Norway Supported Crafts in Montenegro through the Development of Innovations

Small businesses dealing with crafts in an indirect or direct way had the opportunity to present their products, which were created as a result of the use of modern 3D and CNC production technologies.

Info day about the support programmes of the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro and CRAFTINNO Crafts Fair, as the final events of the project "Innovative sustainable technologies for the economic improvement of crafts - CRAFTINNO" was held today in Nikšić. The project has been implemented since March 2022 by IPC Technopolis in partnership with the Municipality of Nikšić, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway through the project "Norway for you - Montenegro", which is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services UNOPS.

"CRAFTINNO Crafts Fair rounds off a useful project, in which all participants, through cooperation and mutual learning, gained new values, whether it was theoretical knowledge, mastery of practical skills, access to new sources of financing, and other types of support, development of an entrepreneurial spirit, or, on the side of partners in providing support - strengthening and improving their own capacities to support entrepreneurship and innovation", the Minister of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro Biljana Šćepanović said.

At the CRAFTINNO Crafts Fair, small businesses dealing with crafts in an indirect or direct way had the opportunity to present their products, which were created as a result of the use of modern 3D and CNC production technologies. During the nine months of implementation of the CRAFTINNO project, entrepreneurs gained knowledge and skills to improve production processes, through training in 3D modeling, printing, CNC programming and processing of softer and harder materials.

The Mayor of Nikšić Marko Kovačević pointed out that the local self-government implements a series of projects aimed at encouraging the development of entrepreneurship at the local level.

"The CRAFTINNO project refers to the support of craftsmanship and is primarily focused on ten companies that are in different stages of development. Our goal was to provide our fellow citizens with adequate development of their business through logistical and professional support and to create a space to support entrepreneurship", Kovačević said.

In order to ensure the application of the acquired knowledge and skills of the project participants, the Municipality of Nikšić organized three Info days about the support programme implemented with the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism of Montenegro and the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro.

The "Norway for You - Montenegro" Project Manager Armen Čekić pointed out that through this project, the Kingdom of Norway supports the development of small businesses in Nikšić for the third year in a row, especially in the transformation of their business through the introduction of innovations in the production process.

"I am glad that Montenegro realizes that technology and its monitoring are very important for the growth of the economy. I hope that in the coming period there will be more and more connections between the scientific and economic sectors and that we will have more and more fusions that will have concrete results as a product, products and technologies with which Montenegro will be competitive," said Čekić.

The executive director of IPC Tehnopolis, Đorđije Malović, emphasized the commitment of the project's users and pointed out that he was pleased with the openness of the training participants, their willingness to accept positive changes and the application of innovations as an integral part of those changes.

The CRAFTINNO Project Manager Miljana Peković said that the Craft Fair encourages the development of entrepreneurship through innovation.

"This project gave us the opportunity to do that through the application of 3D and CNC technologies on concrete products and production processes of small businesses that deal with crafts. It may seem like a demanding process, but believe me, it is far more demanding than it looks," said Petković.