On Tuesday, December 20 2016, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) marked the successful completion of its four-year Industrial Management Project (IMP). USAID Mission Director, James Stein noted “For close to 25 years, USAID has been partnering with Macedonian organizations to promote sustainable socio-economic development. By stimulating development, creating new employment, and serving as a vehicle to attract investment, the energy sector has proven to be crucial for fostering economic growth.” “The inefficient energy use in Macedonian industry significantly affects the competitiveness of industrial products in both domestic and regional markets.” “USAID’s Industrial Management Project provided companies with an assessment of their energy consumption and monitoring systems, developed a plan on how to improve their energy consumption, and then provided cost-sharing support to participating businesses to install the new energy management systems.” We hope that that these successful results will inspire the broad use of energy management systems and energy efficiency upgrades throughout the industrial sector and we encourage the Government of Macedonia to facilitate investments in them.” The USAID IMP implemented actions that facilitate private investments in energy management solutions in industry. The effective use of the energy management systems in the industrial sector reduces exposure to volatile energy prices on national level, and improves energy security by reducing dependence on imported energy sources. The project also helped local manufacturing companies develop bankable energy efficiency upgrade projects; strengthened the capacity of local engineering companies in design, installation, and maintenance of energy management systems; and conducted workshops on ISO 50001:2011 international energy management standard and energy efficiency best practices for industrial companies. NOTE TO EDITORS: The American people, through USAID, have invested more than $583 million in Macedonia since 1993. USAID is working with the people of Macedonia to create jobs, strengthen democratic institutions and practices, enhance integrated education, and prepare students for the workforce. These initiatives improve the quality of life for Macedonia’s citizens and support its path to a stable and prosperous democracy. USAID provides economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries. For more information please visit http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/europe-and-eurasia/macedonia and USAID FB page http://www.facebook.com/USAIDMacedonia.