Fund for Innovation, Undertaking Launched

Minister of innovation and entrepreneurship Besim Beqaj invited all NGOs meeting the conditions and criteria set to apply within 30 days as the competition lasts, while explaining that subsidies will be of the three levels.

The first “level is financial support of up to 150,000 euros, which means new NGOs that focus on innovation, so they will not take these tools for themselves, but they will receive to be transformed into knowledge, in knowledge, which may have impact on economic effects. The second level is up to 50,000 euros and has to do with NGOs that have experience, which have records of their successes, and they normally have specific conditions, to have audited financial mirrors, to have people and to bring in arguments that have had experience in this article. The level while the third level is what is considered to be being put into use the economy small enterprises through training programmes in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. Companies with experience in training and presenting their ideas” are invited to finance level of 200,000 euros, he said.

According to him, this financial support would empower young people, women in business and all marginalised groups and societies that for how many years have had a single way to try alone in the field of entrepreneurship.

The sectors that will include this programme, as Beqaj said, are information technology, education, energy, health, energy, infrastructure and production.

This program, which we are launching today, aims to support innovators and combine human knowledge, capabilities and resources to develop the innovative concept, which will have to lead us to the concept of digitizing the economy”, Beqaj said.

On behalf of the Ministry of Finance spoke to Deputy Minister Fatmir Gashi, who said how the ministry is oriented to improve business in the country.

“in June 2018 we will sign the financial agreement with the World Bank for the digitisation project of the Kosovo economy, which will support citizens who will benefit the opportunities of the digital, regional and global economy, especially in the regeneration of revenues, research and education, thus boosting the rise of the digital economy in Kosovo”, Gashi said.

Vjollca Cavolli, director of the STIKK, said her old dream of such support for innovation is finally under way.

According to her, this innovation ministry initiative is part of the value chain, part of an ecosystem which, according to her, will enable young people in Kosovo to develop more and faster.

This fund is more than necessary. Whether we want in Kosovo to have a digital economy, the funding for development or for support of innovation in any sector has definitely been necessary. The ICT sector does not develop itself. It develops, but the level of development itself is small in comparison with how well it develops by developing other sectors”, it said.

While Arian Dobroshi from “Pristina Higher Space” said institutions' support to NGOs is more than necessary, as there are spaces where to help.

The race will remain open 30 days from today as specific conditions and criteria attached to the form can be downloaded on the Ministry of Innovation page.

Otherwise, for this German GIZ programme, I will allocate one million euros and the Ministry of Innovation one million