Building Cross-Border Competitiveness in the ICT Sector
Stronger ICT businesses through collaboration and quality
ESI’s regional projects connected ICT companies, strengthened management practices and supported access to international markets. The examples below document cross-border cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia and ICT capacity building in Kosovo.
Cross-border cooperation
Partnership with the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Niš connected businesses and shared expertise.
Quality and resilience
Workshops covered management models, software process improvement and cyber resilience.
ICT capacity building
The Kosovo initiative supported professional capabilities and international competitiveness.
Project background and further details
This project aimed to strengthen the ICT sector in the Bulgaria-Serbia border region by fostering collaboration between ICT businesses and ICT-intensive companies. Implemented through a partnership with the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Nis, the project received co-funding from the EU’s Bulgaria-Serbia IPA Cross-Border Program, the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, and RPK Nis.
A series of workshops addressed competitiveness improvement through quality management models, integrated management approaches, and cyber resilience. Additionally, training sessions focused on software process improvement models, facilitating connections between companies on both sides of the border, and joint events explored strategies for promoting the ICT industry in Eastern Europe.
Project context: ESI’s original project records, preserved above.
Kosovo ICT Sector Capacity Building
This project, supported by the European Commission Liaison Office to Kosovo under the EU Support for Regional Economic Development program, aimed to enhance the capabilities of the ICT sector in Kosovo. Implemented by the European Software Institute Center Eastern Europe, Laboratori i Teknologjise Informative (L.T.I.), and the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), the project provided practical training and certification in the IT Mark quality management model.
This model ensures alignment between company management, business strategy, engineering practices, and information security. To equip ICT companies with competitive advantages in national and international markets, the project offered practical training and certification in globally recognized methods for achieving leadership and excellence. Training covered managing customer requirements, work processes, return on investment (ROI), risk management, resource management, and project management. Additionally, an analysis of the ICT sector in Kosovo assessed the state of private and public organizations, their capacity needs, information society development priorities, and public e-service provision for citizens and businesses.
News from projects in this area
Project updates will appear here as they are published.