*The author of the opinion article is Dario Vinš – Fondacija Mozaik
(Author of FSB Policy Brief 02 – Economic Stability Issues in the Western Balkans)
Digital Frontier – A Way Forward
Europe faces a number of challenges that can only be overcome by an innovative, digitally savvy and entrepreneurial society. The digital frontier offers opportunities for innovation and the introduction of new products for the global consumer, inclusion in education and the workplace, and enables new ways of interacting, working and learning.
The Western Balkans region, a less developed part of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), needs a new growth model to reach the European digital frontier, one based on innovation And entrepreneurial the spirit of the new millennial generation.
The process should start with a serious policy debate on innovative entrepreneurship in key sectors of the Digital Economysmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) access to financing gap, regional ecosystems supporting women, young people and social actors entrepreneurship and social enterprises (SE), infrastructure for technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) and other key sectors, as well as the conditions required to evolve these key sectors towards Digital Economy.
Value-driven ecosystems need to be developed and relevant infrastructure built to mobilize entrepreneurial innovation and move TMT and other key sectors towards a Digital Economy. Governments must address the unfavorable economic environment and remove complex, demanding and costly business processes in order to support the region’s SMEs and attract innovation to the region.
Sources of innovation in key sectors should be identified and programs designed to attract innovative companies and global talent to the region.
This would speed up the transition to the new Digital Economy and enabling circular migration in response to the emigration of skilled workers in the region (“brain drain”). Youth, women and social entrepreneurship must be strongly encouraged and regional. ecosystems developed to support innovative startups and SMEs in the region in key sectors. This involves integrating the digital transformation process, entrepreneurial learning and corresponding skills into the formal education of young women and men. A successful proliferation of innovative startups, SMEs and SEs would help move the CEE region towards the digital frontier.
To move regional economies towards the digital frontier, new sources of energy are needed. smart capital and patient funding for SMEs and SEs in the region.
The existing equity gap must be addressed to remove the obstacles that hinder the growth and innovation of SMEs in the region. Novelty and impact intermediaries must be developed to offer startup financing to SMEs and SEs in the region. The region needs new financial instruments to provide guarantees, borrowing and equity, and to reduce transaction costs associated with investments in the SME sector.
Governments, businesses and institutions in the region need the European partnership to achieve these goals. The partnership is expected to translate Europe’s efforts to overcome the challenges its member countries face in their own efforts to reach the digital frontier. A good starting point is to remove all contingencies and eligibility constraints to provide all Central and Eastern European countries, regardless of their EU membership status, with full access to funds, instruments and toolbox available to SMEs and intermediaries in member countries.
If it missed this opportunity, the ECO region would see the innovation and the digitalization gap is widening, leaving it behind as a “second-rate” region with a high rate of migration of highly qualified experts. However, working together to build a coherent strategy to reach the digital frontier will enable the CEE region to “plug in” its economies to the EU Digital Single Market and reach its full potential to create new jobs, introduce new skills, enable new growth, and join the mainstream in the EU and on the global stage.
This is a summary. The full text of this article is available at the following address: https://t.co/t9hmBO1C8D
