PROJECT NAME:

Digitalisation of Micro and Small businesses to increase their resilience in the crisis

SECTOR:

Private Sector

PROJECT VALUE:

Total cost of the project: 2.700.000 EUR (2.200.000 EUR by the EU)

DURATION:

01.02.2022 - 31.01.2024 (24 months)

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

DIRECT BENEFICIARY:

The direct beneficiary of the Action is Kosovo’s Ministry of Economy

PARTNERS:

 Ministries and state agencies, in particular Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers (political partner); Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA) and Kosovo Employment Agency (KEA)  Private sector incl. sectoral business associations and ESNAF Businessmen and Craftsmen Association (ESNAF)  Centre for Digital Excellence at the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) Prizren, incl. Kosovo Research and Education Network (KREN  Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)  VET providers  Civil Society

COVERAGE/IMPACT:

The final beneficiaries (target group) of the Action are primarily businesses of micro and small size (MSEs) and their employees, as well as unemployed people. A specific focus will be on gender empowerment in order to improve the participation of female entrepreneurs and unemployed women. The Action targets the whole territory of Kosovo. Final beneficiaries in proximity to the ITP Prizren may benefit disproportionally in case of presence offers.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE:

The Action’s main objective is to support the further development of Kosovo businesses, especially MSEs, and increase their resilience and agility through the process of digitalisation and digital transformation.

PROJECT PURPOSES:

Kosovo enjoys a fertile ground for innovation and digitsalisation due to high Internet penetration, mobile network coverage and a high level of ownership of mobile phones in the country. However, businesses and more specifically MSEs, in particular from more traditional sectors, currently still fail to exploit the full potential of digital technologies and techniques for a wide range of reasons like insufficient financial means, but also unawareness of the importance of digitalisation or limited ICT and digital skills among their workforce. The Action will in this regard support especially Kosovo’s MSEs to increase their resilience and agility through the process of digitalisation and digital transformation.

ACTIVITIES:

Throughout the implementation period, the Action will be mainly focused on the following activities:  -Provide trainings and re-trainings to support the digital upskilling of unemployed persons and employees of MSEs  Provide advisory and technical assistance to support Kosovo’s MSEs to digitalise their activities  Procurement of additional equipment to enhance the e-learning capacities of the Kosovo Research and Education Network (KREN) to create specifically offerings for the private sector and MSEs  Conduct activities to promote applied research and technology transfer in Kosovo

RESULTS:

The Action has the following results: Result 1: Increased engagement of youth and women in training/retraining programmes Result 2: Increased number of Kosovo businesses digitalising their activities Result 3: Increased capacity for implementing e-learning activities among start-ups, micro and small businesses and (potential) entrepreneurs Result 4: Innovation activities increased within targeted micro and small businesses