The Minister of Economy and Labor, Besar Durmishi, today at the Ministry of Economy and Labor awarded the decisions for subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises and artisans based on the launched Public Calls for measures from the Program for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for 2024.
"One of the priorities of the Ministry of Economy and Labor is the development and support of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and artisans, and in that direction, measures are continuously planned and implemented to support their growth and improve their competitiveness. This year too, the Ministry of Economy and Labor, within the framework of the Program for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for 2024, implemented two measures. One concerned financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in a total amount of MKD57.000.000, and for subsidizing the costs of artisans in a total amount of MKD6.500.000. For the implementation of these measures, the Ministry of Economy and Labor launched Public Calls in which the conditions for participation and the necessary documents for application were defined, " said Minister Durmishi.
The subject of the Public Call was subsidizing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that employ at least two people, through co-financing of 40% of the proven costs incurred during 2023 and 2024 and made for the purchase of new machines, but not more than MKD350.000 per applicant.
For enterprises owned and managed by women, there was a mitigating criterion, that is, to employ at least one person, where the employed person should be the owner (over 50%) and manager of the enterprise. As of 01.11.2024, a total of 222 applications were received, of which 190 were approved, 31 were rejected due to failure to meet the conditions of the Public Call and 1 applicant requested the suspension of the procedure. The funds foreseen for this measure in the amount of MKD57.000.000 have been fully realized.
"In order to contribute to balanced regional development, in the distribution of funds, in addition to the determined amount for co-financing of proven costs incurred for the purchase of new machines, additional financial support was determined for each applicant depending on the planning region where the applicant is based. At the same time, I would like to note that the individual amount of funds for co-financing of each applicant who met the conditions of this Public Call was reduced by 12.6%, as the total approved amount of funds for subsidizing all applicants who meet the conditions set out in the Public Call exceeded the planned amount of funds of MKD57.000.000 for the implementation of this measure," explained Minister Durmishi.
The subject of the Public Call was subsidizing craftsmen and artisans through co-financing of 40% of proven costs, but not more than MKD200.000 per applicant, incurred during 2023 and 2024 for:
- purchase of new machines and/or tools and
- design of a new product
As of 01.11.2024, the Ministry of Economy and Labor received a total of 43 applications, of which 37 were approved and 6 were rejected due to failure to meet the conditions of the Public Call.
For this measure, in the distribution of funds, in addition to the determined amount for co-financing of proven costs for the intended purposes, additional financial support was determined for each applicant depending on the planning region where the applicant is based.
"Taking into account the needs of SMEs and artisans, the Ministry of Economy and Labor will continue in the future with the implementation of measures and activities to support their development and improve their competitiveness," said Minister Durmishi.