The prestigious Forbes magazine has dedicated an article to the rapid technological development in Kosovo, where it has described the transformation of technology as something extraordinary.
Below is the full text translated without interference:
Kosovo has long been known for its hospitality, pro-Western spirit and thriving nightlife. However, one thing that is usually forgotten is the degree of progress it has made in the last 20 years and the amount of talent, especially in technology, that it produces.
Kosovo Youth Fountain
Kosovo is not only the youngest country in Europe since declaring its independence in February 2008, but it is also a country completely dominated by its youth. With an average age of 26, it has the youngest population of all European countries, where the average age is close to 40 years.
Being a youth country certainly has its benefits. In the digital age, having a young population gives you a considerable advantage; as the workforce of your competing countries ages and slows down, your population is in its heyday.
Until recently, however, being young in Kosovo meant being stuck between an economic and political influx and, at the same time, feeling isolated behind a visa wall. This state of insecurity created an urgency for the people of Kosovo to create new quality jobs that ensure the good use of the talents of young people.
Multidimensional talent
Of course, these are difficulties that every developing country must learn to deal with in its own way. For Kosovo, its youth is proving to be the solution. The difficulties faced by Kosovar youth seem to be creating a generation of entrepreneurs who have had to build a new country from scratch. These difficulties have resulted in an incomparable determination to promote their value on a global scale.
This is likely to be one of the reasons why Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, generates a large number of world-class talents (including Olympic gold medalists like Majlinda Kelmendi and celebrities like Dua Lipa and Rita Ora) for breath as a whole. I have also noticed that IT education in Kosovo starts at a young age, with children up to seven years old participating in camps for robotics, coding and Artificial Intelligence, giving them a good start to their careers in TI.
Situation of the Kosovo ICT Sector
The Internet has no boundaries; you do not need a visa to enter it, and only a computer and some easily accessible knowledge can find you a job. This is probably one of the reasons why Kosovo has the highest rate of internet users in the region, with 93% of the population having internet access. This has allowed the ICT sector to flare up. According to PwC, the total number of companies registered in the ICT sector in Kosovo is 982. In 2019 alone, 621 new companies were registered.
And the PwC report emphasizes that the ICT sector in Kosovo has two important advantages: access to incubators and accelerators and the availability of affordable workspace. The existing ICT ecosystem in Kosovo is large, with numerous laboratories, innovative centers and workspaces (ICK, ITP, etc.) that provide startups with mentoring, funding, incubation, training and collaboration spaces. This is a great encouragement for startups because it gives them a start, enabling them to focus on their project and not worry about technical issues.
What is truly extraordinary about these startups is that they are sometimes run by entrepreneurs younger than 20 who come up with an idea and commit to it. They have a willingness to take entrepreneurial risks to solve problems and a unique ability not only to innovate but also to take advantage of the innovations of others.
Lessons from the Technological Industry of Kosovo
As long as there are people with creativity, there will always be innovation. It is up to each country and its businesses to equip their young people with the right tools and resources to turn their ideas into reality. If you are trying to drive innovation, consider providing greater access to the right tools, funding and grants for innovation centers, in order to push ideas forward and empower new innovators. A support ecosystem is a must for a successful ICT industry. Kosovo is a great example of this, as these funds and innovation centers can get most of the credit for the thriving ICT sector in Kosovo.
I think you can learn a lot from dedicated young people in countries like Kosovo, Estonia or Israel and their willingness to overcome obstacles and create a better future for their countries. With their determination, they prove that being from a small country is not necessarily a disadvantage. In my experience, living close to each other stimulates collaboration and competition, which can both produce an innovative and successful population.
