REGIONAL MASTERCLASS FOR WOMEN IN E-COMMERCE

In June 2021, the second two-day regional Masterclass for women in e-commerce from the Balkans was held, under the title: “Supporting women entrepreneurs during their digital journey”, in a virtual format. The Masterclass was attended by more than 90 women – digital entrepreneurs from North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Bulgaria. During the first day of the two-day Masterclass, the participants had the chance to hear the presentations of eminent regional experts on topics related to the digital economy, such as user experience (UX) and customer retention, where the trends in these areas were presented. they also broadcast the panel discussion on e-commerce policy making entitled “Building strong digital ecosystems – perspectives from the Balkans”. The panel discussion aimed to showcase the diverse perspectives of the panelists on ways to support digital entrepreneurship and opportunities for women to build a thriving and inclusive digital economy. Panelists of this discussion were Ms. Maylinda Demko, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Economy of Albania, Ms. Nina Angelovska, UNCTAD Ambassador for e-commerce in the Balkans, as well as Ms. Zorana Milidrag, co-owner of 8 Services and Global E-Commerce Director of Sport Vision

The first day of the Masterclass ended with an informal “Fireside” conversation with Nina Angelovska. In the informal conversation led by host Zharko Dimitrioski, Angelovska spoke about the very beginnings of developing her interest in e-commerce, about the challenges that arose during the transformation of the e-commerce market in Macedonia with the Grouper.mk platform, about the need from the establishment of the Association for e-commerce of Macedonia, as well as for improving the role of women in society.