Podgorica, 30 June 2020

Strengthening the Competitiveness of Women's Businesses with the Support of Norway

The beneficiaries of this project will be supported in the form of mentoring, education, website development and promotional material, in order to improve the quality of their products, visibility, market competitiveness and profitability of their businesses.

The project "Strengthening the Competitiveness of Women's Businesses through Direct Support", implemented by the Association of Businesswomen of Montenegro with the financial support of the Kingdom of Norway within the "Norway for you - Montenegro", aims to improve women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro by developing and providing prerequisites to strengthen competitiveness for three entrepreneurs from Nikšić and eight members of the cluster "Vrijedne ruke" Bihor from Petnjica.

The beneficiaries of this project will be supported in the form of mentoring, education, website development and promotional material, in order to improve the quality of their products, visibility, market competitiveness and profitability of their businesses. All activities envisaged by the project are implemented with the expert support of experienced mentors, members of the Association of Businesswomen of Montenegro, which will provide entrepreneurs support in the form of networking, continuous consulting and monitoring after the project, in addition to planned activities.

The Association of Business Women points out that two websites are currently being developed, one for the company Herbs & Clay, owned by Ana Milović Jasikovac from Nikšić and the other for the cluster "Vrijedne ruke" Bihor from Petnjica, as well as two business plans for the company Herbs & Clay and entrepreneur Lidija Giljen from Nikšić.

The President of the Association of Business Women of Montenegro, Ljubica Kostić-Bukarica, reminded that the Association, through ten years of work, has realized numerous projects related to the economic empowerment of women in the whole of Montenegro.

"During the last two years, through various projects, we have motivated a large number of women and young people to get involved in business. I believe that only through cooperation can we establish a better environment for business development in Montenegro and thus contribute to the progress of the community in which we live and work. We would not be able to achieve such results without the dedicated and selfless engagement of our members, business owners and managers, as well as funding from international organizations and institutions, which recognize the Association as a relevant partner in improving women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro. I would like to thank the Kingdom of Norway, which recognized the importance of investing in women's entrepreneurial potential in Montenegro and financed the project, through which our customers will improve their businesses and better position themselves in the market," Kostić-Bukarica said.

The project "Strengthening the Competitiveness of Women's Businesses through Direct Support" will last eight months and its total value is USD 33,000, of which USD 31,500 is funded by the Kingdom of Norway, USD 1,500 is co-financed by the Association of Businesswomen of Montenegro.