ).

The technical assistance is set to improve the companies' readiness to invest in the country, heard an event in DTIDZ on Tuesday. The call was released on 29 December 2023 and is open until 15 February 2024, projected for ten companies. If successful, subsequent calls will cover more companies.

"Today's event marks the beginning of an entirely new programme and a new chapter in DTIDZ's operations but also the Government in general. Domestic companies are now in the focus. There have been discussions for more than 20 years on how to integrate domestic companies into the supply systems, to cooperate with foreign companies not only in the country but also in the region and beyond. This is the first practical step in that direction. In cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), we recently issued a public call for medium and large domestic companies to get technical assistance for investment plans that will ensure their elevation to the next development level and make them more competitive, namely more export-oriented, more visible at foreign markets, and their increased involvement in the cooperation with foreign companies operating in the zones and global companies present in the region," said DTIDZ director Jovan Despotovski.

According to him, the technical assistance will ensure that companies use consultants in developing investment plans and then use all co-financing benefits offered by the Government - law on financial support and laws regulating DTIDZ operations.

"I expect to see a minimum of ten companies going through this stage, so they become part of the TIDZ family in the next 2-3 years. The project is realized in cooperation with IFC, part of the World Bank Group, and financed by the Government of Switzerland, whereas our share is a small one," underlined Despotovski.

The public call is available to registered trading associations with annual revenues of over EUR 2 million and no less than 50 employees, that posted no losses over the past two years, operating for at least three years, that are at least 50.1 percent domestically owned but not by the state, and against which there are no bankruptcy, liquidation or enforcement proceedings.

Eugen Osmochescu, program manager at IFC, said similar support is provided to other countries in the region as well.

Photo: MIA