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

We would like to inform you that on 06.07.2021 (Tuesday), starting at 13:00, at restaurant Ragusa 360, the fifteenth Annual Assembly of the Economic Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies MASIT Skopje will be held. The Assembly of MASIT is the highest body consisted from one representative of each of the members. The members of MASIT for their mutual questions decide together at the meeting of the Assembly of MASIT, once a year. Stay tuned for more news.

We are pleased to inform you that ProCredit Bank became a Patron Partner of the Information and Communication Technologies Chamber of Commerce – MASIT Skopje. The Patron Partnership emerged as a result of the past many years of cooperation in which ProCredit and MASIT have successfully cooperated on various topics related to the ICT industry with the intention of continuing and deepening the joint cooperation in the upcoming period. Through this partnership, in the upcoming year ProCredit Bank will support MASIT in its activities to represent the Macedonian ICT industry and promote and represent the business interests of ICT companies in order to promote and develop the ICT industry and business environment. ProCredit Bank has been a proven business partner for the past two decades. The first and only digital Bank in the country that with its concept of work has an individual approach and high quality service for small and medium enterprises, but also for individuals who want to use simple and modern banking 24/7. In cooperation with MASIT, ProCredit Bank confirms its commitment and dedication to the ICT sector. For companies and employees from the the ICT sector ProCredit offers the following benefits and services: Connecting e-banking with the company’s accounting software Interest on a positive account balance for the company Special exchange rates Fixed, predictable commissions for payment operations in the country and abroad Electronic services package for employees and special lending conditions Personal advisor from the Bank for the company and the employees In the forthcoming year ProCredit through the cooperation with MASIT and ICT companies will work on new products suitable exclusively for companies in the ICT sector and for all who want to be informed in more detail about the bank services at disposal is a contact person for clients in the ICT sector: Milan Damcevski , ProCredit Bank – 070 / 353-894, Milan.Damcevski@procredit-group.com.

The project “Digitalization Path” – 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) is announcing an open call for applications from companies operating in the sector of agriculture and processing, light manufacturing (apparel and textiles, wood processing), and tourism (eco-tourism, rural tourism, and adventure tourism), that needs development of personalized Digital transformation strategy in order to improve their business. Personal digital transformation strategies support description: The Project will provide expert help from experienced consultants, who will support companies to effectively identify and prioritize IT solutions that would potentially have the highest return on improving the business operations of each SME. This personalized Strategy will have the goal to analyze the current business processes and understand the company’s needs, problems and challenges, based on which detailed recommendations for implementation of IT solutions will be elaborated and recommended in order to improve their business operations and sophistication. What can you expect? Work with experienced consultants Development of your own personalized Digital Transformation Strategy 30 beneficiary companies, 10 companies per country from the sectors mentioned above will be selected for the development of the Digital Transformation Strategy The application deadline for this call is 20.06.2021. The interested companies should apply by sending the Expression of interest template to the following e-mail addresses according to the country they operate in: North Macedonia – Elena Petrushevska, Project coordinator, elena.petrushevska@masit.org.mk, Serbia – Marina Blagojevic, Project coordinator, marina.blagojevic@ict-net.com Kosovo – Art Navakazi, Project coordinator, art.navakazi@stikk.org You can read all the detailed information about the call on the following LINK.

Today was held a virtual meeting between senior representatives of the Chambers of Commerce that are part of the Public – Private Dialogue Platform (Mr. Zoran Jovanovski from the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, Ms. Danela Arsovska from the Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Nebi Hoxha from the Economic Chamber Chamber of North-West Macedonia, Mr. Ilija Gospodinov from the Chamber of Commerce for Information and Communication Technologies (MASIT) with Mr. Martin Vickers, Trade Representative for the Western Balkans of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Boris Johnson and his team. The meeting was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of the Embassy in the United Kingdom, and was attended by the Ambassador of Northern Macedonia to the United Kingdom HE Aleksandra Miovska, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Northern Macedonia HE Rachel Galloway, Director of Global Business Networks at the British Chambers of Commerce Ms. Anne-Marie Martin, SIT Director for Northern Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo Mr. Nikola Stojanovski and Ambassador Ilija Psaltirov from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its moderator . At the meeting, Mr. Vickers, as the first Trade Representative for the Western Balkans, presented his efforts to intensify economic cooperation with Northern Macedonia and got acquainted with each of the present Chambers of Commerce, their activities and potentials for deepening cooperation between the two countries. , where he reaffirmed the interest of the United Kingdom in deepening economic cooperation with the countries of the Western Balkans, including Northern Macedonia. Special emphasis during the discussion was placed on possible cooperation in the field of renewable energy, green agenda, information and communication technologies – ICT, potential cooperation on infrastructure projects and opportunities in the circulation of people and goods after Brexit between Great Britain and Northern Macedonia. as non-EU countries. The two sides agreed to continue talks in order to provide institutional support to Macedonian and British companies to intensify cooperation in the future, find points of common interest and contribute to increasing overall economic cooperation between the two countries.   

The World Information Technology and Services (WITSA) today published a statement of policy entitled “The Role of Government in Connecting the World – an Industry Perceptive”. The paper makes the case that, in a Digitally driven world economy, the need to fully join the Digital Age is no longer just a smart thing to do, -it is required for a nations’ future. It is up to governments, in partnership with industry and other stakeholders to shape e-commerce and the digital economy by adopting rules that favor the adoption of ICTs and economic growth. In many developing countries, this is an enormous challenge that will involve reforming existing policies, laws and regulations in many areas. “The pandemic has highlighted the glaring need to bridge the digital divide, both within and across countries, given the crucial role the digital economy has played during the crisis”, said WITSA Chairman Yannis Sirros. “The COVID-19 crisis presents a unique opportunity to improve the lives and livelihoods of citizens. Governments, the private sector, international organizations and citizens must take up the challenge of increasing digitalization and dare to make a difference” continued Mr. Sirros. “The moment is now!” “Unfortunately, the digital economy is still relatively unchartered territory in many emerging countries around the world, and policies and regulations are failing to keep pace with the everaccelerating digital transformations taking place”, said WITSA Secretary General Dr. Jim Poisant. “It is imperative that government leaders, in cooperation and partnership with the private sector embraces and employees the use of Digital technologies”, continued Dr. Poisant. “ICT must be at the core all of decision made by government leaders.” The full statement can be found on following link: Download PDF

We invite you to take a closer look at the second newsletter of our Project: Digitalization path, which provides an overview of some highlights and activities within the second quarter of the project. 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). 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 tourism) from North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia in their activities to Better understand and get familiar with the benefits of the digital transformation Analyze their current level of digital 4 transformation and create Digital Transformation Strategies identifying and prioritizing needed IT solutions; and Financially support them in the process of purchasing and implementing IT solutions in order to improve their business activities. The Newsletter is available at the link below. Download PDF

The project “Digitalization Path” – 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) is announcing the open call for applications from companies operating in the sector of agriculture and processing, light manufacturing (apparel and textiles, wood processing), and tourism (eco-tourism, rural tourism, and adventure tourism), for financial support in acquiring different types of ICT solutions such as: HRM – Human Resources Management, CRM – Customer relationship management, ERP – Enterprise resource planning, DMS – Document management system, SCM – Supply chain management (inventory planning, ordering, and forecasting), e-commerce solution, web site and other solutions. The goal of this supporting mechanism is to support the companies from the targeted sectors in their digital transformation. What can you expect?● Financial contribution of up to 50% or up to 3,000 USD per company, from the project● At least 30% USD must be contributed by you● Support in acquiring offers from ICT companies and a contribution of 20% from the IT company provider in form of: calculated discounts, additional functionalities/ services or training related to usage of IT solution, etc.. The call will be open from January till March 2021, and a selection process of applicants will be made at the end of each month, including end of March. Companies that meet the criteria for applying, will be selected on the “first come – first served principle” within the deadline for application. Download the file for this call below. Download PDF