Upon the invitation of the Ombudsman for SME of Poland, representatives of West East Forum for Ethics and Compliance participated at the third International Forum of Ombudsmen for Protection of Rights of Entrepreneurs (Business Ombudsmen) and European Congress of Small and Medium – Size Enterprises, that was held between 20th and 22nd of November this year. The meeting took place at The International Congress Centre in Katowice, Poland.
Representatives of Ombudsman institutions for protection of business rights from Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, South Korea and Uzbekistan presented their experience in protecting the rights and freedoms of entrepreneurs. The participants could hear about the different approaches in establishment of such institutions in the world and differences in powers and activities of these institutions. Joint meetings and benefits of experience exchange was appreciated by all participants.
Representative of WEFEC presented the initiative for establishment of the Business Ombudsman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reasons for such initiative as well as the activities, both implemented and planned, within this initiative. The specifics of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country and the state of its business sector were also presented, as well as the challenges this initiative may encounter. It was also expressed the gratitude for the invitation to the event and opportunity to meet representatives of institutions for protection of business rights from different countries and learning more about each model.
During the congress, Mila Crnogorac Bajić had opportunity to participate in the panel “Tools for building international business relationships” together with dr Anna Wisniewska – General Director, Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, Anna Hojn – Department of Consulting and Information, Enterprise Europe Network Centre, Fundusz Górnośląski S.A., Bartosz Kozinski – British Embassy Warsaw, Foreign Investment Director, Stefan Moritz – Secretary General of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, Head of the EU-Liaison Office of BVMW in Brussels. The panel moderator was Petros Tovmasyan from Future Industry Platform Foundation. This was additional opportunity for presenting the business environment and opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to international organizations and companies.
The project “Business Ombudsman Initiative” started in August 2022 with the purpose to collect information on different modes of establishment and operation of institutions for the protection of rights of businesses and entrepreneurs in the world and to analyze possibilities for establishment similar institutions in BiH. Together with stake holders from the business sector, government and international community, WEFEC will discuss potential solutions and define basic principles for the establishment of the Office of Business Ombudsman in BiH. Based on joint conclusions, WEFEC and stake holders will develop a road map for future activities on advocating for protection of legitimate business rights.
This project was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.