International development projects open doors and provide references GZS – Slovenian Chamber of Commerce

“Slovenian companies that participate in international development projects, on the one hand, transfer their know-how, their knowledge to the world, and on the other hand, they acquire additional competences and important references and experience for concluding new deals. It’s a win-win situation,” said GZS General Director Vesna Nahtigal at today’s consultation, which was organized by GZS (Slovenian Chamber od Commerce) in cooperation with the Public Agency SPIRIT, the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport (MGTŠ) and other key stakeholders of Slovenia’s International Development Cooperation (MRS).

In terms of the amount of voluntary contributions per inhabitant, Slovenia is in sixth place among 170 donor countries at UNIDO, explained Vesna Nahtigal. After 2011, we prepared more than 20 international projects with UNIDO; they are currently under consideration or accepting 6 more. Therefore, a call to both responsible institutions and businessmen to be more ambitious in involving competent companies,” she concluded.

Jernej Salecl, general director, MGTS, emphasized the multiplier effect of these projects, which may not seem profitable at first glance, but open the door to new markets. Three conditions are necessary for the implementation of these projects: that the aid recipient country is interested, that we can participate in areas that are relevant for Slovenian companies and where they have the necessary competences, and that they correspond to Slovenia’s geographical priorities, i.e. the Western Balkans, the European neighborhood and Sub-Saharan Africa – although there are possible exceptions to the latter condition.

According to Edvin Skrt, director general of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at MZEZ, international development cooperation represents a kind of public-private partnership for the entry of companies into new markets.

The experience and principles of cooperation between Slovenia and UNIDO were presented by dr. Janez Rogelj from MGTŠ and Dominika Dor, director of industrial development at UNIDO. Tanja Okorn Virant from MZEZ and a guest Roy Eriksson from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kedi Välba the Estonian IT company Aktors, presented the European mechanism for MRS – Global Gateway Strategy.

Bojan Crnologar from CTC Group Ltd Kenya also participated in the event and Melita Rogelj, Melhora Consulting Ltd, who presented business opportunities from Kenya and Mozambique.

According to rough estimates, Slovenia currently has around 60 companies that have the potential to participate in these projects, mainly in the fields of the automotive industry, wood, environmental protection and energy. Some shared their experiences at today’s event.

Tomaž Šuštar from the “Vesolje.SI” Center of Excellence presented their satellite, with which they currently manage the waters of the Ganges in India. They also monitor flood waters in Kenya.

Žiga Judež from company Duol presented the greenhouse project in Egypt, which unfortunately was delayed for seven years due to Covid. The opening will take place on July 4. Namely, Egypt is the fifth largest tomato producer in the world, but they do not know how to process it and thereby increase the added value. And this was also the starting point that led the greenhouse project.

dr. Borut Štrukelj from the Faculty of Pharmacy, UL, spoke about the Bio Kuba farma project, in which they helped mainly with regulation. It is a biotechnological pharmaceutical cluster that was established under the joint venture model and is currently seeking foreign capital for start-up.

Bernard Likar from “Lesarski Grozd” (cluster of wood processing companies) mentioned the projects in Albania, among which the equipment for the school, which was destroyed in the earthquake, stands out.

Nuša Pavlinjek Slavinec from ROTO MOULDERS shared their experience in Africa, where they have been present since 2007 through their French branch, namely in the field of sewage treatment plants. With this, they gained good references for signing new deals in various African countries. They also started working on the development of new products specifically for Africa and founded their own company in Nairobi, Kenya. They achieved all this by themselves, without the help of the state. However, as part of international projects, they recently developed a working boat for fishermen on Lake Victoria. The public presentation will be held shortly. The boat is environmentally friendly, as it is built from the packaging of a well-known producer of carbonated drinks. A project to establish tourist boating on Lake Victoria, which would be managed by women, is also being prepared, which would fulfill another of the priorities of the MRS of Slovenia’s projects – the empowerment of women.

Jernej Pintar from the Ljubljana Technology Park highlighted the often insufficient ambition and lack of courage on the part of Slovenian companies, which look with skepticism at more distant, less known markets. He also misses the fact that Slovenian companies rarely open their doors to other Slovenian companies.

dr. Janez Rogelj, who deals with development projects at the Ministry of Education and Culture, admitted that, despite Slovenia’s great activity in this area, it is difficult to penetrate the EU with funds that are much larger than what Slovenia itself can afford, as specifically in the case of UNIDO for the voluntary resources of the state, which are unfortunately limited. According to dr. Rogelj, this could be solved by establishing a special agency following the example of other countries.

Source, Slovenian Chamber of Commerce:
https://media.gzs.si/projekti-mednarodnega-razvoja-odpirajo-vrata-in-nudijo-reference/#msdynttrid=1WG2zrmwc4NJqMKC0ZdBzaUapkq5NNgZlZ_q3FIoS2o