Digital Innovation Hubs as a central point of contact for local digital transformation

Consortium agreement kick-starts a collaboration on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to incorporate digital technologies, processes, and skills into their operations. (24 November 2022); © DTC Kosovo

Country

Kosovo

Module

Digital Economy

Know-how, entrepreneurial spirit, networks and consulting under one roof: The Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Kosovo opened the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) in 2022 to connect stakeholders from the private sector, academia and civil society organisations in Kosovo. It aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, providing them with access to technical, human and financial resources for the digital transformation of their business operations and activities. The DIH’s mission is to improve the digital capacities of SME’s, promote innovative business models and thus increase their competitiveness. The business plan for the DIH in Kosovo was developed with the help of FundingBox, which worked closely with all relevant actors in Kosovo. FundingBox supports innovators and start-ups in their growth process, for example through the facilitation of networking and easy-to-apply funding opportunities.

The DIH operates based on four primary pillars:

The consortium provides access to digital transformation expertise and testing, as well as experimentation facilities so that potential beneficiaries can make better decisions for investments that will help them develop better new digital products and services. This includes support for showcasing and testing of new technologies, prototyping, advisory and implementation.

The DIH structure helps end users connect with relevant counterparts within the EU and beyond, whether that is in the form of cooperation, memberships, or funding. Establishing similar DIH’s in other countries in the Western Balkans would significantly support the process towards EU integration and is particularly important for the ecosystem in other countries to be successful. Setting up an operational structure for a new DIH on paper is relatively easy in the external business environment, but it needs committed members who actively support the work from outside.