Startup Balkans

ICTSmedia

ICTSmedia is a publishing house in entrepreneurship, technology, communication, and online security. For more than seven years, this team is organizing a competition in technology – Albanian ICT Awards. And they are the founders of ICTSlab and Uplift accelerator, the first acceleration program in Albania.

ICTSmedia is a publishing house in entrepreneurship, technology, communication, and online security. For more than seven years, this team is organizing a competition in technology – Albanian ICT Awards. And they are the founders of ICTSlab and Uplift accelerator, the first acceleration program in Albania.

The Why. Your vision and goals. Please highlight what you want to achieve:

ICTSmedia was founded in 2012. Our vision is to support the prosperity of the entire region in terms of education, communication, and modern technology with the expertise, experience, and knowledge of our company and its people. 

In 2018 we started ICTSlab, our leading brand. ICTSlab’s primary goal is to empower youth for the challenges of the 21 st century and equip them with marketable skills. It focuses on teaching skills for education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. 

ICTSlab is followed by Uplift Albania as the first conventional accelerator in Albania, aiming to further empower the youth excellence in boosting the digital economy in Albania and the Balkan region. 

The What. Your customer value proposition. Please highlight your portfolio of services:

ICTSmedia delivers high-class events, such as national innovation competition, Startup Accelerator Programs, Hackathons, Bootcamps, and Knowledge-Sharing events. We provide consulting services to clients in the private and public sectors and stimulate their industries by becoming innovative, efficient, and dynamic. We support both corporate clients and startups and small companies on their way to digitalization, innovation, and overall improvement.

The Who. Your target group(s). Please highlight whom you support:

We are supporting: 

  • Startups; 
  • Angel Investors; 
  • Students; 
  • Pupils; 
  • Corporations; 
  • International organizations operating in the Balkan Region; 
  • Donors; 
  • Advertisers; 
  • Event owners.

The Team. Please introduce members of your team (what are their unique skills/focus):

Our team comprises founders, staff members, educators, and experts in different areas related to ICT, entrepreneurship, promotion, and support. We believe that by bringing together our expertise as a company and as individuals, we can handle projects in different ranges. 

The Success. Please describe your most significant success(es), something you are most proud of:

Due to the hard work and dedication over recent years, ICTSmedia is playing an active role in influencing the Albanian Innovation ecosystem’s development. Some projects/products that we are proud of belong to the ICTS family: 

  • ICTSlab, an innovation lab focused on developing 21st-century skills for different ages, starting from 8 years old, teaching robotics, coding, and tech in general to a number of 500 children and young people over 2 years. 
  • ICT Awards: pan-national contest focused on identifying, promoting, and rewarding talented people, startup founders, academics, students’ diploma thesis, and young geniuses in ICT. ICT Awards has turned into a traditional event, as a flagship innovation event in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, for the 9th year.  
  • The Startup Accelerator Uplift Albania was established in 2019. The first batch gathered 10 startups, and the second has 12 participants from the entire region. Apart from mentorship, we are also interested in increasing Investment visibility. Thanks to Uplift facilitation, some of the startups from the first batch already received the first investments, making it one of the most critical accelerators in the region. 

Information. Please share your website and social media links where people can follow and contact you directly :

Ivana Sabo