Regional Butterfly Innovation Awards were given to six winning innovation ideas from the region at a ceremony in Tirana on 28 June.

-The winners of the first Regional Butterfly Innovation Awards are:

-Industry Innovation Award: Orjon Rroji, Albania

-University Innovation Award:  TiPy-AIR University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

-Green Innovation Award: GoBeyond, Kosovo

-Youth Innovation Award: GuesTool, Montenegro

-Women’s Innovation Award: WISE Group, North Macedonia

-STEM (science, mathematics, engineering and technology) Innovation Award: BIOIRC, Serbia

All winners will get an opportunity to promote their solution through the RCC’s network of contacts and media presence, receive technical mentorship support with €5000 and a chance to meet potential additional investors. The award ceremony, co-organised by the RCC and the European Commission, took place on the side-lines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Western Balkans Steering Platform on Research and Innovation and Education and Training, hosted by the European Commission.

The award ceremony is a highlight of a longer process that was officially launched last December during the Butterfly Innovation and Business Forum. The Regional Butterfly Innovation Award is funded by the European Union.