As part of the world event EXPO 2020 DUBAI on 14.01.2022 at Terra Auditorium, one of the five thematic auditoriums at the fair, the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion organizes a business event to present the country’s investment, export and tourism potentials named: „North Macedonia – a new regional business hub“. In two divided sessions of the forum were presented the export capacities of our country with special emphasis on fast-growing industries – ICT sector and agribusiness, as well as tourism potentials and opportunities of North Macedonia for tourism development in all 4 seasons of the year. The Executive Director of MASIT, Anita Nikova emphasized that the ICT sector in the country and the export of information services have increased in the past few years, which was not hindered even by the pandemic. Compared to the previous 5 years, exports increased by 61%. The growth is significantly higher in the part of computer services which in the past five years has increased by 131%. The forum was attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia to the UAE, H.E. Abdulkadar Memedi and Bekri Aydini UAE Economic Adviser and Commissar General of the North Macedonia Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai, as well as representatives of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Chambers of Commerce and representatives of the food and IT industry sector from Dubai. North Macedonia’s participation in EXPO 2020 Dubai aims to raise the visibility of the country in the Middle East and worldwide by presenting the investment, export and tourism potential of North Macedonia, as well as creating a network of business contacts and opportunities to increase economic cooperation and attracting new investments.

E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID/Bosnia) The $10.5 million 5-year E-Governance Activity was awarded to Millennium Partners in February 2020. The E-Governance Activity is assisting BiH to harmonize its e-governance legislative and regulatory framework with EU directives and international best practices, to develop new software solutions for targeted government-led processes, and to improve horizontal and vertical interoperability among different levels of government in BiH (i.e., the State BiH, the Republika Srpska, and the Federation of BiH). These activities will enhance the efficiency and accountability of government institutions responsible for providing services to businesses and citizens. Millennium Partners is issuing a notice request for proposals (RFP) from organizations to provide services to develop an e-Centralized Public Procurement (e-CPP) information system and upgrade of the e-Procurement Portal. A Firm Fixed Price contract will be issued to the selected organization. Interested applications must meet the RFP’s minimum eligibility criteria available in the attached document Download PDF To obtain the RFP, send an email request containing the proof of eligibility criteria to info@usaidega.ba with the subject line “RFP e-CCP PPA” by Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at 17:00h. Late submissions will not be accepted.

In order to establish long-term cooperation between INNOFEIT and MASIT, in the context of bringing the academic community closer to the private sector, on 21.12.2021, the first official event for the Presentation of INOFEIT Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) was held and a Memorandum of cooperation between MASIT and INNOFEIT was signed. With this Memorandum of cooperation, the companies through the digital innovation hub (DIH) are allowed to introduce new technological solutions that will facilitate their work. DIH is a Center for digital innovation and is a one-stop shop where technical expertise and experimentation will help the companies through the use of digital technologies to become more competitive and improve business or production processes, as well as products or services. The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by the Vice Dean for Finance and Manager of INOFEIT, Prof. Vladimir Atanasovski PhD, and the President of the Management Board of MASIT Mrs. Aneta Antova Pesheva. The event was also attended by the Vice Rector for Teaching of the University “St. Cyril and Methodius ”in Skopje, Prof. Hristina Spasevska PhD, Dean of FEEIT, Prof. Dimitar Tashkovski PhD, Executive Director of MASIT, Anita Nikova, as well as several representatives of MASIT members.

On December 10, 2021, the President of MASIT Aneta Antova Peseva together with the Executive Director of MASIT Anita Nikova, had a working meeting with the Dean of FEEIT, Prof. Dimitar Tashkovski, Phd. They talked about raising the level of cooperation between the private sector and the Academy, through the transfer of knowledge, technologies and innovations.In close cooperation between MASIT and INNOFEIT, an ecosystem network will be developed within which young companies will have the opportunity to test their innovations and will have the opportunity to take them to the next stage of commercialization.All this will be realized within the first Macedonian Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) established by FEEIT. The first informative event will follow soon.

E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID/Bosnia) The $10.5 million 5-year E-Governance Activity was awarded to Millennium Partners in February 2020. The E-Governance Activity is assisting BiH to harmonize its e-governance legislative and regulatory framework with EU directives and international best practices, to develop new software solutions for targeted government-led processes, and to improve horizontal and vertical interoperability among different levels of government in BiH (i.e., the State BiH, the Republika Srpska, and the Federation of BiH). These activities will enhance the efficiency and accountability of government institutions responsible for providing services to businesses and citizens. Millennium Partners is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) from organizations to provide services to develop an e-Construction Permitting System for pilot Municipalities. Attached is the Notice: Request for Proposals, the criteria to be met for submission of proposals, the manner of application and the initial procedure.Extension of Deadline for Notice: RFP e-construction will be closed on Thursday, December 30, 2021, 5:00PM Download PDF

E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID/Bosnia) The $10.5 million 5-year E-Governance Activity was awarded to Millennium Partners in February 2020. The E-Governance Activity is assisting BiH to harmonize its e-governance legislative and regulatory framework with EU directives and international best practices, to develop new software solutions for targeted government-led processes, and to improve horizontal and vertical interoperability among different levels of government in BiH (i.e., the State BiH, the Republika Srpska, and the Federation of BiH). These activities will enhance the efficiency and accountability of government institutions responsible for providing services to businesses and citizens. Development of an Inspection Information Management System and upgrade to the Border Information Management System for the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs (FAIA) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Millennium Partners is implementing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability of government-led processes. Millennium Partners is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) from organizations to provide services to develop the Inspection Information Management System and upgrade the Border Information Management System of the Bosnian Federation. Attached is the Notice: Request for Proposals, the criteria to be met for submission of proposals, the manner of application and the initial procedure.The call will be open from 29.11.2021 (Monday) to 03.12.2021 (Friday). Download PDF

We are pleased to share the 5th Newsletter of our Project: Digitalization Path, which provides an overview of some of the highlights and activities during the past quarter of the project. About Digitalization path project: The “DIGITALIZATION PATH” Project is implemented by a consortium comprised of MASIT (North Macedonia) in partnership with STIKK (Kosovo) and ICT Net (Serbia) funded by the USAID Economic Development, Governance and Enterprise Growth Project. The main goal of this project is to:• Support SMEs from the targeted value chains (fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, apparel and textiles, wood processing and eco/ agro /adventure tourism), understand and get familiar with the benefits of the digital transformation;• Analyze their current level of digital transformation and create Digital Transformation Strategies identifying and prioritizing needed IT solutions;• Financially support them in the process of purchasing and implementing IT solutions in order to improve their business activities Download PDF

Final virtual event of the “DIGITALIZATION PATH” Project 16th of September, 13:00 – 15:30 We would like to invite you to join the final virtual event of the “DIGITALIZATION PATH” Project, on the topic: “Digital transformation – Key for successful business – Results from the Digitalization path project”, that will be organized exclusively online on the 16th of September, by ICT Chamber of Commerce MASIT. “DIGITALIZATION PATH” Project is funded by the USAID ’s Economic Development, Governance and Enterprise Growth Project and implemented by the ICT Chamber of Commerce MASIT, in partnership with the STIKK – Kosovo IT Association and ICT Network – Serbia. In the past fifteen months, the main goal of this project was to support SMEs from the targeted value chains (fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, apparel and textiles, wood processing and tourism) from North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia in their activities to (1) better understand and get familiar with the benefits of the digital transformation; (2) analyze their current level of digital transformation and create Digital Transformation Strategies identifying and prioritizing needed IT solutions; and (3) financially support them in the process of purchasing and implementing IT solutions in order to improve their business activities. This Virtual Final Event will gather key players from the Digital Transformation Path Project, in order to present the benefits of the Digital transformations as a key for successful business, as well the results from the Digitalization Path Project. We will be very honoured to have you at our virtual final event on 16th of September 2021, starting from 1:00p.m. to 15:30 p.m. CET, on a virtual platform. Please register at the following link, and we will send you a link to enter the event via e-mail. We are expecting participants from the ICT business community, representatives from beneficiary companies from the region (North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo), representatives from our partners etc.* Please find attached the agenda of the virtual final event. The event will be in English Download PDF

THERE IS NO SUCCESSFUL MODEL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING WITHOUT CONTRIBUTION FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR During their three-day study visit to Bern, Thun, and Zürich in Switzerland, representatives of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, the Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia, the ICT Chamber of Commerce MASIT, the Foreign Investors Council of the ECNM, and of the Association of Metal and Electrical Industry – MAMEI, undertook working visits to several institutions, business organizations, and companies. This visit aimed to understand the role of the Swiss private sector in the vocational education and training and its contribution to the development of skilled and competent labor for the requirements of the business, which is reflected in the overall economy of the country. To this end, as part of the study visit organized under the Swiss project Education for Employment in North Macedonia – E4E@mk, an initial meeting was held at the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training – SFUVET, an expert organization for vocational education and training, which supported the organization of the study visit of the Macedonian business delegation. The visit included companies from the metal and electrical engineering sector, the ICT industry, the construction sector, and the tourism and hospitality sector, as well as associations that help stimulate the enrollment for these activities, which similarly to anywhere else, are facing the most dire labor shortage. These entities also lead the process of defining competences necessary for the sector professions. In the coming period, the delegation will consider the possibilities for implementation of part of the mechanisms presented in Switzerland in our country and the secondary vocational education and training.

We invite you to take a closer look at the 4-th newsletter of our Project: Digitalization path, which provides an overview of some highlights and activities within the forth quarter of the project. In this issue of the Newsletter, you will find: Info from our ONLINE EVENT held on 18.05.2021 titled “Increasing your sales through online and ecommerce solutions” SUCCESS STORIES from our beneficiaries North Macedonia – ASTIBO FASHION GROUP Serbia – RADANSKA RUŽA Kosovo – ELNOR FURNITURE Currently open calls for beneficiaries The newsletter is available on the link below About the “Digitalization path” project: The Project Digitalization path is a 15-month project funded by the USAID Economic Development, Governance and Enterprise Growth Project and implemented by MASIT (North Macedonia) in partnership with STIKK (Kosovo) and ICT Net (Serbia). Download PDF