Programme: Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean 2014–2020 Transnational Cooperation Programme
Priority Axis: Entrepreneurship and Innovation | Specific Objective 1.1: Competitive Territories
Project Code: BMP1/1.1/2608/2017
Implementation Period: 1 August 2017 – 31 July 2019
Total Budget: €717,588.50 (ERDF, IPA, and national co-financing)
BalkanMed E-Business Pages (BalkanMed e-BP) was a transnational cooperation project funded under the Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean 2014–2020 programme. The project aimed to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Balkan-Mediterranean region by fostering cross-border business connections, facilitating technology transfer, and developing digital tools to support SME internationalisation.
The project addressed a recognised gap in the availability of structured, multilingual business information about exporters and cooperating enterprises across the region. It responded to this by building a dedicated e-business platform and a set of analytical and capacity-building tools tailored to the needs of regional SMEs.
The project was implemented by a consortium of five partner organisations from four countries:
| # | Partner | Location | Country |
| 1 (Lead) | Human Resources Development Agency | Ruse | Bulgaria |
| 2 | Hellenic Management Association | Athens | Greece |
| 3 | Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry | Limassol | Cyprus |
| 4 | GAUSS Institute – Foundation for New Technologies, Innovations and Knowledge Transfer | Bitola | North Macedonia |
| 5 | Centre for Competitiveness Promotion | Tirana | Albania |
GAUSS Institute – Foundation for New Technologies, Innovations and Knowledge Transfer, based in Bitola, participated as Partner 4 in the BalkanMed e-BP consortium. As the project partner representing North Macedonia, GAUSS Institute was responsible for:
- Coordinating project activities at national level and contributing to overall project management and reporting;
- Organising and facilitating national-level business seminars bringing together local SMEs, exporters, and business associations;
- Recruiting and coordinating field researchers to collect structured business data from Macedonian SMEs according to a unified project questionnaire;
- Data collection and profiling of exporting SMEs, associations, and clusters from North Macedonia for upload to the e-Business Platform;
- Contributing to the development of the analytical and capacity-building tools produced within the project;
- Ensuring visibility and dissemination of project results within North Macedonia.
The project was structured around five main activity streams:
- Project Management and Coordination – Establishing governance structures, financial management, reporting, and inter-partner communication.
- Information and Publicity – Press conferences, promotional materials, social media presence, and public events to raise awareness across partner countries.
- Development of the e-Business Database and Platform – Design, development, and launch of the BalkanMed e-BP Web Platform (www.bmbpages.com), an online marketplace and networking tool for regional SMEs.
- SME Competitiveness Tools – Development of four analytical and guidance instruments: an export analysis report, a good practices guide on clusters and technology transfer, guidelines for cluster formation, and guidelines for technology transfer.
- Business Seminars – Organisation of five national seminars across partner countries, engaging SME representatives on topics of export, cooperation, and business networking.
Key deliverables produced:
- BalkanMed e-BP Web Platform – A multilingual, fully operational online platform enabling SMEs across the Balkan-Mediterranean region to create business profiles, post cooperation offers and searches, and connect with potential partners in other countries. The platform supported multiple user categories: researchers, individual users, and companies/organisations classified by economic sector.
- Export and Cooperation Analysis Report – A cross-country analysis of exporting SMEs, existing associations, clusters, and cooperation opportunities in the participating countries.
- Good Practices Guide – A comparative guide documenting successful cluster models and technology transfer pathways relevant to the Balkan-Mediterranean context.
- Guidelines for Cluster Formation – A practical handbook to support SMEs and institutions in establishing new industry clusters.
- Guidelines for Technology Transfer – A practical reference document to facilitate knowledge and technology exchange between enterprises across the region.
- Five national business seminars – Organised across all five partner countries, engaging SME representatives in project activities and outcomes.
Target results:
- Minimum 1,000 SME profiles registered on the platform (at least 200 per partner country);
- At least 5,000 unique visits to the platform;
- Participation of at least 25 SME representatives in project seminars (minimum 5 per partner country);
- At least 1,000 users of the project’s competitiveness tools (minimum 200 per partner country).
BalkanMed e-BP created a durable digital infrastructure for cross-border SME networking in a region where such tools were previously fragmented or unavailable in multiple languages. By combining a live business platform with practical analytical tools and capacity-building events, the project delivered tangible value to exporters, business associations, and clusters across five countries.
The project demonstrated GAUSS Institute’s capacity to lead and coordinate complex multi-country research and data collection processes, to engage local business communities, and to deliver on European co-funded project obligations — consistent with the Institute’s mission of supporting innovation, knowledge transfer, and regional development.
Project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) under the Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean 2014–2020 Transnational Cooperation Programme.
More information: http://www.interreg-balkanmed.eu/approved-project/27/