Jakova Innovation Center (JIC) was established in 2014, with the mission of encouraging and assisting young entrepreneurs in the creation and development of new businesses. They provide workspace, consulting support, and training programs to innovative businesses with the goal of positively influencing the country’s economy through ideas and resources.
The “STEP UP” project implemented by JIC has directly benefited 84 young people aged 18-29 over the course of eight months, with 59 out of 84 of them being young women, thus targeting young people from the municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica, Deçan/Dečani, Junik/Junik, Klina/Kline, and Peja/Peć. All participants received certificates after following the training modules on digital skills, finance, and negotiation, and the participants’ feedback has been extremely positive.
Throughout the project main achievement of JIC was to create and offer internship possibilities for young people, thus they have managed to cooperate with local-level businesses and engage 20 young people as interns, of which eight have ensured a stable working place.
JIC collaborated successfully with the public and private sectors to provide diverse opportunities for young people. Cooperation agreements with the Municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica and private companies aided young people’s access to the labor market through hands-on experience. Meetings with young people aged 18 to 29 helped shape project initiatives in areas such as administration, computer science, and social science.
This activity was implemented within the Kosovo Youth Participation – KYP project with the financial support of the Office of the European Union in Kosovo.