The final event of the EU-funded PowerUP programme, which supports innovative SMEs and start-up companies from the Western Balkans, took place on 29 June 2021. The event was marked by an awards ceremony to announce the winners of the “Western Balkans Entrepreneurial Excellence Award”. Eleven finalist companies had the opportunity to pitch their businesses in front of eminent investors from the region, with the three winners selected by a professional jury.

In first place was the company Dwelt,  an Bosnian IT company and the only startup with its own technology product in the field of energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. NF Innova from Serbia, which focuses on digital banking and the provision of services to financial institutions, took second place. Blinking from Serbia with a focus and expertise in building and developing digital identity, identity verification, and user data protection securing third.

The programme was launched by the World Bank in November 2020 and is funded by the EU under the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF), with leading consulting company, Deloitte, supporting its implementation. The 11 finalists, along with over 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, benefitted from training over several months to support their further growth and business development. This included learning about how to find and attract investment and cultivate crisis resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The winners will be provided with additional tailored business advisory support from experts of the leading professional services company, Deloitte.