# Western Balkans

Alumni Innovation Accelerator


## Accelerator Impact

• In 2019, the Regional Cooperation Council, in partnership with the Accelerators Network, set-up the Western Balkans Innovation Accelerator, a unique public-private partnership that works across six economies. • The council is a locally embedded organization that drives regional action to promote prosperity and growth in South-East Europe. • Discussions facilitated by the Innovation Accelerator sensitized policy-makers for future market scenarios and provided content for the EU Report Strategic Foresight in the Western Balkans: Recovery on the Horizon. • The accelerator brought together governments and private sector actors from across the Western Balkans and produced an agreement to set up a first-of-its-kind regional funding mechanism for early-stage innovation projects to enhance market integration and boost economies of scale.


## Accelerator Story

SummaryIn 2019, the Accelerators Network supported the Regional Cooperation Council in launching the Western Balkans Innovation Accelerator, a unique public-private partnership that seeks to scale innovation across six economies in the Western Balkans region. The accelerator contributed to strategic foresight and produced an agreement to set up a regional innovation fund. Fostering strategic foresight at the regional levelDiscussions facilitated by the Innovation Accelerator sensitized policy-makers to future scenarios and provided content for the EU Report Strategic Foresight in the Western Balkans: Recovery on the Horizon, which was published in October 2021. The report considers various scenarios related to the Western Balkans’ future integration or non-integration into the European Union’s single market, and lays out country-level roadmaps for human capital, knowledge transfer, and research and innovation infrastructure and investments. A follow-up strategic foresight study is currently underway.    Regional innovation fund   While Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have set up country-level innovation funds, there is currently no funding mechanism for early-stage ventures that works across the Western Balkans region. By convening key public and private sector actors from the region, the Western Balkans Innovation Accelerator produced an agreement to set up a fund for early-stage innovation projects. The new vehicle will enable economic growth by financing early-stage projects in various sectors and will support new initiatives around circular economy and education technology and address such challenges as pollution in cities. The fund has been prioritized within the Western Balkans’ Common Regional Market Action Plan, which aims to boost the region’s competitiveness and accelerate entry into the EU Single Market. It also has the potential to attract European bilateral donor agencies that have not previously invested in the Western Balkans region. Why is innovation important for the Western Balkans?Long characterized by low levels of economic development, Western Balkans economies have increased employment growth, according to the World Bank. However, brain drain and youth unemployment, which was measured at approximately 35% in 2020 – more than two times the EU average of 13% – remain challenges. Building the innovation ecosystem, supporting start-ups and boosting investment will be key to increasing employment opportunities and reducing systemic barriers to growth.