Welcome
The Increasing Market Employability Programme (IME) is aimed at strengthening the business sector in the Republic of North Macedonia. Our mission is to create an enabling environment for our identified high-growth target sectors: Sustainable Agribusiness, Adventure Tourism and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
We aim to expand markets and boost competitiveness amongst domestic players in these sectors, to catalyse an overall improvement in the quality of products and services, and create sustainable jobs for high-skilled labour force in North Macedonia, especially women and youth.
The overall lifespan of the Increasing Market Employability project in North Macedonia is 11 years, with a total budget of 15.5 million CHF funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. IME’s current phase, with a budget of 6.2 million CHF and duration of five years is implemented by the Palladium. The work we do under IME is aligned with the strategic goals of the Swiss Cooperation Programme North Macedonia 2021-24.
SUCCESS THROUGH NUMBERS – up to June 2023
1,937
JOBS CREATED
оut of which 662 women and 803 youth.
210
COMPANIES
supported to introduce new technologies, innovations, and/or improve business practices.
13.6%
AVERAGE INCREASE
in sales by IME-supported companies.
13.6
MILLION CHF
resources already mobilized or in a process of loan approval with the support of IME financial facilitators.
630
COMPANIES
utilized business development services to improve competitiveness, out of which 140 are women-owned.
46
COMPANIES
adopted new standards and certifications.
Testimonials



The project Increasing Market Employability (IME) is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Palladium Group.