Europe has built the foundations of a strong digital economy, but competition for top tech talent is fierce, with many founders and engineers heading to the US and Asia for late-stage capital, scale, and opportunities.

The solution isn’t to copy others but to lean into Europe’s unique strengths: trust-based ecosystems, universal education and healthcare, strong public–private partnerships, and values-driven growth. Success stories like Sweden prove it’s possible to scale globally while staying rooted locally.

To keep talent, Europe must unify fragmented regulations, boost late-stage funding, and own its innovation narrative. By embracing its stability, inclusivity, and purpose-driven culture, Europe can become a place where world-class talent not only starts but stays.

Over the past decade, Kosovo’s online retail sector has evolved significantly, led by the Gjirafa e‑commerce ecosystem. Gjirafa50, launched in 2016, remains the largest consumer‑electronics retailer, now boasting over 100,000 distinct products with free delivery and authenticity guarantees.

Parallelly, GjirafaMall, established in 2017, has become the country’s most comprehensive marketplace, hosting more than 200,000 items from over 100 partner vendors. In May 2025, GjirafaMall signaled its continued ambition by expanding into Albania and North Macedonia a strong indicator of increasing investor confidence in Kosovo's e‑commerce growth potential.

In recent years, new players have entered and diversified the market. ShopAZ, branding itself as “the most reliable online marketplace in Kosovo,” offers a broad array of products, from electronics and cosmetics to fashion and home goods, with fast and secure delivery across the country. It also provides sellers with streamlined logistics, direct communication tools with buyers, and support in managing inventory and orders.

Equally notable is Foleja, a digitally focused retailer emphasizing original-brand products with secure payment processing and delivery services such as DHL, particularly in beauty and tech segments.

These newer entrants are rapidly rising, reflecting a maturing market with increased consumer trust and diversified offerings. Altogether, the investment climate in Kosovo’s online retail is robust: while Gjirafa’s platforms still dominate with scale and expansion, competitors like ShopAZ and Foleja are staking out critical market share in logistics and niche segments. This growing competitive dynamic demonstrates that Kosovo’s e-commerce sector is poised not only for internal consolidation, but also regional integration and innovation.

Albania is doing something remarkable and bold. While much of Europe debates AI's risks, Prime Minister Edi Rama is pushing for something farther out: using AI to run an entire ministry, to fight corruption, speed up its EU bid, and, who knows, maybe run the country someday. No corruption. No nepotism. Just algorithms.

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, floated the idea at a July press briefing: “One day, we may even have a ministry fully run by artificial intelligence. That way, there would be no cronyism or conflicts of interest.” According to Rama, AI could ould help Laval through mountains of EU regulations in record time, while based on what was shared, the tech is already deployed to monitor public procurement, taxes, and customs plus drones and satellite AI scan illegal beachfront construction or crop fields.

Albania isn’t just talking, as the country is turning AI into a tool for transparency and speed, something Albania needs as it tries to win EU membership. And PM Rama isn’t hiding his ambition: Albania could be the first country ever with AI ministers.

AI is only as ethical as its code and oversight. Critics warn AI could become a “digital disguise for the same old dysfunction.” Without strong accountability, what looks like reform might just be a new mask.

After a record-breaking 2023 with €33M raised by regional AI startups, funding in early 2024 has sharply slowed to just €3M, although promising newcomers like Collabwriting, Lupa Technology, and Trickest continue to emerge.

From January 2025, North Macedonia joined the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) network, a key move boosting access to AI tools, training, and funding for businesses across the region.

A new NGO, AI NOW, is promoting ethical AI education and digital literacy. In 2025, they unveiled MK‑LLM, North Macedonia’s first open-source large language model for the Macedonian language.

Now you can create personalized, illustrated storybooks about anything, complete with read-aloud narration through Google Gemini. In order to try Storybook in 3 easy steps, you can do the following:

1. Open Gemini at http://gemini.google
2. In the prompt bar, ask Gemini to make a storybook about any topic (tip: you can add photos)
3. Enjoy!

Apple Pay has officially landed across Southeast Europe! As of early August 2025, users in Kosovo, Albania, and Bosnia & Herzegovina can now enjoy fast, secure mobile payments powered by Apple’s digital wallet-complementing existing services like Google Pay and Garmin Pay.

This milestone follows a coordinated rollout via NLB Group banks, enabling customers in Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina to add their debit and credit cards to Apple Wallet for seamless payments in stores, apps, and online.

With Apple Pay joining the digital payments scene in the region, already active in countries such as Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, this rollout completes the spectrum of modern wallet services available to consumers and merchants alike.

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