Albanian team 3DSKAI won with their technical solution for revolutionising beekeeping by offering durable, sustainable, and cost-effective honeycomb structures

Team Sensoryc.AI from Bosnia and Herzegovina with the idea to support the treatment of Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) in children through personalised recommendations for caregivers and parents.

Kosovan team Kapie was rewarded for solution that presents implementation of innovative methods of automatic control of motorised traffic using intelligent monitoring devices.

Montenegro’s EcoPoint team became Balkathon 4.0 winner with their app which revolutionises environmental protection by integrating technology and sustainability, incentivising users to adopt eco-friendly habits through a reward points system.

Team Easier Access to Justice with Help of AI from North Macedonia with the solution which supports users during legal procedures by predicting court decisions.

Serbian team Frapple with app that utilises barcode scanning to offer consumers vital information about potential health or allergy risks in commonly available food products.

Bosnia and Herzegovina‘s AD Meliora solution focuses on sustainability, accessibility and inclusivity in hospitality. They offer environmentally friendly Hotel Key Cards made from wood (cherry, bamboo, beech, and maple) to reduce plastic waste and enhance guest experiences. Additionally, they are developing 3D printed PLA Accessibility Items, including emergency exit maps with braille annotations and audio QR codes, ensuring safety and accessibility for all guests, particularly those with visual impairments.

Arta Istrefi-Jahja

Arta Istrefi has 14 years of experience in private sector development with substantial practice in developing economic policy at the national level, and with international development agencies. She is a Founder of Women Entrepreneurs Kosovo* helping in mentoring and connecting to the market. Arta worked as a start-up mentor in Kosovo*, Albania and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Currently, she is working as Programme Officer and MRM in Kosovo* with the Swiss Entrepreneurship Programme. She is a PhD candidate focusing on digital transformation and entrepreneurial marketing of women entrepreneurs. She is Certified Digital Transformation Consultant and Certified Sales Executive.

Ivan Cosic

Ivan Ćosić is the owner of Plain & Hill agency and author of “Još podkast jedan” podcast. He is a designer, a man of ideas, blogger and lecturer at numerous local and regional conferences. He has participated in various creative and marketing jobs, has worked for over thirty global A brands and is the initiator of many internet projects. He is responsible for the design of most WAN-IFRA (World Association of News Publishers) publications, works for the International Science Council and has worked on several startup projects, the most notable being the IndieVoices platform. He believes in the future and the potential that technological entrepreneurship has in Serbia and the region, so he organised, together with his team, "Live locally - work globally" internet conference.

Aleksandar Stamboliev

Aleksandar Stamboliev, CEO and co-founder of Accelerator UKIM
Interdisciplinary change agent, inspired by innovative approaches in doing business, knowledge management, and capacity building towards faster economic growth. Since 2018, assessed over 400 business ideas, developed 100 ideas and accelerated 50 businesses. Invested in 10 Macedonian startups worth over half a million euros in total.

Vedrana Ajanović

Vedrana Ajanović holds a Master’s degree from the University of Sarajevo. She has been working in BIT Center since its establishment and from 2009 as a Senior Staff Member. She has 15 years of experience in project implementation, business, and entrepreneurship. Ms. Ajanović was engaged in project development, and implementation of formal and operational structure development of innovation infrastructure from business incubator to technology park. She works closely with IT companies at BIT Center on a daily basis, offering support throughout various phases of their development. She maintains strong partnerships with national and international stakeholders. Speaker and lecturer at conferences about entrepreneurship, innovation, and SMEs.

Ogerta Elezaj

Ogerta Elezaj is currently a Computer Science Lecturer at Birmingham City University. She was a recipient of Alain Bensoussan postdoctoral fellowship from European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics in 2019-2020 and held ERCIM postdoc fellow positions at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her main fields of competence are artificial intelligence, machine learning applications and big data. She has participated in projects funded by EU Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ programmes. Dr Elezaj has worked for more than eight years at the National Statistics Office in Albania, in the position of IT and Methodology Department Director. Dr Elezaj has also worked as a trainer and consultant for different international organisations such as UNDP, UNFPA, and European Commission.

Jasminka Hasic Telalovic

JJasminka Hasić Telalović is an Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Sarajevo School of Science and Technology. Her research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Bioinformatics; and in her earlier work Computer Graphics and Algorithms.
She is active in promoting gender equality, gender mainstreaming, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Landa Grembi

Experienced IT & Telco Leader | Innovation Enthusiast | Strategic Relationship Builder
With over 20 years of experience in IT, consultancy, and Telco, Landa excels in driving innovation in areas such as Smart Cities, 5G, and IoT. Known for her ability to nurture key customer relationships, she has a passion for mentoring startups and thrives in challenging environments. Landa is a problem-solving expert and a true industry leader in IT and Telco. Her dedication to pushing the boundaries of technology and fostering collaborations has earned her recognition as a catalyst for positive change in the field

Vuk Vukasinovic

Marilo Meta

Marilo Meta is the Managing Director at LDA Digital Solutions, a Salesforce consulting partner company. In addition to his professional role, he is the President of the regional NGO Leadership Development Association Europe. In this capacity, Marilo is dedicated to empowering young people to become leaders and change-makers in their communities. He oversees the overall management of the organisation, including events, conferences, and international exchanges aimed at strengthening youth leadership and professional development in Albania, Estonia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Presevo Valley, and North Macedonia.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence

Gentjan Skara

Genti is a full-time member of the Department of Law at Epoka University (Albania). He teaches EU Law and International Competition Law courses. His research interests include EU law, EU enlargement; competition law; harmonisation of law and digital markets.
Currently, Genti is a Visiting Fellow at Europa Institute at the University of Basel where he is undertaking research on the intersection between competition rules and tech companies. In addition, Genti will teach a seminar course EU Competition Law and Digital Markets to graduate students at Europa Institute.
Besides academic engagement, Genti is a National Legal Expert for EU acquis on Internal Market and Competition with the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs of Albania.

Ahmet Jetullahu- Meti

Experienced Grant Manager/Administrator, Appraisal and Project Evaluator - Project Director
Mr. Jetullahu is an experienced Digital Transformation, SME Lead Innovation, Tourism and Creative Industry, Socio-Economic and Community Development Project Director with proven experience in technical assistance and business consulting service management, drafting, reviewing, evaluating and monitoring applications, business plans and grant applications, external evaluation of start-up and grant programmes, ROM Monitoring of large-scale EU projects, and grant reporting, and is certified as Export Promotion Specialist (EBRD-BEI), Project Appraisal and Management Specialist (EBRD), and Europe Enterprise Network Coordinator for Kosovo*.
As the Grants Evaluation Manager Meti oversees the entire grant evaluation assignment and guides the grant evaluation process in Kosovo and Albania, monitoring the implementation of and reporting on every activity. He also works with senior grant beneficiaries and institutions on long-range planning and strategy of the Social and Community and Reintegration Consulting Services Programme. In addition, the Grant Evaluation Service Manager is responsible for assessing the capacity building, quality assurance and reporting, as well as developing processes to ensure projects run smoothly and efficiently.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence