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  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.”