The Minister of Economy, Employment, Trade, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Investments, Rozeta Hajdari has participated in the launch of the ACCESS project, funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).
Minister Hajdari emphasized that digitalization is the potential for Kosovo's economy for breaking the regional and international borders, especially those towards the EU, which have been unjustly established through the visa regime.
“Digitalization does not ask about physical boundaries, but it enables the free flow of collaborative ideas and projects. Digitalization creates opportunities for our entrepreneurs and the youth of Kosovo, some of which are still jobless. Therefore, we are committed to get the maximum from this development of the time and are committed that every cent, whether it comes from the budget or from the funding of our partners, as we have the case here, will be returned for the benefit of the society. We want to use projects like ACCESS project to prepare and assist new and existing entrepreneurs, consultants and all other stakeholders in the economy, including public institutions. The Government of Kosovo is grateful to the Government of Austria for the unsparing support that it provides in this regard, therefore we will spare no effort to support this project and similar initiatives that will come in the future, “said Minister Hajdari.
The Minister said that the Government is acting in very challenging circumstances. But, according to her, on the one hand, we need to turn the country's economy on track, since it has been almost 20 years of mismanagement and corrupt practices.
"These have damaged the sustainable economic growth and job creation. As a result we have insufficient economic growth, persistent poverty and stagnation in private sector development,” said the minister.
“How can we think of a well-organized corporation, whether public or private, if we do not have computerized business processes and EPR? How can we think of a genuine, non-digitalized public service? How can we see all this not being part of an ecosystem? For example, how can we think about transparency without open data”, stressed Minister Hajdari.
At this event, 20 digital consultants were certified, staring in March this year to provide digital transformation services.
The certification was preceded by consultants training provided by the project "Market Access and Digitalization Services for Kosovo Businesses (ACCESS)".
Funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), ACCESS implements a series of facilitation activities to enable access to the market for the poor in Kosovo.
Arsim Aziri, from the Austrian Development Cooperation, said that the ACCESS project is a continuation of ADC's efforts to strengthen private sector development in Kosovo and marks an important initiative towards the digital transformation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kosovo. Through these activities, local companies will have easier access to the market and an increased level of competition.
ACCESS is applying Austrian best practices to contribute to the overall development of the private sector in Kosovo, adapting them to local needs to support digitalisation as a stimulator for economic growth.
