Making Markets Next Tender

Budget CHF 2300000MarketMakers MM introduces missing and strengthens underperforming market functions in the IT and BusinessKnowledge-Process-Outsourcing BPOKPO sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH. MM induces economic growth in private companies and contributes to create new and better jobs. MM further supports youth employment and entrepreneurship by improving conditions for self-employment business creation and freelancing. This consolidation phase of MM will ensure further scale and sustainability of interventions. BackgroundMajor challenges for the labour market in BiH are the weak growth in the private sector and a low level of job creation in the formal economy. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed positive trends in employment. Due to the pandemic tourism food production and processing sectors have contracted while IT and BPOKPO have remained resilient. Employment in the IT sector remains attractive 72 higher salaries than the BiH average but 42 of vacant posts cannot be filled due to a lack of skilled candidates. The BPOKPO sector has 14300 employees and is expected to rise to 18500 in 2022. With COVID-19 associated restrictions affecting traditional outsourcing destinations in Asia BiH has gained more visibility and managed to take over some of the outsourcing service functions previously performed in those locations. Freelancing continues to be a largely unexplored source of employment for youth yet it is showing great potential thanks to increasing digitalisation and the opportunities of working from home and starting a business.ObjectivesThe overarching goal of MM Phase 3 is to ensure increased and better employment opportunities for young women and men and their ability to realise entrepreneurial opportunities in the long term thereby improving their sustainable participation in the labour market.Target groupsThe main target groups are unemployed young women and men aged 15-29 who are seeking employment. This includes i young job seekers in the labour market ii youth working informally and suffering from precarious working conditions iii secondary school students who have to make decisions about their profession iv young people already in professional education and vocational training programmes and v young professionals seeking to establish their career paths or start their own business. Medium-term outcomesOutcome I employment component Employers private sector companies increase competitiveness through a sustained adoption of newimproved growth-oriented andor gender-responsive socially-inclusive business practices and ultimately new and better jobs are created. Outcome II entrepreneurship component Micro-enterprises increase competitiveness through the sustained adoption of newimproved growth-oriented andor gender-responsive socially-inclusive business practices and new ventures are created thanks to wide-ranging or gender-specifi