The Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, together with partners from the MontEENegro consortium – including the Ministry of Regional Development and Cooperation with NGOs, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UoM, and the Business Start-up Centre Bar – organized regional conference FINNO 2025 – Digital. Green. Sustainable, taking place on October 15, 2025, in Budva. FINNO is a regional initiative dedicated to strengthening innovation, SME competitiveness, and access to European networks and funding, developed under the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) framework.
This conference brought together key innovation ecosystem actors, policymakers, SMEs, start-up founders, researchers, business associations, and EEN partners across the Western Balkans and Europe. The program was opened by Mirsada Bošnjak, State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional-Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs; Dr. Nina Drakić, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro; Muriel De Grande, Head of the Enterprise Europe Network programme at the European Commission; and Prof. Dr. Radoje Vujadinović, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Montenegro.
The first panel, “Digital Transformation of SMEs – Challenges and Solutions,” highlighted the impact of emerging technologies on digital capacities and competences, knowledge and technology transfer, digital entrepreneurship, and innovative business models.
The NCC Montenegro representative presented the Centre’s service and training portfolio, sharing practical insights from cooperation with industry, SMEs, and start-ups on leveraging HPC and AI technologies to optimize business processes, develop innovative products, and enhance digital competitiveness.
Beyond the first panel, FINNO 2025 explores topics such as Innovation ecosystem strengthening, European project synergies, Green transition and the circular economy. Participants also had opportunities to engage in B2B meetings with regional and European partners, start-ups, innovation centres, and research organizations.
Through its participation, NCC Montenegro reinforce its role as one of the driver of digital acceleration and innovation, highlighting the potential of HPC and AI services and NCC support for SMEs, and contributing to smart and sustainable growth in Montenegro and the Western Balkans.
