Business Service Center Una – Sana Canton

Proposal for Business Service Center Una-Sana Canton

October, 2011

Introduction

This document presents a proposal for the investors in the Business Service Center in Una – Sana Canton (region), headquartered in Bihac town, or Cazin, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. . In the first part of the document long-term vision and mission of the Center will be explained, while the second part will briefly stress out activities of the Center in details (it is only brief description since this is a draft working version of the document and more details are to be implemented in the second version after the discussion with possible interested investors).

Una – Sana Canton is settled in the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it represents regional government entity of The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The center town of the Canton is Bihac, where Canton's Government and Ministries are headquartered. As Bosnia and Herzegovina is a developing country, global recession (along with internal structural problems) has hit it badly, and local economy decreased as well. These two facts made life worse especially for young people eager for jobs, and new knowledges. This project proposal has a goal for improving economic condition and enforcing employment of young educated people. Also it should be stressed out that what is a current problem (high population of young unemployed population of whom large part is also with good education.

Bihac is a town host of the University of Bihac, which has over 2000 active students at several faculties, among which Technical Faculty is one of highly appreciated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with high quality engineers (especially mechanical engineers) graduate every year. One of the main goals of this project is to provide a chance to the graduated young men to see how business looks like in practice and to direct their knowledge in creating – producing, and finally exporting products and services. Enforcement of new, startup companies through our system of activities is our main goal. Project delivers tool for economic progress in three main directions:- Promotion of domestic production: implementation of know – how and where strategies,

in order to analyze, promote and place domestic product in foreign market.- Development of IT and Mechanic engineering products and services- Project Development team as an enforcer and management team for coordination of

developing projects: International and EU grants for projects such as windmill farm and solar power plant in Una-Sana Canton.

The final goal is to put up a network which would combine these two sectors, and create business network that eventually become the main engine pulling The Una– Sana Canton as well as the whole region toward European Union and economic progress.

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Vision and Mission

Vision is to create a business service center which would connect together educated people from business, financial, marketing and technical sector, creating a base for economic development and fast progress toward global market enforcing employment and appliance of innovative business approach. Business Service Center is to become a main engine of Canton's economic development and knowledge promotion.

Mission is to ensure a top-quality business and technical support for entrepreneurship and all related activities like the transfer of research findings and innovative commercial ideas to successful and competitive entrepreneurship.

Goals:1. To provide top-quality modern business and technical support for the operation of

involved domestic companies, including the infrastructure. 2. To awake up domestic entrepreneurs and producers and provide them a path toward

global market.3. To promote trends in global economy, enforcing standardization which leads toward

foreign markets.4. To develop and use high – technology potential in the Una – Sana Canton, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, as well as in the region.5. To market domestic know – how potential, and use natural resources as the most

opportunistic sector for foreign investments.6. To open our region to foreign clients and investors.7. To implement modern business approach.8. To support local development through entrepreneurial network and education for start

– ups. 9. To strengthen partnership with government and private enterprises based on common

goal for economic progress and life improvement. 10. To give opportunity to educated people express themselves in creating new values,

and helping others to obtain services. 11. To connect dependable sectors in order to support each other (entrepreneurs - IT

solutions; Agricultural grants>people – foreign retail market; Wood producer>Foreign Market; Entrepreneurs>EU grant; Ministry of Trade in Canton>International Development Agency).

Activities

Business Service Center will direct its activities toward gathering educated people, entrepreneurs and academic community into the network. The center will be organized in two departments:

1. Business Department2. IT Department

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1. Business Department

Business department will gather educated people with experience in business. It will include specialists in law, management and finance. Activities of Business Department are:

- Domestic production promotion – Team of people will make a database of domestic producers, which can place their products in global market. Main target would be production companies which process wood, because wood is our main natural resource. There are many furniture production companies, companies which produce half – processed wood raw materials, final furniture and raw materials for furniture production, palette, and finally wood as rough raw material. These companies will be contacted, visited, presented to the global network of potential clients, and finally fully served depending about the situation in their management system. We will offer:

o Product improvement and accommodation to the EU and global standards

o Product management – supply mediation in order to achieve competitive price

o Matchmaking with foreign client

o Marketing and promotion – database opened and globally marketed

o Supply chain management - coordination and connection with strategic suppliers

These companies would directly find a market through our system of services, including Norwegian clients and suppliers, as well as SIVAIM's partners in the region. Metal sector is also opportunistic, and there are many metal processing plants in Una – Sana Canton. Roofing, Container production, Machine production, Water underground system production, Fence Production, Auto industry parts production – CNC formed parts and Cabins production, Hydraulics and Pneumatics production. These companies are mostly working for domestic market, and they are highly efficient, offering high quality and competitive products. All of them need help and knowledge in order to go globally, market and place their product, or even to make an efficient supply chain. I must mention that we have two producers of disposable medical materials, which export in more than 60 countries in the world, but they need global marketing, and connection with new markets, especially because those are old connection before conflict, and are having difficulties to continue their production processes and product improvement processes. Business Service Center will offer these companies matchmaking services with global clients, on a highly professional level, with a moral and ethic manner, according to the agreeable fee, or membership (it is flexible, but this would be applied in order to sustain BSC's development). Una - Sana Canton has a perfect climate and terrain for most of the agricultural products. There are several big buyers and agricultural communities that cannot sell their crop, due to the high competition of foreign vegetables and fruits and bad state import policy. We would enforce projects such as agricultural communities for export, with the help of foreign client

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interested in our crop, which is 100% natural, without GMO presence. Clean and natural food products are highly demanded in western market, as well as in Norway. Our first and one of the main products will be domestic honey. Town of Cazin has its own registered brand of honey, which is famous by its healing characteristics. This product will go directly to the Norwegian clients.

Our aim is to help these companies to grow, to go out and present their product to the client who will recognize the quality of our products and knowledge. The goal is to provide them a market!

2. IT Department

Una Sana Technology Park will be the goal of IT Department. It will be an interface where researchers and academia can sense the pulse of the industry and market needs.Una Sana TP will therefore promote the cooperation between academia, industry, innovators and businesses. It will promote start-up companies, provide support for already established companies in the technology sector looking to grow and will also cooperate with well established successful companies.

Main Activity of the centre:

- Will be production of IT software solutions for IT clients abroad in Norway and other regional countries. Our goal is to export our IT knowledge, in order to invest the profit in developing an IT sector and businesses in Una – Sana Canton. It will be matchmaking of domestic know – how IT – engineers with clients in global market, that is in Norway.

The promotion and help will be offered through matchmaking with foreign companies, or through our business incubator, depending of the level and category they belong to.

From what is said above there are four areas of interest:

1. Infrastructure: providing members office, research facilities and meeting halls.

2. Membership: motivating and actively seeking business ideas in the region and supporting the process of applying for the membership in the Una Sana Technology Park.3. Providing professional and targeted consultancy and educational services: services for companies in all phases – start-up, growth, marketing-positioning and internationalization. It will offer educational services ranging from high-school programs to Life Long Learning (LLA).4. Teaching and promotion: promotion and popularization of research, technology, science and entrepreneurship.5. Providing IT products and services to the foreign clients

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6. Connection with international technological parks and cooperating in global projects.

Main Activity of the centre:

- Will be production of IT software solutions for IT clients abroad in Norway and other regional countries. Our goal is to export our IT knowledge, in order to invest the profit in developing an IT sector and businesses in Una – Sana Canton. It will be matchmaking of domestic know – how IT – engineers with clients in global market, that is in Norway.

3. Implementation,

3.1. Infrastructure

It is necessary to provide the members with adequate infrastructure. That includes top office and research facilities. Every building has to be built in a way to be scalable with the needs of the companies. There is a possibility that some companies might be in need of more or less space depending on their development. Also it must be possible for every member to individualize office spaces to their needs.Top-quality utility services are a must, especially energy and communications.Security is of most importance. All security best practices must be implemented.In order to make Park's infrastructure useful transport connectivity is very important. TP must provide enough parking places for members. Also the adequate connectivity to public transport, bicycle paths and other types of transport must be considered.

To make Una Sana Technology Park energy efficient, ecology friendly and to provide a pleasant place of work it is the recommendation to build the infrastructure according to the best energy efficient practices and to deal with the surroundings of the Park in a way to plant trees, build walking paths and make the surroundings nature friendly and provide a place where the workers can enjoy their free time.

3.2. Membership

Una-Sana TP management will be working towards the proactive approach in finding members and partners. Idea is to use all possible marketing and media space to get the word out. It is crucial for the project that this marketing and promotional campaign is to be made in a methodical and to be implemented in a right manner. Process of finding new members is actually that – a process and as any process it the Una-Sana TP to the people and interested parties. Also it is important to say that the process does not end when the member comes to the Park. A member who is satisfied is the best commercial! Of course membership will not be given to anyone. A member must present necessary documentation and must go through certain procedure. Details of the required documentation and the procedure will bepresented in later version of the document.

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3.3. Providing professional and targeted consultancy and educational service

There is a list of services which Park tends to offer to the members:

• seeking business and strategic partners,• linking up with financial institutions (initial and venture capital),• providing commercial premises with the widest range of utility and service connections atsubsidized rents,• issuing internal guarantees for loans and concluding transactions,• Training entrepreneurs,• fostering synergy among companies,• linking up with research institutes (personnel and equipment),• linking up with industry (production capacities),• Commercial and technological advice,• providing reception/front desk service, photocopy room, lecture hall, server, security, restaurant, galley kitchen and more.Also these services will defer for the several types of members: start-up, established companies or ones seeking more growth.

4. Conclusion

Finally, Business Service Center will have goal to combine two main sectors: Production and IT services. This connection will be a win – win combination, especially for Bosnian economy, as the labor force costs lower than in western economies. The main goal of our center is to enforce domestic production of opportunistic products through increasing demand by foreign clients. Main target product for promotion will be within wood, metal and food industry, where we would also promote IT products and services. This would force our managers to think and act globally, and to appreciate domestic economy. Business Service Center is there to generate profit, and to promote domestic knowledges and production capacities.

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