June, 2005

Regional Competitiveness Conference

Sofia, Bulgaria

June, 2005

Cluster Successes

Dairies supported by USAID have exported more cheese in the first quarter of this year then they did in all of 2004.

Winemakers supported by USAID have increased bottled wine exports by more than 40 percent.

Foreign tourists traveling to Macedonia for adventure tourism, a sector supported by USAID, have more than doubled.

IT firms assisted by USAID have more than doubled their exports of software and services.

Apparel companies assisted by USAID opened new markets in Scandinavia and Italy, with $1.3 million of new contracts, just 4 months after the sector’s first trade fair exhibition.

“Competitiveness should not be just a project –

It should be a Mission philosophy.”