 During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a grenade hit and devastated Milada Macanovic’s family business. Today the 30-square-meter grocery store that Milada and her husband rebuilt in the southern Bosnian city of Konjic is stocked with cabbage, green beans, potatoes, peppers, pasta, candy, cookies, juice, soda, water, and ice cream.
Milada is one of many beneficiaries of the World Bank’s Local Initiatives Project, which over the past five years has helped to sustain more than 170,000 jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a country burdened with a 30 to 40 percent unemployment rate, the Bank has dispersed more than $130,000 in small-enterprise loans.
Though the store hadn’t grown in size, Milada used the credits to keep it fully stocked for the neighborhood, and the income derived from it supports her family of five. She has already paid back most of the DM20,000—about $10,000—she had been lent over the last three years.
Milada and her husband are among 3.5 million Bosnians across the country who are slowly putting their lives back together and trying to create a stable future for their families.
Related Links:
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local Initiatives Project
 Quick Time Video (RealVideo)
Updated: September 2002
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