Annual Report 2017
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Table of Contents We are Macedonia2025 • Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 • Message from the Board Chairman...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 • Through the Years......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8, 9 • Ensuring Progress and Growth: Macedonia2025 Country Dashboard............................................................................................................................................... 10, 11 Governance and Staff • Message from the Executive Director................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 • Macedonia2025 Membership.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14, 15 Programs and Events • The Macedonia2025 Summit........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16, 17 • Macedonia2025 Summit Highlights.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18, 23 • Zafirovski Executive Development Program............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 • The NEW Bitove Entrepreneurship Development Program in Collaboration with CESO........................................................................................................... 27 • The LEADER Project...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 • Executive Study Tour to Toronto............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 31 • Business Trip for Young Professionals to Macedonia.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 • Macedonia2025 Forum: Business Communities’ Outreach Program in Sweden........................................................................................................................... 35 • Business after Hours in Toronto........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 • Diaspora Outreach Gathering in Melbourne................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 • Open Education Day and Promotional Events.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 • Get in the ring – Entrepreneurship Competition........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 41 • Diaspora Investors Roundtable and Survey........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 42, 43 • 2025 Talks, a New Video Platform..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 • In the Press ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................46, 47 Financials • Financial Summary................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 48, 49
We truly appreciate your support. THANK YOU!
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Our Mission, Vision, Values and Strategic Objectives Macedonia2025 is international independent, non-partisan, non-profit, “think and do” tank, founded in 2007 by Macedonian expatriates who envision a proactive way of contributing to the economic and democratic development of Macedonia. With headquarters in Skopje and supporters around the globe, we encompass a wide array of programs that enable expatriates to give back to their homeland. We are dedicated to helping create a prosperous economic climate and a “stronger nation” that will improve opportunities for citizens, companies and foreign investors. We promote sustainable economic growth through fostering competitiveness, entrepreneurship innovations and values-based leadership.
We envision programs, advocacy and research, facilitating creation of advanced knowledge and the transformation of Macedonia into a vibrant economy We energize the Macedonian citizens, businesses, academia and diaspora through collaboration, networking and social engagements We evolve the leadership, managerial and entrepreneurial capacities of the Macedonian leaders of tomorrow globally through talent development programs We excel in efficient execution of all programs and maximum leverage of our donors’ support We promote an
ethical approach to business as a fundamental pillar of a healthy and prosperous society
1. Accelerate economic development; Attract Foreign Investment; Support competitiveness of Macedonian companies and stimulate export development; Support the growth of entrepreneurs and start-up companies
Provide the Diaspora an opportunity to strengthen and improve linkages worldwide 3. Implement education programs that accelerate leadership development and inspire and improve entrepreneurship in Macedonia 4. Advocate the ideals of transparent, democratic and inclusive society - good for the citizens, good for economic
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development, and good for the Country 5. Maintain and help facilitate discussions of life is being made and headed in right direction
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on a ‘Country Dashboard’, to ensure broad progress on growth and quality
Dear friends of Macedonia2025, As we are marking ten years from establishing the organization’s headquarters in USA, we are very happy with the progress achieved so far. We continuously work on building better internal capacities, in order to provide more services to our members, supporters and investors. Our staff keeps growing and we have dedicated Board Members committed to leadership and excellence, providing tangible results, plans and programs. As we build our strategic road-map for the next ten years, we remain focused on business and education as the main drives for healthy and sustained development. Our plans involve transforming the organization into a fully functioning think-tank, which will serve for developing cutting-edge research, ideas and solutions for regularly moving the country forward in the right direction. We are here to stay and provide relevant input to the Macedonian economy by supporting institutional policies. Our newly formed global Council of Experts and Ambassadors Club will only attract more valuable talent, contributing to the overall positive evolution of Republic of Macedonia and ultimately bettering the lives of its citizens within the country and globally. Let us continue the trajectories of improvement by welcoming every Macedonian across the globe to get engaged, give back, so that we can all rejoice Macedonia realizing its full potential.
Sincerely, Robert Arsov, Macedonia2025 Chairman, Senior Managing Director, Guggenheim Partners
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Macedonia2025 Through the Years
• New program: Toronto Executive Study Tour
The first Leader Project is implemented in partnership with the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce
• The LEADER Project 2012 • Cocktail Reception in Chicago
Based on John Bitove Sr. & President Branko Crvenkovski request for help, Mike Zafirovski, John Bitove Jr and Mitre Kutanovski establish the organization in Canada
2004
• Leadership Series: motivational speeches for students and talented professionals
• Opening the office in Indiana, USA • Promotional event in New York • The LEADER Project 2010 (co-organized with the MCC)
2005/06
• Partnership with Schulich School of Business from Canada for educating Macedonian business professionals Establishing the organization in USA with a focus on FDIs plus broader diaspora involvement
2012
2010
2008
President of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski asks Mike Zafirovski for assistance in sharing best practices to attract FDI and grow economy
• New Year's Cocktail Reception
2011
2009
2007
• First Macedonia2025 Investment Summit in Ohrid
• The LEADER Project 2009 (co-organized with the MCC)
• Opening the office in Skopje • New program: Leadership Series (motivational speeches) • Business Forum with the Economic Chamber of Commerce • The LEADER Project 2011 (co-organized with the MCC)
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• New program: Zafirovski Executive Education Program in partnership with Kellogg School of Management • The LEADER Project 2016 • Diaspora outreach reception in Vienna • Toronto Executive Study Tour • Diaspora outreach reception in Toronto • Diaspora Investors Business Forum • Summer Diaspora Business Trip • ICT/BPO Roundtables • Special initiative: Macedonia2025 Flood Relief Fund
• The LEADER Project 2014 • Seminar on Organizational life-cycle and therapy in cooperation with Adizes Institute • Networking Events: Celebrating Macedonian - Canadian friendship • Toronto Executive Study Tour • Roundtable Discussions: Agribusiness companies in Macedonia • Roundtable Discussions: IT / Technology executives
• GET in the RING (with the National Center for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning) • Leadership Talks – TEDx style motivational speeches
• Third Macedonia2025 Summit in Toronto – “The crossroads of commerce in Southeast Europe” • New Year's Cocktail Reception
2013
• Fifth Macedonia2025 Summit in Skopje • New Year's Cocktail Reception
2016
2014 • The LEADER Project 2013 • Diaspora outreach reception in Toronto • Toronto Executive Study Tour • Luncheon with the Canadian Ambassador H.E. Roman Waschuk • Luncheon with the Honorable Noel A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate of Canada • Leadership Series: motivational speeches for students and talented professionals • Second Macedonia2025 Investments Summit in Ohrid • New Year's Cocktail Reception
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2015
• Skopje office becomes organization’s Headquarters • Canadian Days in Skopje • The LEADER Project 2015 • Diaspora outreach reception in Paris • Toronto Executive Study Tour • Networking reception in Toronto • Gala Fundraiser in Columbus, Ohio with President George W Bush Jr. • Roundtable discussion: Mapping-out Future Prospects for Macedonian Exports • Roundtable discussion: Doing Business in Russia – Tips for Macedonian Producers • Fourth Macedonia2025 Summit in Skopje • New program: Summer Diaspora Business Trip • New program: Diaspora Investors Roundtable and Survey • New program: GET in the RING (with the National Center for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning)
• New program: Bitove Family Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with CESO • The LEADER Project 2017
• Diaspora outreach reception in Stockholm • Toronto Executive Study Tour • Macedonia2025 Business after hours in Toronto an annual traditional gathering • Summer Diaspora Business Trip • Diaspora Investors roundtable • Promo Event of Macedonia2025 in Bitola, Ohrid and Strumica • Sixth Macedonia2025 Summit in Skopje • Networking event in Melbourne • New: 2025 Vision (research and analysis newsletter) • New: www.2025talks.com (video platform for motivational and educational videos) • New Year's Cocktail Reception
• New Year's Cocktail Reception
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Macedonia2025 Country Dashboard The ‘country dashboard’ was introduced in Summit 2015 to help define aspirational targets for Macedonia. It also provides a way to track Macedonia’s progress towards those targets and provides increased public accountability for key decision makers. The dashboard consists of 14 economic, financial and social metrics, with each metric having a corresponding target. Macedonia’s rank relative to 33 peer countries (who are at a similar stage of development) is also given for each metric.
The Dashboard for 2016 GDP per capita
Unemployment rate
Quality Education
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The five year average growth rate for real GDP in 2016 (2.5 per cent) is almost identical to the averages for 2014 and 2015 showing that Macedonia has been experiencing steady growth over the medium term. As a result GDP per capita has continued its steady increase.
Net exports
Unemployment fell to 23.7 per cent in 2016 continuing the downward trend in recent years, however, Macedonia still ranks last among the peer countries in terms of unemployment. Among the peer countries only Bosnia, Namibia, and South Africa have unemployment in the 20 percentile range. However, unlike these countries, Macedonia is showing a steady decrease in unemployment since 2005.
Macedonia’s PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) score for 2015 was released in late 2016. Macedonia’s score has fallen across the three categories: mathematics, science, and reading. Macedonia is now ranked fifteenth out of the sixteen dashbaord peer countries that also participated in PISA 2015. In 2000, Macedonia was ranked fifth out of eight among its peers. Since 2000, Albania, Indonesia, and Peru have overtaken Macedonia in terms of their PISA scores.
Net exports increased by 10.3 per cent in 2016 as exports grew faster than imports.
Foreign Direct Investment
Government Spending
FDI increased by 78 per cent to be 5.3 per cent of GDP in 2016.
Government spending decreased in 2016 by -5.8 per cent and is the smallest percentage since independence.
Investment
Investment as a percentage of GDP increased by 9 per cent in 2016 to 25.2 per cent of GDP.
Democratic Freedom
Corruption Index
Macedonia’s 2016 ‘Democratic Freedom’ rating remains unchanged from 2015.
Macedonia’s global ranking fell from 66 to 90 in the 2016 Corruption Perception Index. Macedonia is now ranked at twenty compared to its scorecard peers, up from its previous ranking of twelve in 2015.
Macedonia has climbed two places reaching the tenth place in the World Bank’s 2016 ‘Ease of Doing Business’ survey. Macedonia continues to lead its peer countries in the ease of doing business.
Environment
Macedonia’s carbon dioxide emissions per capita continued its downward trend since 2003.
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Dear friends of Macedonia2025, Yes, together we can make a difference. I have been blessed to have this job and to hear so many inspirational stories from individuals who have been part of our programs. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing young entrepreneurs being approached by investors, after winning the Leader Project or witnessing the changed mindset of people eager to apply their newly acquired knowledge after winning scholarships to some of the highest ranked business schools. I have met so many experts of Macedonian origin around the world and am indeed tremendously inspired by their relentless desire to give back. Among them are numerous diaspora investors who decided to start businesses here and create jobs for Macedonian citizens. With the combined efforts of all of our members, our landmark event, the Macedonia2025 Summit once again raised the bar. It felt so empowering to hear “This event is top-notch!� over and over again by people who work at some of the best companies in the world. Now, we all can proudly say that Macedonia is the home of one of the best business events in the region, inspiring action and change. As we set our goals for 2018 and beyond, we will aim for even more success, and as we build our network, we hope to touch and change more and more lives. We will remain dedicated to our main objectives of attracting foreign investments, strengthening the linkages with the professional diaspora, and we will further expand our leadership development programs. We will also continue providing relevant input to the Macedonian policy makers with our research and analysis activities. And let us not forget that our future is in our own hands, and that we are all Macedonians no matter where we live. So let us all unite under the common vision of helping build a stronger nation! Sincerely, Biljana Markovic Stamenova Macedonia2025 Executive Director
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Board Members
Education Board
Robert Arsov, Senior Managing Director at the investment banking and capital markets division of Guggenheim Partners
Ichak K. Adizes, Founder & CEO of Adizes Institute, LLC
Vera Stavroff, President and CEO of HerbalScience and Alkaloid USA Mike Zafirovski,
President of ZAF Group and Macedonia2025 Co-founder
John I. Bitove Jr., Sole Shareholder of Obelysk and Macedonia2025 Co-founder Mitre Kutanovski, Founder of Mitre Group Foundation and Macedonia2025 Co-founder Zoran Martinovski,
Lou Naumovski, Non-Executive Director of Trans-Siberian Gold plc; Non-Executive Director of Euromax Resources Ltd. Mile Terziovski, Dean and Professor of innovation, at the Curtin Graduate School of Business, Western Australia Slavica Waite,
Director of PEC International, Founder of the “Kiril Trajkovski Foundation”
Vlado Dimovski,
Professor at Faculty of Economics, Slovenia
Vlaho Kostov,
R&D Executive and Head of CEE and Mediterranean region at Panasonic Europe Ltd.
IFC World Bank Corporation Manager for Macedonia and Montenegro
Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble
Jim Nikopoulos, President at ECN Capital Peter Simeon,
Partner at Gowling WLG
Biljana Markovic, Executive Director
Vase Georgievska, Finance Manager
Brendan Filipovski, Research Manager
Maja Staleska, Event Coordinator Elena Zhurkova, Education Programs Coordinator
Bert van der Vaart, Chairman of SEAF
Aleksandra Kolozheg, Marketing & Communications Officer
Emil Hristov, Founder and CEO of Magnetia
Dimitar Chatleski,
Senior Managing Director of KEMET Balkans
Guido Galleni
Diaspora Relations/ Business Development Assistant
Robert Stevanovski,
Jerry Naumoff, CEO of Taskforce BPO
Ema Jakimovska, Communications Assistant
Nevenka Dimitrova,
Steve Sharpe, President and CEO of Euromax Resources
Angelina Meloska,
Zhivko Mukaetov,
President of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Alkaloid AD Skopje Co-founder of ACN Inc. Chief Technology Officer at Philips Oncology Informatics
Michael Cklamovski, Vice President at Bank of America
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Honorary Members
Staff
Ana Arsov, Managing Director at Moody’s U.S. Financial Institutions team
Susan Niczowski, President at Summer Fresh Salads Zoran Jolevski, Macedonian Diplomat
Office Assistant
The Leaders Club is a group of successful professionals of Macedonian origin from around the world. Every event that Macedonia2025 organizes around the world receives assistance from Leaders Club members. If you are a Macedonian professional or a friend of Macedonia, you can become part of the global network of exceptional individuals and have the opportunity to contribute ideas and assist in the implementation of Macedonia2025 projects and events. Members of the Leaders Club participate in the following initiatives: ·Supporting the mission of Macedonia2025 ·Assisting in fundraising for educational programs ·Help in organizing regional networking events aimed at promoting Macedonia2025 activities and investments in Macedonia ·Connecting with other successful members of Diaspora in their region and spreading the word about Macedonia2025
Alan Castillo - Macedonia
Kostadin Gramatikov - Switzerland
Snezana Zivcevska Stalpers – The Netherlands
Aleksandar Stamboliev - Macedonia
Lidija Gjorgjievska - USA
Sadat Alimi - Switzerland
Aleksandar Orovcanec - Canada
Maria Karanakova - France
Stefan Ivanovski - Macedonia
Ana Shukrieva Filipcheva - Macedonia
Matthew Zafirovski - USA
Vlade Popovski - Australia
Borche Ilioski - Macedonia
Metodija Papazoski - Poland
Vladimir Robevski - Macedonia
Branimir Zelenkov - UAE
Miodrag Arsov - USA
Vera Lalchevska - Switzerland
Dejan Leshkaroski - USA
Mitko Andonov – Macedonia
Vahit Alili - UK
Dijana Indovski - Canada
Natasha Koneska - Australia
Zlate Koviloski -Germany
Emil Matevski - Germany
Natasha Sardzoska - Croatia
Filip Popov - Macedonia
Nikola Kjurciski -Russia
Goran Pejkoski – UK
Nick Lazarevski - Australia
Jordanka Kacarska - Macedonia
Pero Jolevski - USA
Kirk Zafirovski - USA
Petar Spaseski - Macedonia
Kiril Savovski - Austria
Petar Kajevski - Austria
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In a Nutshell: There are three main problems that more than 160 countries are facing: - Education - Rural development - Poverty But to face these problems, we need to deal first with one of the key challenges we experience on a daily basis-comfortable mediocrity. Our future is in our own hands. Macedonia must decide what type of country it wants to be and then needs to unite behind this common vision. We cannot be comfortable with mediocrity!
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The response rate from the Summit evaluation form survey is a satisfactory 38%. We are proud to say that more than 40% of the Summit attendees were there in order to support Macedonia2025’s mission and vision.
23% attended the Summit for networking opportunities, while almost 22% were there as part of their personal investment, speaking loudly of the importance this Summit has in the development of business professionals. Our network, something of which we are truly proud of, is still the biggest contributor when it comes to sharing invitations and information about the Summit, resulting with 39.5% of the overall outcome. Such efforts resulted with 98.9% of the respondents to be satisfied with attendees’ profiles.
98.91% expressed satisfaction with the choice of speakers, joining with slightly lower number of 95.6% being satisfied by the moderators. Parallel to this, 96.7% were satisfied with the speakers as well as overall panel sessions. As MK2025 organizes the Summit every year as another form of assisting Macedonia in the development of its economic & entrepreneurial potential and not as a profitable effort, we are happy to see that close to 65% were satisfied with the price of the Summit tickets, and close to 30% were neutral about it. With 95.6% willing to recommend the Summit to their friends and coworkers, 4.40% saying maybe, and staggering 98.9% of all responses marking their overall satisfaction of the MK2025 Summit 2017 as satisfied or very satisfied, have made this Summit to be the most successful Summit that Macedonia2025 had so far.
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SUMMIT KEY TAKEAWAYS
“IF WE DO NOT MOVE FORWARD, WE WILL STAY BEHIND” The new economy is not about the “big” eating the “small” but the “fast” beating the “slow”. As a small country we can move fast. Countries that do not move forward are left behind. For Macedonia it is even worse - if we do not move forward, we will stay behind. We cannot sit still and wait for EU membership, we are ultimately responsible for our own success. We need constant growth to converge with the EU and to achieve this we must continually transform Macedonia. Innovation is key and is achieved through education and encouraging entrepreneurship. People are our key resource. “We need to educate people to be employable not just employed”. - Suan Hiang Lee, President of the Economic Development Board Society, Singapore “The best and brightest need to move in the same direction so that we can be bigger than the sum of our parts”. - Ruben Vardanyan, Impact investor and social entrepreneur, Advisory Board Member of the IFC (World Bank Group) and Ameriabank Private business must also play an important role in Macedonia’s growth. Only with the growth of companies can GDP grow. Also companies and individuals can do what government can’t or won’t do. It is important for Macedonia to be pro-business. Tax holidays are good but companies have to make money. It is about moving from value-adding to value-creating. Improving quality is just moving from minus to zero. “Well run companies are a gift and asset to any economy”. - Mike Zafirovski, President of ZAF Group, MK2025 Co-founder
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“THERE IS NO SUCCESSFUL COUNTRY WITHOUT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS” FDI alone is not a solution but there is no successful country without FDI. In the case of Macedonia, SMEs consist of 70%-80% of the total workforce, however, they tend not to be as productive as FDIs. The FDIs need to help pull the SMEs up – SMEs can learn much from them. “FDI and developing local companies must be a win-win scenario”. - Jerry Naumoff, CEO of Taskforce BPO Domestic companies typically employ the most people but also typically lag foreign companies in terms of productivity, exports, and innovation. Domestic companies can grow by working with foreign companies and learning from them. Singapore shows that FDI can lift domestic companies. The main benefit of FDIs is structural change in our economy, structural change in our exports, and structural change in employment. We have diversified our exports and have moved to higher tech products. Yet, as privatization occurred mostly in the non-tradable sector, there is very little contribution to exports. Most companies are micro-firms and do not export any products. Only 9% of all firms are exporters. “FDI leads the way in exports and has helped transform the structure of exports and employment in Macedonia.” - Nikica Mojsoska-Blazevski, Dean at the University American College Skopje, Macedonia
In 2007, around a third of workers were employed in manual labor. Тoday, it is only 13 percent. However, we cannot talk about encouraging big investment if transparency and accountability are not there. It is more than just the ‘ease of doing businesses’. Jobs created via FDIs cost around 11,000 euros, but a line of credit from the EBRD to create employment cost over 40,000 euros per job. In addition to this, every 1 euro spent on FDI returns 5.38 euros. However, we must see FDI as a complement to local companies, not as a substitute. Therefore, Macedonian companies must be willing to be trainable and willing to take the risk to grow in order to be profitable.
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“WITHOUT REGIONAL COOPERATION AND JOINED VISION THERE IS NO ROOM FOR REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE REGION”
Sustained growth is what we must have in order to catch up to the EU. And we need to set our target first on the eastern half of the EU - this is more realistic. The region can only integrate economically if all countries in the region threat each other equally. Integration with Europe is going slow, and the future is in our hands. We need to work together, as we are too small to do it all by ourselves. Without good growth we cannot converge towards the EU. As a result of that, corruption needs to be addressed both for FDI and domestic economies. People also need to develop integrity and to know the real values of life. We need to change the mentality of the young. Public and Private partnerships are key when fiscal resources are under pressure. This requires good governance on all sides. One perspective where improvement should occur is banks’ lending to more SMEs. However, at the moment, they are reluctant because SMEs have weak management, are not financially transparent, and are not being capitalized enough – business owners are withdrawing too many funds from their businesses. Another mindset that we the region need to change is the approach towards women leaders. Research shows that companies with women on their boards outperform all-male boards by 26%. A study in Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro found that women are better prepared and are more logical on board meetings. Currently 22% of Macedonian boards have women. Macedonia should empower these women, so they can realize their full potential for the benefit of their companies and Macedonia.
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“CONTENT IS KING” In 2006, Macedonia was one of the first countries to have widespread wireless access but since then nothing much has been done. Macedonia must not stall in the information age. And if small countries like Macedonia and its national public service media would like to compete with international media giants, production of local content is a must. Public service media should be all about local content. Through producing content, a well-run public service media is an engine of economic activity. Public service media has a duty to inform, educate and entertain. And with that, stepping away from development of fake news as well. Fake news shows that information is going straight from the source to the public bypassing journalists and news agencies. Fake news is not illegal but part of the freedom of expression. However, we want to help the public see what information is true or not. “Content is now being generated by everyone with a phone but who controls that content?” - Francesco Sciacchitano, Senior Legal Officer at AGCOM (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni), Italy Media is now no different to other cloud-based services, and communication and media services are converging. Online advertising is keeping the internet free. And as advertising becomes more effective it will generate more income to pay for content. “The barriers between the media companies, telecoms, and content providers have come down but telecoms are still restricted from regulations made before this change”. – Darko Ratkaj, Senior Project Manager at European Broadcasting Union
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“THE HUB FOR SMART INDUSTRIES IS ALL AROUND US” There is no country in the region that can be a smart-hub on its own. The only way to attract players is to combine the talent pool in the region. If you are not doing something every day to improve, then you are not being true to yourself or your company. To survive, some players rely on low prices while others rely on high value adding. However, just relying on labor market arbitrage won’t work in the Balkans because of competition from Asia. Companies must find their secret for adding value and that means innovating, because we don’t lack talent. However, we are also losing a lot of talent to overseas but not just because of wages, but also because we lack a tech eco-system to provide development and a career path. “We have creative and business sophistication. But we are bad with people management and patents”. - Marta Arsovska-Tomovska, Board Member at the UN World Summit Awards & Former Minister for Information Society and Administration, Macedonia Countries around the world are talking about unicorns and changing from a start-up nation to a scale-up nation, but we are still dealing with basic problems. Israel for example as a startup nation tops the charts in terms of R&D research and researchers. 70+ Israeli startups are listed on the NASDAQ, second only to the US and China. The Israeli government is constantly easing regulations and looking for solution for human capital shortage. All that results in an Israeli return on R&D investment of 39%. “You need to understand what drives and motivates us? We are a desert country surrounded by enemies. We need technology to survive. Needs + Capabilities = Collaborative research”. - Dana Gavish-Fridman, VP Entrepreneurship at Ben Gurion University Being green is not about color but ultimately about improving the quality of life. This is even more important when people can now work anywhere in the world. Smart solutions and renewable energy sources makes green-living easier than ever. In Sweden, the government have spent money to promote sustainable energy and resource use but it is consumers that have funded most of the changes through user fees. This is a template for other countries. “In nature, if you take something away, then you need to provide alternatives. Change needs to be winwin”. – Tjaša Ficko, Deputy Mayor of Ljubljana
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“CHANGE IS COMING” In the last 100 years, only 5 companies have entered the car industry and survived. With the entrance of the electric and driverless cars to the market, this is changing with far reaching impacts. Rimac is an electric car maker, which means work on the cutting edge, so a continuous learning is a must. It is part of the culture (rather than being systematic). “Worse than the fear of failure is the hatred of successful people in the Balkans”. - Aco Momcilovic - Chief Human Resources Officer at Rimac Automobili We are on the verge of a revolution in the use of AI. Self-driving cars are just one example. Just like we are using apps on our phone today, use of AI will become widespread in everyday life, including cars. AI is already pervasive in almost everything we see on the internet. And we may not have reached singularity but one major change has been the scaling of AI to commercial uses.
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The Zafirovski Executive Education Program provides scholarships for the globally renowned Kellogg School of Management. Kellogg School of Management is part of Northwestern University, whose Business School is ranked third in the United States, second in the US Employer survey, and first in the Economist’s 2017 MBA rankings. This year Zafirovski Executive Education Program awarded scholarships to 6 participants. Each attended the three-week Executive Development Program. In 2018, Zafirovski Executive Program is expanding and offering scholarships for two different programs: Executive Development Program and Advanced Management Program. Macedonia2025 and Kellogg School of Management have a common interest in providing and delivering world-class executive education to business leaders from Macedonia. This will enhance their competencies and performance, thus contributing to the further development of the Macedonian economy and workforce.
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Macedona2025 is Launching the New Bitove Family Entrepreneurship Program in Collaboration with CESO
The Bitove Family is committed to helping Macedonians prosper in Macedonia and everywhere around the world. John Bitove Sr. was a successful Canadian businessman who was born in Canada to Macedonian parents in 1928. He spent his life helping Macedonians and lived by the saying “it is better to give than to receive.� His children want to continue his legacy to grow the Macedonian economy and country by supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs to be as successful as they can achieve. The Bitove Family Foundation will sponsor a new SME Development program in Macedonia in alliance with CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization). CESO is an economic non-profit development organization, working through highly-skilled, executive-level Volunteer Advisers (VAs) from a wide variety of business backgrounds. The main aim of the program is to map out the best performing companies with at least 1 year in business and to improve their business operations by providing skills development, training, coaching, mentoring and related best practices.
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The LEADER Project
This year we marked the tenth anniversary of the Macedonian - Canadian cooperation program in business education by successfully implementing another edition of the LEADER Project – a student driven overseas educational program, founded by MBA students from the Richard Ivey School of Business. The LEADER Project has trained up to 300 entrepreneurs and this year 40 scholarships were awarded to novice managers and future business leaders in Macedonia. The ten-day course that takes place in Skopje is filled with interactive participation through which the participants have the opportunity to learn the essentials of doing business, such as branding a product, launching a product, developing a strategy, funding, turning an idea into a viable business and more. The end of the LEADER Project resulted with 40 new excellent business idea presentations, many of which are worthy for immediate investment and support.
Editions:
10 300+ 45
Alumni: Instructors:
We are looking forward to 2018 and to a new class of LEADER Project participants who will continue this excellent cooperation between Macedonia and Canada.
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Executive Study Tour to Toronto
In 2017, Macedonia2025 awarded 5 scholarships for the Executive Study Tour to Toronto to Macedonian experienced business professionals, each coming from different industries and having at least 5 years of relevant managerial experience. The program combines participation in executive course at Schulich School of Business, part of the York University - Canada, selected by participants themselves and a one-week job shadowing at a prominent Canadian company, in line with the participants’ professional background. During the study tour, participants are able to get a feel of the western business atmosphere at the interactive visits with participating companies. This year the participants spent their job shadowing at: Summer Fresh Salads, Purpose Investments and Go Transit. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Susan Niczowski, Vlad Tasevski and Steve Sarafinoski, for opening the doors of their companies to our candidates. Apart from the official program, attendees also had the opportunity to meet and to network with Macedonians who live in Toronto.
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Business Trip for Young Professionals to Macedonia The Summer Diaspora Business Trip has the purpose of providing young Macedonian Diaspora with a platform where they can reconnect with their heritage while exploring new opportunities in Macedonia. Besides, the program has the vision to motivate the diaspora to reach out to the Macedonian business community and learn about its potential for investment and starting a business. Participants also had the opportunity to intern for a week in prominent Macedonian companies and visit different sites in Skopje and Macedonia, whereby adding to the development of their careers and exploring the opportunities for doing business. The Summer Diaspora Business Trip is an example of how Macedonia2025, Macedonian companies and institutions can provide young people with opportunities for personal and professional development. This year young professionals from Serbia, Italy, Germany, and Australia had the opportunity to be part of the program, organized for the second time already. Macedonia2025 is thankful to our Board Member Zhivko Mukaetov and Alkaloid AD Skopje for chairing and supporting this program.
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Macedonia2025 Forum: Business Communities' Outreach Program in Sweden This year’s Forum was held in Stockholm, Sweden. The Reception was centered around the topic of sustainable growth and development. The aim of the event was to contribute to the greater integration of Macedonia into the European economy, as well as towards the transfer of best practices for sustainable development that Macedonia could implement. The event also inspired networking and cooperation between companies and individuals in Macedonia, Sweden and the rest of Europe. The forum was a great opportunity to meet representatives of the Stockholm Business Region, the City of Stockholm and the Swedish Energy Agency, in order to discuss future collaboration with renowned Swedish companies and several Swedish-Macedonian companies. Participants had the chance to network with renowned professionals, learn more about the business climate in the country, but also hear the presentations of globally successful Macedonian brands. This is the third Business Forum Macedonia2025 has organized in a European capital. The previous forums in Vienna and Paris were attended by more than 200 professionals from various fields in business and technology.
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Macedonia2025 Business After Hours in Toronto Once again our organization was able to bring together over 30 successful expats at the Macedonia2025 “Business after Hours� in Toronto, where they had the chance to expand their network and discuss potential business opportunities. The Toronto Networking Reception is one of those events where we want to share some of our successes and invite people to join the conversation about providing the best education for the most talented and proactive business professionals in the country. The Macedonian expat community is not only getting together to discuss business collaboration, but also to learn more about Macedonia2025 mission and vision. This is our third gathering in Toronto and our goal is to turn it into an annual traditional gathering. The event tries to show that wherever people are in the world, they can find a way to get together, help each other and support the growth of Macedonia.
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Macedonia2025 Diaspora Outreach Gathering for the First Time in Melbourne!
Members of the Macedonian Diaspora in Melbourne had the opportunity for the first time ever to attend a Macedonia2025 Diaspora Outreach Gathering - a networking reception aimed at introducing MK2025 vision and mission to relevant stakeholders residing in Australia. More than 50 people from the Australian business community attended the event, which took place in December 2017 in Melbourne. This was the first MK2025 Diaspora Outreach Gathering in Melbourne and organizers were lucky to witness so many people recognizing MK2025 mission of building a stronger nation. We are sure this successful event is only the beginning of a new long-lasting tradition!
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Open Education Day and Promotional Events across Macedonia We had the pleasure to invite all interested individuals to our Educational Information Session, where the possibilities for receiving different kinds of scholarships to a renowned business school or program were presented. Representatives of Macedonia2025 presented the following programs: Zafirovski Executive Education Program for top executives, the Executive Study Tour to Canada for mid-level managers, the Bitove Entrepreneurship Program for established entrepreneurs, the LEADER Project with Richard Ivey School of Business for startup and small business owners, and the Russian Presidential Academy (RANEPA) for undergraduate and master students. Macedonia2025 considers education crucial for the future development of the country and will continue to support and engage actively with all talented individuals interested in maximizing their capacity for the future benefit of the country. During the month of August, we organized a series of promotional events across the country, supported by the efforts and inputs of our relevant Leaders Club Members. The goal of these events was to present the vision, mission and annual activities of Macedonia 2025, as well as to invite all interested stakeholders to participate at the sixth annual Macedonia 2025 Summit in Skopje. The events proved beneficial and helped us in better sharing our story with the Macedonian public. This year, the promotional events took place in Strumica, Ohrid and Bitola. We will not stop here and will definitely aim towards reaching as many Macedonian cities as possible in the future.
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Get in the Ring Entrepreneurship Competition The business idea pitching contest for high-school students and startups GET IN THE RING was organized yet again by Macedonia2025 and the National Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial learning. The jury was comprised of Macedonia2025 Board members and speakers at the 2017 Summit, and the prizes were provided by the competition chair, Macedonia2025 Board Member - Chris Pavlovski, our corporate partners, Leaders Club members and supporters. Eight selected high-school teams and startups took the spotlight and presented their business ideas in five rounds. Besides pitching a number of very interesting ideas, the high school teams presented themselves in a professional manner and had an excellent sense of communicating with the audience. The entrepreneurs in charge of year-old startups made it apparent that influencers and enablers should look into the capacity for innovation that is present among young people in Macedonia. The event offered many interesting business ideas at both levels of the competition. We will continue to encourage young and ambitious entrepreneurs in Macedonia to take part in events that help them push their own limits and “break the ice� in talking to potential investors.
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Diaspora Investors Roundtable and Survey Macedonia2025 has once again provided a voice for diaspora investors by organizing the second annual Diaspora Investors Roundtable and survey. After the success of last year’s inaugural event, Diaspora investors once again presented their suggestions and problems directly to key representatives from government agencies. For that purpose, a working group was also established during the event, in order to continuously work on resolving detected problems and challenges diaspora investors face in Macedonia. By working with diaspora investors, government agencies can assist diaspora investors help make Macedonia stronger. Diaspora investors are a unique and valuable source of investment for Macedonia and their potential to impact the country is large. Improved conditions and success stories will also encourage more diaspora investment in Macedonia. During the Diaspora Investors roundtable, the discussion covered a range of topics and solutions, including: Dedicated institutional support for diaspora investors in government agencies and municipalities; clarification needed on VAT for providing outsourcing services to overseas clients; and greater flexibility needed in labor laws to cater for outsourcing to countries in different time-zones.
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31%
31%
Low cost of doing business
Skilled workforce
31% Provide employment opportunities for friends and family
27% Lifestyle
Gov ern sup ment po for star rt tup s
M for ake it e Mac asie e star r t int donian s e bus rnatio to ines n ses al
Patriotic reasons
F cor ight rup tio n lish Eng rove Imp and ills l sk nica
Low labor costs
Low tax s rate
tech
31%
e rov Imp r labo s law
38%
The recommendations investors shared in the survey are:
All wo ow lon rkin g g h er our s
Тhe Diaspora Investors Survey for 2017 showed that investors choose Macedonia for several reasons:
line n m tio ea Str nistra line i on adm ve it mo
The challenges investors faced (55% of the responders) when starting a business in Macedonia are the following:
36%
27%
Government agencies unhelpful
Too much paperwork
18%
18%
Process took too long
Too many requirements
9% Requirements were not clear
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Check out our New Video Platform – www.2025Talks.com! Do you enjoy watching motivational videos? Do you love listening to TED Talks? Macedonia2025 proudly presents you the newest video platform containing talks and presentations on topics in the sphere of business, innovation, economy, leadership and technology. A platfrom made in Macedonia, yet relevant to the world. This is the place where you can find exclusive videos with Mike Zafirovski, Harry Kreamer, Sandy Ogg and many more. Stay tuned for the latest patch of videos, giving you a summary of what was like to be part of the Macedonia2025 Summit 2017 and much more! Check out the new platform at: http://www.2025talks.com/ and learn from the best! *This platform is powered by Interspace
New website alert! Our brand new website is just around the corner! Together with our corporate partner Cosmic Development, we are working on an entirely new online platform, which will be more user-friendly and where you will be able to stay updated about all our latest events, announcements and daily activities. Stay tuned!
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Financial Summary Financial Summary for the Years ended December 2015, 2016 and 2017 ďŹ gures in US Dollars Revenues Membership Dues Prefunded Membership Dues Received Annual Donations-Events Columbus Gala Dinner Donations Corporate Partnerships Other income Total Revenue Expenses Administrative expenses Education Programs Economic Development Programs a. Recurring expenses b.Non-recurring expenses Total expenses Net Income
2015 2016 2017 100,000 65,000 94,145 124,842 105,882 28,309 41,850 35,831 1,091,940 58,840 74,117 68,758 30,781 81,730 1,404,015 240,809 357,200
80,407 44,537
97,745 26,303
72,362 176,320
59,243 426,773 610,960
61,854 16,413 202,315
74,195 322,878
793,055
38,494
34,323
*Administrative expenses are completely covered by Board member fees *100% of Donations are dedicated towards our Educational Fund
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Dollars Date
$
â„– Let's support the country together, help realize its potentials and transform even more lives!
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November 7-10, 2018 Skopje, Macedonia
SAVE THE DATE!
A dynamic platform for sharing knowledge on business and the economy, leadership, technology and innovation
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For more information, please visit: https://mk2025summit.com/