INNOFEIT EDIH is Macedonia's first European Digital Innovation Hub — a leading platform for digital transformation, innovation, and technological development. Over the next four years, the hub will offer more than 300 free services worth €2 million, all focused on helping micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public sector organizations (PSOs) enhance their competitiveness through advanced digital technologies.
Despite growing awareness of digitalization's importance, Macedonia's SMEs and public institutions face persistent obstacles in making it happen.
Many SMEs struggle to identify and secure suitable funding for digital transformation and innovation. They lack the internal capacity to navigate complex EU and national funding programs — and even when opportunities exist, turning abstract digitalization goals into concrete, fundable projects is a challenge in itself.
On the skills side, leadership teams and public sector professionals recognize they need practical AI capabilities. But they're overwhelmed by fragmented information and generic trainings that don't address their specific sectors, processes, or digital maturity levels. The result: AI stays theoretical instead of becoming a working tool.
And for the next generation — students with strong technical knowledge — there's often a gap between what they learn and how to turn it into viable business ideas. They need structured mentorship, interactive methods, and clear frameworks to move from concept to action.
Solveo is part of the EDIH consortium as a partner in charge of the project segment “ Access to Finance , bringing deep expertise in innovation consulting, design thinking, access-to-finance strategy, and applied AI. Across the partnership, we designed and delivered four initiatives — each one tailored to a specific need and audience.
Access to finance. We kicked off with a public Access to Finance event, addressing one of the biggest pain points for local SMEs: finding and securing funding for digital innovation. Through INNOFEIT EDIH, Solveo provided hands-on advisory support that went far beyond sharing a list of grants. We worked directly with companies to map relevant funding opportunities across EU and national programs, helped them structure and sharpen their project ideas, and guided them through the preparation of high-quality funding applications tailored to their specific growth and digitalization needs. The service combined innovation consulting with access-to-finance expertise — turning vague goals into concrete, investment-ready project pipelines. By the end, we had developed and submitted funding applications totaling over €10 million, significantly increasing these SMEs' chances of attracting external finance for their digital innovation projects.
Co-creating practical AI tools through a two-day hackathon. Together with INNOFEIT EDIH, Solveo organized a DigiEduHack on the theme "AI Adaptation Guide." Over two intensive days, more than 20 participants collaborated with 10+ mentors to co-create four practical solution concepts. These weren't theoretical exercises — each concept was designed to help organizations map AI use cases, identify the right tools, and define clear implementation steps. The hackathon format blended mentoring, design thinking, and real SME challenges, shifting AI from abstract theory to hands-on experimentation. The output: actionable AI adoption roadmaps instead of generic training materials — concepts that can be further developed into tools and services for SMEs and public sector organizations alike.
Delivering AI trainings that actually fit the audience. Leadership teams and public sector professionals don't need more generic lectures about artificial intelligence. They need practical skills they can apply to their everyday work. Solveo designed and delivered more than five custom trainings on "AI for Business Innovation" through INNOFEIT EDIH, tailoring each session to the client's sector, internal processes, and level of digital maturity. We focused on concrete use cases, real tools, and workflows participants could actually use. Instead of passive learning, each training combined strategy, design thinking, and applied AI demos — helping teams co-create realistic pilots and experiment with automation directly on their own tasks. The result: dozens of professionals equipped with practical AI scenarios and clear action plans for their organizations.
Mentoring the next generation of electromobility entrepreneurs. The EvolvEV Summer School on "Electromobility and Innovation" needed an engaging final module — one that could help students translate their technical knowledge about electric vehicles into practical, innovative business ideas. The organizers required structured mentorship, interactive methods, and a clear process for idea development. Solveo designed and delivered a three-day innovation and entrepreneurship workshop, working directly with student teams on developing EV-related business concepts. We ran guided workshops, mentoring sessions, and provided practical tools to help students transform early-stage concepts into feasible solutions within the electromobility field. Solveo also contributed to the panel of judges and facilitators, bringing expertise and fresh perspectives to the evaluation process. The result was a successful conclusion to the summer school: multiple student teams developed innovative EV business ideas, participated in hands-on exercises, and engaged in inspiring discussions. The energy, creativity, and collaboration were highly appreciated by both participants and organizers.
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