NEW ICONS Drives Momentum to Empower Women Entrepreneurs Across South Adriatic

• Women’s Entrepreneurship in Tourism Cluster established to co-develop innovative tourism offering in the region
• The initiative boosts women’s tourism entrepreneurship through partnership, digitalization, and training
• The cluster promotes regional networking and co-development of tourism in Montenegro, Italy, and Albania

In early June, Bar served as the venue for the NEW ICONS conference, part of a broader effort under the INTERREG IPA South Adriatic 2021-2027 programme. Co-organized by BSC Bar and regional partners from Italy and Albania, the event focused on scaling women’s entrepreneurship in tourism through collaboration, digitalization, and knowledge transfer.

The international cluster has been launched to support women entrepreneurs in tourism across Montenegro, Italy, and Albania, with a focus on structured networking and joint innovation in tourism products and services. Speaking on behalf of BSC Bar, Ivana Tomašević emphasized that advancing women’s roles in tourism hinges on regional collaboration, digital innovation, and improved financial access. She noted that the event marked a milestone in the NEW ICONS project, with the Cluster paving the way for future cross-border partnership.

As a key outcome of the conference, a Cooperation Agreement was signed to establish as international women’s entrepreneurship cluster in tourism. The initiative aims to facilitate structured networking and collaborative innovation among female entrepreneurship form Montenegro, Italy, and Albania.

With participation from three countries, the conference spotlighted regional collaboration. Tanja Radusinović introduced the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro’s networking tools, while Milena Ljutica outlined how digitalisation and AI are shaping tourism. Bar Municipality also shared its entrepreneurship support effort in place since 2019. Tourism professionals from Italy attended the event.

Albania was represented by women entrepreneurs including Valbona Paluka (NUCLEUS) and artisans Ganimet Artunda, Artenca Kruja, and Vjollca Nishani. All participants affirmed their dedication to advancing cross-border women’s entrepreneurship through continued collaboration within the newly established Cluster.