FIAA in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation, and with the generous support of Vodafone, Tepelerformance, NOA, Schneider Electric, Raiffeisen Bank Albania, Intracom Telecom, and Ritech International, organized the conference “Increasing Albania’s Footprint in the Regional Digital Economy Sector” on October 2. This conference is an important sign that FIAA gives to support the efforts made by the private and the governmental sector, to recognize and foster the crucial role of technology for the future of Albania and in FIAA.
President of FIAA Balazs Revesz, Minister of Defense Pirro Vengu, Deputy Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation Sokol Duma, and Head of EU Delegation to Albania Silvio Gonzato opened the conference with general remarks on the digital transformation of Albania, and what is needed to increase Albania’s competitiveness in terms of investments, education, innovation, and defense capabilities related to digital transformation, with EU integration as a perspective in mind.
Panel 1 focused on where Albania stands in terms of digitalization when compared to the Western Balkans countries, what kind of value is created with it, the experience of countries such as Sweden and Kosovo in relation to innovation, and new initiatives already taking place or coming soon to Albania that promise to support excellence and the growth of startups in the digital economy.
This panel was represented by the President of FIAA and CEO of Vodafone Albania Balazs Revesz, the Ambassador of Sweden to Albania Niklas Strom, the Head of Sector from DG Near at the European Commission Cecile Leemans, the OECD Policy Analyst/Team Leader for the South East Europe Division Marijana Petrovic, the General Director of the Agency of Innovation and Excellence of Albania Ledi Imeraj, and the Director for Central and Eastern Europe at Plug and Play Tech Center Uranik Begu.
Panel 2 which was dedicated to next generation connectivity and the launch of 5G, was a very interesting one, as 5G is considered to be one the of the most crucial developments that is able to support the transformation of the industry in the next generation.
The panel was represented by the Managing Director of INET Inc. Erton Graceni, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania Enkelejda Mucaj, one top representative from Vodafone Liam O’Brien who is Group External Affairs Strategy Director & EA Leader for EU Markets & Vodafone Investments, the CEO of One Albania Brano Djurovic, and the Chief Commercial Officer at Intracom Telecom Kyriakos Vergos.
Panel 3 emphasized the necessity for more digital inclusion and the rapidly growing role of AI and automation in business, by bringing successful cases of its implementation in companies that operate in Albania and international markets.
The panel was represented by the CEO of Teleperformance Group Italy Diego Pisa, Dimitar Popov, Partner at Deloitte, Albana Shkurta, the Managing Director LHIND TIA, the Technical Project Manager at RITECH Group of Companies Jurgen Vorfi, and the CIO of Teleperformance EMEA Shpendi Lala.
Panel 4 highlighted the increasing role that digital payment is taking the Albanian economy, and the share that the banking and microfinance sector is having in this regard.
The panel was represented by the Founder of Epos Consulting Akil Kraja, Resmi Hibraj the Head of PI Banking and Digital Banking at Raiffeisen Bank Albania, Bajame Sefa, the Lead Advisory on Digital Innovation, Financial Institutions Group at IFC Europe, Ledia Bregu the Director of Payments, Accounting and Finance Department at Bank of Albania, and Herjola Spahiu the Board Member of the European Microfinance Network and Chief Executive Officer at NOA sh.a.
Panel 5 addressed Cybersecurity as a cross-cutting challenge bringing together the government, business, academia and civil society sector to enable a safer digital environment for Albania.
The panel was represented by Edlira Martiri, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economy and Partner and Co-Founder at Cyber Morfosis, Erinda Bllaca, Executive Director at Institute for Activism and Social Change, and Donald Elmazi, Director of Research Development at University Metropolitan Tirana.