USAID helps Albania create ICT training and resource center

TIRANA, Oct. 24 – A public-private partnership with the Government of Albania, the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), USAID, Microsoft Albania, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, and Albtelecom was formally announced Monday in a ceremony held at the Ministry of Innovation and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It is expected to open in spring next year. USAID/Albania Mission Director, Joseph Williams, and the Chairman of AADF, Michael Granoff, Minister Genc Pollo, along with representatives from Microsoft and Albtelecom, said at the event that this partnership will establish Albania’s first ICT training and resource center, PROTIK, to support the growth, development and use of ICT innovations for small businesses in Albania. The center will be an independent, not for profit organization modeled after successful ICT Innovation Centers in Croatia, Armenia, and other European countries aiming to promote industry growth, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, and stimulate partnerships and the demand for ICT in Albania. PROTIK is a state of the art technological hub that will provide training, consulting and support services, and research trying to promote ICT innovation and provide mentoring services for small and medium enterprises (SME), entrepreneurs, the public-sector, and academic ICT professionals. It will disseminate information on valuable ICT related resources, and run educational contests and workshops to introduce Albanian products and companies. The center will organize networking events for businesses, the ICT sector, its partner associations, and other events to raise awareness of PROTIK’s activities and build partnerships. Albania’s ICT sector has experienced impressive growth over the past several years but has yet to realize its full potential. To be regionally and globally competitive, technical understanding, internal capacity, innovation and support services are still needed. Recent studies show that SMEs demand both ICT technical skills and soft business skills, with the highest priority being marketing, sales, innovation and technology.