Ministry of Economy to support small and medium-sized enterprises competitiveness through cluster development

Podgorica, Montenegro (7 March 2014) – A two year project named “Small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness through cluster development” has been launched today in a presence of key national stakeholders within public and private sector. The project is funded by the European Union and 5% co-financing by UNIDO, amounting to a total of EUR 525,000.

The key phase for implementation of Strategy for Sustainable Economic Development of Montenegro through cluster development 2012-2016 is aimed at cluster–level capacity building, Director General for Economic Development at the Ministry of Economy, Nina Vujošević said at the roundtable discussion.

Strengthening of Montenegrin cluster competitiveness and access to domestic and international markets with particular emphasis on the northern region and less-developed municipalities represents the overall goal of this project, Vujošević underlined.

Cluster development represents an invaluable business tool aimed at fostering competitiveness and enhancement of employment opportunities, particularly in a state like Montenegro, Head of Operations Section of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, Andre Lys underlined.

In the European Union, small and medium-sized enterprises are cornerstone of economic development and Montenegro is not far away from the EU in terms of business structure, Mr Andre Lys added. 

This project will be implemented by UNIDO in cooperation with UNDP and Ministry of Economy will be the main partner of this project and also coordinating body of implementation of the planned activities.