Business Forum | Bosnia and Herzegovina – Housing Sector – B2B
Positioning of Bosnian and Herzegovinian companies in the Swiss market
The goal of the first Business Forum focusing on the housing sector was to connect producers from Bosnia and Herzegovina with business partners and potential buyers from Switzerland. The preparations of the Forum included preliminary meetings and workshops held in Sarajevo and Banja Luka on October 23 and 24, 2017, which included consultations on potential Bosnian and Herzegovinian partners from the wood processing and home furnishing sector, conditions for the sale of products in the Swiss market and services that i-diaspora can provide as an intermediary and provider of business contacts.
The Business Forum has been initiated by the association i-dijaspora within the initiative “i-platform – Diaspora for development of Bosnia and Herzegovina” and was organised in close cooperation with the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Republic Srpska, Swiss Import Promotion Programme, the company SEE Investment Solutions from Switzerland and the Diaspora for Development project supported by SDC and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH and United Nations Development Programme.
A total of 15 companies from the wood processing and home furnishing sector operating throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the Forum and presented themselves in compliance with the highest professional standards. There were also 10 Swiss companies. KMU, Möbel Pfister and Hornbach demonstrated particular interest in Bosnian and Herzegovinian partners. Immediate communication and spontaneous interaction during the very first encounters before the official opening have demonstrated the great interest of participants in establishing contacts and finding cooperation opportunities.
''We expect to establish good contacts with Swiss companies and deepen the contacts with our Bosnian and Herzegovinian partners. As regards the professional aspect, we have prepared everything and we offer top-notch quality and durability'', said Emil Balavac, a representative of the company Onix, Mostar, at the very beginning of the Business Forum that was held at Hotel Widder in Zurich. Krivaja Homes from Zavidovići, a company that builds pre-fabricated houses with wooden windows and doors, has been operating in the Swiss market for the last three years and its representative, Sabina Mujanović Heljić, expressed the intention of the company to further expand in this market: ''We hope that we will ensure new contacts for an even better sale of our products. We export around 98% of our products, we are certified and experienced''.
Role of the diaspora of Bosnia and Herzegovina in bringing together business partners
Welcome speeches at the opening of the Forum were held by Edin Dacić, a member of the Steering Committee of i-diaspora, Anđelko Grahovac, the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland, Ahmet Egrlić, President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jelena Rodić, an Expert Associate of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Republika Srpska, and Franziska Eggimann, a SIPPO Programme Manager. The forum programme was moderated by Taner Aličehić, a representative of the company SEE Investment Solution. They particularly stressed the importance of the diaspora of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland when it comes to bringing together companies from the housing sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina with business partners and buyers in Switzerland as well as the motivation and possibilities of the diaspora of Bosnia and Herzegovina to contribute to a greater trade exchange between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland.
''Business relations are very frequently established top down, with the initiative starting from high-ranking institutions. We will, however, do something new and will apply a bottom up approach, starting from companies that produce high-quality products and arrange for contacts between these companies and business institutions in Switzerland'', stressed Edin Dacić, Steering Board member of i-diaspora.
The business careers of Hasan Hasić and his furniture design company, Whiteoak Group AG, and of Tatomir Jovičić, the owner of the company Task Force & Logistic, which, among other things, provides stalls and wood products from Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Tourism Association of Lausanne, and which also produces high-quality cheese on a farm in Bosnia and Herzegovina based on a Swiss recipe*, were presented as examples of inspiring and successful business stories.
Hasan Hasić emphasized that he did not wish that the interest of Swiss partners be focused on a cheaper offer from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but rather on ''the high quality and service offered by producers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are certainly able to provide top-notch products and services''.
The main part of the Business Forum was dedicated to direct communication and exchange of information, i.e. matchmaking between representatives of companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland. They exchanged their business cards, catalogues, brochures and product profiles and engaged in an animated discussion, intense communication and good exchange of information, which made the interaction very dynamic and creative.
Once all discussions and bilateral meetings were held, the Business Forum was closed with the concluding remarks of Merima Avdagić, a UNDP Project Manager and Nenad Stojanović, the Co-Chairman of i-diaspora. ''Partnerships are key elements of the success of this story, transfer of knowledge, communication, new investments, and I hope that this will assist companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina in positioning themselves in the Swiss market. This is a large group and some participants are highly satisfied, because they established contacts and already arranged visits, which constitutes a great potential for prospective cooperation and buyers. This is already the first step that we planned and that has been successful'', said Merima Avdagić.
First steps in the partnership
Most participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina believe that the Business Forum in Zurich has produced good results and that the established contacts might ensure prospective buyers for their products in Switzerland. As in similar business situations, not all participants were able to immediately find satisfactory business contacts or arrange further communication, but the steps made were highly satisfactory for a number of companies.
Amir Nezirić from Mostar, a representative of the company Onix, which engages in stone production and building said the following: ''I am highly satisfied with the approach of our fellow citizens living in Switzerland. A number of concrete discussions were held and we will continue communicating by e-mail. In three or four days, they will also send us further inquiries. These are Swiss companies managed by our fellow citizens. I am optimistic!''
Several companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina have already arranged business visits: ''It was captivating. We managed to establish close contacts through discussions and explain who we are and what we can do. I believe that this event assisted us in establishing such contacts and enabled us to be better positioned in this market in the future. There were four highly interesting companies from Switzerland that engage in activities that are very similar to ours and we agreed that we would meet again at ''Krivaja'' in Zavidovići, quite soon actually, in order to discuss in detail the projects they are already have. They might be interested in continuing the production with us as potential partners. These are projects related to prefabricated construction components in Switzerland'', says Sabina Mujanović Heljić from the company Krivaja Homes, visibly pleased.
Jovana Partalo from the company Drvoprodex, Banja Luka considers her participation in the Business Forum a positive experience: ''Yes, we are satisfied. The participants constitute good business contacts and they are interested. We had concrete discussions and will continue our communication. It remains to be seen what results it will produce.''
Armin Aličić, a member of the Swiss sales office of the German company Hornbach, was also satisfied with initial contacts: ''For me it was something new to see an event organised in this sector and attended by so many companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina has great chances indeed to tap this market, but sometimes certain companies or persons are difficult to reach, and I myself had such an experience. We had numerous constructive discussions, we established the first contacts and we will see how things will develop.''
SIPPO, the Swiss Import Promotion Programme, is planning to initiate cooperation with companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the near future, not only in the wood industry, but also in the food, textile and organic food industry. ''Today's forum was a journey that only started'', said Franziska Eggimann from SIPPO.
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