Small businesses are the backbone of economies everywhere. They make up over 90 percent of businesses worldwide, and the share is even higher in North Macedonia. MSMEs drive jobs, livelihoods, and local growth, especially for women, young people, and other groups working to gain a foothold in the economy.
But today's MSMEs are operating on the front lines of overlapping pressures. Rising costs, fragile supply chains, and a persistent financing gap make survival a daily challenge. Many can't access the affordable loans they need to modernize, leaving them exposed to market shocks they have little power to absorb.
Pressure can also open the door to transformation. This year's UN theme, "Empowering MSMEs through Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Development," points to exactly that opportunity. Expanding access to green innovation, digital tools, and targeted financing can unlock progress on the SDGs while helping small businesses overcome the obstacles in front of them.
In North Macedonia, the Green Finance Facility (GFF) is doing just that. Family businesses are turning energy vulnerability into competitive advantage, proving that sustainable industrial development can start at the municipal level.
Turning the Page on the Energy Crisis: Grafoservis Strumica
Grafoservis has operated in Strumica since 1992. As the only dedicated printing and packaging facility of its scale in the city, the company has spent over three decades adapting. When digitalization reshaped the print industry, the family business pivoted into specialized digital printing, labels, and packaging, protecting livelihoods for its 26 employees.
Then came a new threat. For a manufacturer running heavy printing machinery, the global energy crisis sent electricity costs soaring, putting decades of hard work at risk.
"As a family business, you learn to adapt to market changes, but the energy crisis was a different kind of pressure," says Gorgi Peltekovski, owner of Grafoservis.
"We knew that to protect our team and keep our competitive edge, we needed an energy transformation."
With support from the Green Finance Facility, Grafoservis installed a rooftop solar plant. The results were immediate. The facility now generates enough clean energy to power its entire digital printing operation, using half of what it produces and selling the rest back to the national grid.
Peltekovski is already planning the next step. "Our goal now is to install battery storage systems. With the right next-stage financing, batteries will let us store our excess solar power and sell it back to the grid during peak hours at higher margins. Innovation is a continuous journey."
A Double Win for the Environment: AB Novoselski Pat
Across town, another business is showing that pollution prevention can be a business model in itself. AB Novoselski Pat runs vehicle service centers, car washes, and auto parts trade across nine retail shops nationwide. The company also manufactures distilled water, antifreeze, windshield fluid, and AdBlue, a solution that reduces harmful nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines.
For a company whose flagship product already benefits the environment, cutting its own industrial footprint was a natural next move. Through the GFF, the company installed a large rooftop solar system across its facilities in Strumica.
There's a fitting parallel at work. While AdBlue helps cut pollution from vehicles on the road, the company's new solar roofs cut carbon at the source of production. What began as a modest pilot on the main office roof has now expanded to cover all available roof space on its commercial buildings.
"We wanted our production process to match the environmental purpose of our products," explains Elizabeta Tancheva, owner of AB Novoselski Pat.
"The financial structure made sense for us. The revenue we earn from selling surplus power back to the network covers our credit payments for the solar investment itself, and it protects the environment at the same time."
The Power of Partnerships
Grafoservis and AB Novoselski Pat show what's possible when MSMEs get affordable access to green finance. They don't just weather economic shocks, they lead the transition to a low-carbon economy.
These transformations are made possible through the Green Finance Facility, a programme funded by the Joint SDG Fund, the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It is implemented by UNDP North Macedonia in partnership with EBRD, IOM, and UNECE, alongside local financial institutions.
Ahead of the MSME Day, small businesses equipped with green technology and smart financing are showing what resilient, fair, and sustainable communities can look like.
Originally published by UNDP North Macedonia.
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Arab Gulf Programme for Development for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
