2015 DEMOCRACY COMMISSION SMALL GRANTS

U.S. Embassy Podgorica, Public Affairs Section

APPLICATION FORM
The application must be submitted in English

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Name of the project:
Social entrepreneurship – a step towards better social inclusion
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Amount requested (in US$): 12477.00
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Name of the organization (in English):
Non-government Foundation Business Start-up Centre Bar and NGO “ Kranjanija”
Ostros
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Name of the organization (in original language):
Nevladina fondacija Biznis Start Centar Bar i NGO “ Kranjanija” Ostros
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Address:
Poslovni centar kula,, A’’, Bulevar Revolucije, bb 85000 Bar, Montenegro
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Phone and fax numbers; e-mail address:
+382 30 313 712, i.tomasevic@bscbar.org
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Represented by (name, title):
Ivana Tomasevic, BSC Bar Director
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Project dates (to start no earlier than May 1, 2015): 01st September 2015 – 31st August 2016
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Executive summary (please use only the space given):
When it comes to gender equality in Montenegro although legal regulations have been
adopted to promote gender equality by implementing political, economic and social rights for
women, the monitoring results showed limited progress in this area. Women’s Civil Society
Organization (CSOs) play crucial role in increasing awareness among population and
municipal authorities on equality and women’s rights. However CSOs sustainability is
questionable, funding for their operations is lacking, while in implementation of activities -
coordination and network between existing women’s CSOs is weak. This is especially case in
rural areas. Women in the rural area of the municipality of Bar and Ulcinj are faced with
poverty, lack of social connections and power, isolation and general marginalization. Their
marginalized position in the sphere of work and in activities that generate income is reflected
in un-satisfactory fulfillment of their social rights. Some women are linked to small and local
CSOs which are also marginally operating, and are not able to provide sufficient finances or
skills sets to support their members. Women in rural areas need to improve their skills in
order to become active members of their society and promoters of social change in local
market. On the other side small/local CSOs need to improve their capacities and to set up the
sustainable structure of their organizations in order to continue their work.
The overall objective of our project is to promote the employability of rural women and
women from marginalized groups through forms of social entrepreneurship - social
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enterprises and social cooperatives. The establishment of a social enterprise, with the clear
aim to benefit the local community, will provide multiple effects:
a) providing work integration "hard to employ" categories – young women without skills,
women who are unemployed for long period of time ; b) ensuring social inclusion of
vulnerable groups – women with disabilities; c) reduced expenditures from the national and
local budget.
BSC Bar had achieved significant results in the field of networking and empowerment of
women in rural areas of Bar (Ostros and Virpazar) through project “Empowered Women-
Richer Society”. We have improved women’s practical skills and they have developed new
local products that they have started to show on fairs (local and national). In Ostros they have
even established their NGO. However their organization is new and they need skills to:
manage organization operations, apply for funding and make organization sustainable. With
this project we are partnering with NGO” Kranjanija” as well as with informal groups of
women from rural areas of Bar (Virpazar and Crmnica area, Zupci, Tudjemili and Stari
Bar) and rural areas of Ulcinj (Vladimir, Stoj). Our joint goal is to deepen women’s social
and business skills in rural areas of Bar and Ulcinj; to increase their capacities; to create
stronger and more sustainable networks for support and at the end to introduce social
entrepreneurship concept which will enable development of those communities in
sustainable way.
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Project purpose (what goals will be achieved; and, in brief, how the results will be
measured, using only the given space):
BSC Bar wants to contribute to the empowerment of women and women’s CSOs for
employment and social change through social entrepreneurship. With this project we will
provide access to specific knowledge and skills in accordance with already identified needs
in the rural areas and in accordance with the development potential of rural areas specified in
development programs of Municipality of Bar (Local Action Plan for Gender Equality 2015-
2017 and Program for economic empowerment of women). We will propose the
improvements of rural women’s products, suggest new activities that will contribute to better
responsiveness of rural women and introduce new way of organizing their work through
social enterprise concept. Based on target market and women’s skills we envision these social
enterprises to be organized like craft centers. This way we will empower rural women as
they will be able to achieve economic empowerment through social enterprise and to further
introduce social change in their community. With this way of organizing they will create
employment in rural areas, decline poverty and reduce migration of population from those
areas (especially young people that are migrating in search for employment). In a previous
project, we have identified lack of many social services in rural areas like: childcare, health
services, elderly care, employment support services etc. Our goal is also to empower women
to become promoters of social change and through activities of their CSOs to work on
eliminating this unfair balance that causes them to be excluded and marginalized from
development plans of their communities. This is especially the case for women that live in
Ostros which are Albanian-speaking minority, and women living in distant and remote areas.
With this project we will organize social enterprises in order to achieve 2 changes:
1. Social, through:
 Empowering women and association of women to network and became active
participants of community development
 Improving social services in rural communities (childcare, health services, elderly
care)

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  Reducing migration of young people from rural areas
 Evolving members of different ethnicities (major groups being: Orthodox Christians,
Catholic Christians and Muslims) to work together and to exchange and promote
specifics of their culture, ethnic background and customs
2. Economic, through:
 Developing entrepreneurship
 Increasing employment and reducing poverty in rural areas through reinvesting
profits in their communities

Effectiveness indicators will be measured; and results will be tracked and periodically
reported. Indicators:
1. Number of participants in our training programs – 100 (one women can participate in
more than one training program)
2. Number of women benefiting from our program activities – 60
3. Number of craft centers created – 3
4. Number of women engaged in working in craft centers - 8
5. Number of new product developed - 10
6. Improvement in women’s entrepreneurial skills and capacities based on self-
evaluation - 90% of participants expressed that they have improved entrepreneurial
skills
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Project justification (please describe the need or problems the project will address and
target groups you will reach):
The statistics show that the majority of population in municipality of Bar lives in rural areas,
i.e. (55.7%) of the total population. Unfortunately, majority women from rural areas are
disadvantaged socially, economically and politically. Women lack social services (prenatal
care, social care, child care) and skills and knowledge to make them active citizens. Poverty
of rural women undermines stability of family and contributes to the decrease in the birth
rate and to migration from rural areas. Numerous groups in rural area of Municipality of Bar
and Ulcinj still lack prospects for employment and opportunities to escape the cycle of
poverty. According to MONSTAT report the rate of poverty at national level is increasing
and especially in rural areas the gap and the depth of poverty are deepening. Poverty in rural
areas is increasing by 5.9 percentage points while in urban areas only by 0.2 percentage
points. Women’s organizations or informal groups, in areas where they exist, are largely
dependent on donor funding and, while they sometimes have a strong volunteer base, they
lack significant financial resources. Bearing the scale of the problem in mind, BSC Bar will s
launch a new program to introduce the concept of social enterprise among women’s CSOs,
unemployed women and existing women informal groups. Social enterprises by harnessing
for-profit strategies are mission-driven organizations that serve as new engines of innovation,
job creation and economic growth in the social sector. The target group of our project are
women belonging to economically and socially vulnerable groups in the area of Bar and
Ulcinj with special involvement of women in rural and remote areas, young unemployed
women, women CSOs, unqualified women workforce.
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Detailed description of the project activities:
1. Capacity building of women’s CSOs - BSC Bar will support strengthening of existing
women’s CSO’s and women informal groups by organizing seminar on: managing CSOs,
improving fundraising, networking and ensuring inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable

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groups and promotion of their culture and customs (example: Albanian speaking women
minority in Montenegro and their culture, Catholic minority from rural areas of Bar and
Ulcinj etc.). One training with duration of 2 days will be implemented in Bar with
participants from Ostros, Virpazar, rural villages of Bar and Ulcinj - 2 training days. Target
market is 20 participants.
2. Training on social businesses- We will organize in Virpazar 1 workshop of 2 days
duration with purpose to increase rural women knowledge about social enterprises. We will
present the benefits of the establishment of social enterprises, social enterprise structure,
revenue generating activities, reinvestment of profit, influence on community development
and sustainability. Participants will be from rural areas of Bar and Ulcinj. Target is 20
participants.
3. Creation of social businesses:
3.1. Establishing social enterprises (craft centers ) -jointly with rural women CSO
,,Kranjania’’ from Ostros we will establish social enterprise – Women’s Craft Center
Ostros. With combination of creativity, handicraft and environmental awareness we will
draw attention to the cultural values of Ostros and to the social inclusion of this rural
Albanian speaking community. We will also establish the structure for 2 additional craft
centers 1 in Bar and 1 in Ulcinj – in order to promote their diverse cultural values (Catholic,
Orthodox Christians, Muslim- religions and various nationalities). Target is 3 craft centers
established
3.2. Equipping craft center in Ostros with 1 waving loom and sewing machines (3
machines- 1 professional and 2 for special applications). Working space for this center is
provided by Bar Municipality. Target is that there are 8 women working in craft centers.
4. Practical trainings in Ostros:
4.1. The fiber arts training in Ostros ,10 days duration – is particularly interesting
for this target market because they it provide insights into women’s creative output and also
ensure more efficient use of resources. In this way we help them use already disposed
resources like sheep's wool. Instead of disposing it and creating environmental problem now
they will use this resource in production of carpets, rugs, bags, slippers etc. Target is that
there are 15 women acquiring this new skill.
4.2. Advanced sewing training in Ostros, 5 days duration– this will improve their
sewing skills and train women on how to use newly acquired sewing machines. This training
is essential for their production and for sustainability of craft center. Target is that there are
15 women participating in this training coming from rural areas of Bar and Ulcinj.
5. Introducing innovation and re-design of old crafts - With this activity we will prevent
decay and dissolution of the old crafts (crochet, knitting, embroidery), as well as the
revitalization and development of traditional products with a modern design that will enable
the products to become attractive to new consumers. Tourists seek for more and deeper
understanding of the local cultures – these old products with new design will attract more
tourists in rural areas and promote unique values of Montenegro. Each religion (orthodox
Christians, catholic Christians, and Muslims) and nationality has their own diverse tradition
and this will be represented in their products. We will engage 2 experts that will provide
support for women in re-designing their products. Target is 10 products created with
specific local values. Product will be presented to public at local fairs and some products that
qualify will be presented to get certified as Montenegrin souvenirs.
6. Women’s business trainings- while women in rural area have had some business training
in previous project, there is a need to provide them specific business skills in areas dealing
with product/service price calculation and in selection of distribution channels
(merchandising skills). Trainings like this will improve sustainability of their businesses as
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for now they products and services are not reaching customer’s needs (when it comes to price
and to availability of products). Trainings are 2 days each and there are 3 trainings that
will be provided in Ostros, Virpazar and Ulcinj based on already identified training
needs (both topics were identified as the additional training needs on previous project).
Target number of participants on these trainings is 60.
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Project sustainability (will the project continue after the funding ends?):
The project aims to enhance and expand the good results reached with the employment
training component of the earlier projects and to strengthen the sustainability of the results of
this project. During the implementation of the project we are always focusing of
sustainability of activities implemented. Our model of social enterprises envisions that rural
women reach economic sustainability but also to use the funding for further social changes.
This will solve the main issue of lacking of funding in rural areas and will provide the
women’s CSOs possibility to continue activities after the USA Embassy funding ends.
The project will improve rural women’s abilities to network, their entrepreneurial skills and
abilities to sustain group activities. The project idea is a result of a strong cooperation
between BSC Bar and Women’s NGO ,,Kranjanija’’ from Ostros. It is based on successful
cooperation in the earlier project and ongoing discussions and planning for new joint
initiatives in providing sustainable solution for the organization’s work. This project will
increase women from rural areas skills and capacities; provide them good support network;
increase quality of their product and services. All this will lead to sustainability as the social
enterprises created will be able to participate in various government support programs like:
Investment Development Fund funding for women, commercial bank’s funding, Ministry of
Agriculture financing of agricultural production, Employment agency programs, support
programs of local municipality etc. Women from rural areas will be empowered to represent
their needs to local authorities so that the local strategies and action plans can reflect better
their needs and social improvements will be visible and sustainable.
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Short background on the organization (including a brief background of the
organization’s chief representative and the names of other NGO members that will be
involved in the project implementation):
Foundation BSC Bar was established in 2007 through international project financed by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and it was officially registered as non-
governmental foundation in October 2009 by its seven local founders: Municipality of Bar,
Montenegro Business Alliance, Faculty of Tourism, Middle Economic School, Cultural
Center Bar, Association of Entrepreneurs Bar and Employment Bureau of Bar. The objective
of BSC Bar is to facilitate the creation and growth of SMEs, to reduce poverty and to
increase employment in Montenegro. Main activities of BSC Bar are: Business Skills
Training Program, Business Plan Competition, Consultancy and Mentorship – provided to
start-up entrepreneurs and to existing SME. Since 2007, BSC Bar has trained over 4000
participants in its Business Skills Training program; developed 42 training modules and
certified 85 trainers; facilitated the establishment of 80 new enterprise start-ups, created 420
jobs, supported 105 start-ups and existing companies with start-up loan.
Staff members are: The director, Ms Ivana Tomasevic has University degree in Economics.
In 2004 she got Master degree at Baruch College (City University of New York) and
received a title, Master in Business Administration (MBA). In order to obtain this degree Ms
Tomasevic was awarded scholarship from United Nation’s Brown Fellowship Program. She
worked in BSC Bar since its establishment in 2007 first as Project coordinator for
Montenegro and later as director. Incubator Manager Mr. Sasa Jovanovic has University
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degree in Economics and works in BSC Bar since 2009. He assisted and supported the start-
up of many SMEs in Montenegro; provided support in one or more of the following areas:
marketing, financial management, production operations, human resource management,
mentoring etc. Ms. Vesna Antunicevic has University degree in Economics and works as
Project Assistant since 2010. Her work includes project writing, fundraising, implementation
of project activities, reporting to the donor, developing business plans for entrepreneurs and
SMEs etc.
NGO “Kranjanija” from Ostros was established on 17th February 2014, through project
“Empowered Women- Richer Society” funded through USA Embassy in Podgorica
Democracy Commission Small Grants Program. Establishing this NGO was one of the main
goals of the project. The goals of organization are: economic empowerment of women and
enhancing the position of women in local community (in areas: education, health, culture,
sports and politics); and promotion of local cultural background. Organization has 15
members – Albanian speaking women from rural areas of Bar and the director of
organization is Ms. Senada Ramusevic. This is the first time that the organization is applying
for Democracy Commission Small Grants Program. She will be involved in implementation
as well as Ms. Nadire Milla the president of organization members.
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Any previous U.S. Government funding (please list the year, amount of the grant and the title
of the project):
Title: Entrepreneurship Endeavors
Grant Number: S-MJ190-13-GR-068
Amount: $15000.00
Date: September 30th, 2013- March 31st, 2015

Title: Empowered women- richer society

Grant Number: S-MJ190-13-GR-034
Amount: $18749.00
Date: September 10th, 2013 - September 30th, 2014

Title: Understanding the environmental issues in Montenegro with the particular attention
to the role of business sector
Grant Number: S-MJ190-10-GR-029
Amount: $19984.00
Date: September 01st, 2010- May 01st, 2011
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Detailed budget (under the budget list please explain the costs line by line; budget must be
integral part of the application but can be attached in Excel or Word):
Total budget is 16581.00 USD and it is attached to this application in Excel
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How will you meet the program and financial reporting requirements? (e.g., who will
prepare the financial and narrative reports?):
BSC Bar has significant knowledge, experience and capability to achieve the goal of the
project and to assure the proper usage of the funds. Narrative and financial reports will be
prepared by BSC Bar staff who will keep the copies of invoices, bills and bank statements for
reporting purposes. BSC Bar will also collect and keep supporting documentation like: news
articles, photographs, sign-up sheets, evaluation forms, different recordings of activities, etc.
Reports that will be generated can be used to provide valuable learning input to US Embassy
on the: effectiveness of the program and parts of the program (specific activities), most
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attractive measures to women entrepreneurs, most requested support services,
coach/consultancy needs assessment, the affects of support services to the women owned
SME performance etc. Part of this project is also to train newly established women’s CSOs
in reporting therefore we intend to provide training to CSO from Ostros and from Virpazar
on financial and narrative reporting.
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Other sources of support for this project (including the applicant organization):
BSC Bar will provide necessary equipment for implementing the project (for training
activities: PC and projector, for organization: vehicle for staff travel to Ostros and Virpazar,
for administration and materials for training copy and fax machines)
NGO “Kranjanija” and Municipality of Bar will be providing free training rooms in Ostros
and Virpazar and will finance meals for training (lunch for participants for whole-day
training activities).
BSC Bar and NGO “Kranjanija” will provide the voluntary work of both organization’s
directors in promotion, networking and in implementation of activities.
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Other organizations you applied to with the same project and status of your
application:
We didn’t apply to other donor organizations with same project.
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DUNS Number and the Registration Paper (This is not required by the deadline but will be
mandatory if the project makes it in to the final round): 360368739