Author: Predrag Lesic, doMEn, CEO

When we first started off .ME, we knew it was not only an opportunity to develop a healthy business but also a platform to raise awareness in Montenegro about the benefits of the digital world and equip people with skills needed to successfully navigate it.

This has been an integral part of our company strategy and mission in the last decade.

Based on that, our CSR strategy is standing on three major pillars:

Educating young people in a way that teaches them how to code and inspire them to pursue a career in tech.

We firmly believe that this is a necessity if we, as a society, want to go in step with modern trends worldwide. We have established strong partnerships with relevant organizations and faculties in Montenegro across universities and schools with a line of support for different initiatives that work with kids in primary schools and then with high school pupils giving them knowledge that is not available within regular education.

Each year, dozens of Montenegrin pupils attend our programming school, making it a proper introduction to the world of tech and introducing them to their possible career path.

Introducing the benefits of the digital world for Montenegrins, their businesses, and everyday life.

The digital world removes boundaries – by using a digital world you can make your business relevant worldwide, an opportunity we encourage everyone to embrace. It allows you to reach partners, customers, and clients irrelevant to their country of residence. More than that, the digital world is a world we all share and, by being part of it, you get more connected and thus similar to your peers in different parts of the world. You learn from them, and they learn from you. This was our primary motivation when we first initiated the Spark.me conference seven years ago.

Sharing our experiences, contacts, and know-how to support our colleagues in the tech industry in Montenegro, and our friends and partners to develop their ideas further.

We work directly with the startup community, but also with investors and international organizations to help build a healthy startup ecosystem through improving legislation, encouraging foreign investments, and providing advice and mentorship. Some of the brightest examples of Montenegrin startup community developed their ideas and got connected with their investors through relationships we helped them establish. Every time we see them go a step further, we feel like our mission in Montenegro grows stronger.

To sum-up, we believe every public-private partnership should be at first place about successful business but also about knowledge-technology transfer to the society. First without second can’t exist in today modern world where common values are about sharing and taking care of society and environment.