Two days. Seven panels. One regional industry, reimagined.

Badge collection, coffee, and Innovation Expo preview.

• ·Welcome address — President, NBFI Group of North Macedonia, Economic Chamber of North Macedonia
• ·Address — President of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia
• ·Address — Minister of Digital Transformation of North Macedonia
• ·Address — Governor, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia
• ·Address — Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia

A manifesto panel: making the case for why non-bank lenders are essential to the regional economy.

• ·Financial inclusion gap — who are the 40%+ of adults underserved by banks in the Western Balkans?
• ·SME access to credit — the missing middle between microloans and corporate banking
• ·Banks & non-bank lenders: not competitors but complementary — how partnership creates value
• ·Employment & economic impact — what do non-bank lenders actually contribute?
• ·Earning trust through transparency — how the industry builds its license to operate

Speakers TBA

Live demos from fintech companies and technology partners.

Honest conversation about digitization — what’s deployed, what flopped, what’s next.

• ·Where are Western Balkans lenders really on the digital maturity curve? (spoiler: it’s not AI-first)
• ·Loan origination systems — the backbone upgrades that actually moved the needle
• ·Credit scoring with limited data — what works when you don’t have Open Banking?
• ·Customer experience that converts — application flows, approval speed, and where borrowers drop off
• ·Build vs. buy vs. partner — practical decisions for lenders with 10–50 employees

Speakers TBA

A candid conversation with a CEO who bet the company on digital transformation. Full title and speaker to be announced.

1-on-1 interview + audience Q&A

• ·What actually changed — cost structure, speed, default rates, customer profile?
• ·What they wish they’d known before starting
• ·The uncomfortable truth about legacy teams and digital transformation

Speakers TBA

Choose your table — each one led by a moderator with a focused topic. After lunch, each table shares key takeaways with the room.

• ·Table 1: Legal & Compliance — regulatory readiness, licensing, cross-border legal challenges
• ·Table 2: Product & UX — lending product design, onboarding, customer journey optimization
• ·Table 3: Collections & Recovery — outsource vs. in-house, digital collections, portfolio management
• ·Table 4: Technology & Data — scoring, automation, system architecture, build vs. buy
• ·Table 5: CEO & Strategy — growth, market entry, M&A, partnerships, talent

Speakers TBA

The opportunity: how non-bank lenders can unlock SME credit — a growing and underserved segment.

• ·The SME credit gap in the Western Balkans — how big is it and why do banks walk away?
• ·Agricultural SME lending — financing rural economies and agribusiness across the region
• ·Products that work: invoice financing, revolving lines, merchant cash advance, POS lending
• ·Scoring an SME without audited financials — alternative data, cash flow analysis, industry benchmarks
• ·Guarantee schemes & EU programs — EIF, EFSI, national development banks as risk-sharing partners
• ·Financial inclusion & social impact — practical case studies from the Western Balkans
• ·Grant programs as a gateway — how NBFIs can help SMEs access EU and national grants

Speakers TBA

Hands-on session — building decisioning logic with limited inputs.

15-min framing + 30-min group exercise with real anonymized data

• ·Exercise: scoring a thin-file applicant using only available data points in a Western Balkans market
• ·Alternative data that’s actually accessible today: utility, telco, e-commerce, employer
• ·Simple scorecard vs. machine learning — when does complexity help and when does it hurt?

Speakers TBA

In partnership with Evrotrust — a practical conversation about how digital identity, trusted consent, and electronic signatures can turn instant loan approval into a secure, verifiable, and enforceable lending journey.

1-on-1 interview + audience Q&A

• ·What “fully digital lending” really means beyond an online application — and when frictionless onboarding becomes risky onboarding
• ·How lenders can verify identity, capture valid consent, select the appropriate electronic signature, and preserve evidence — without negatively affecting conversion rates
• ·What reusable digital identity, digital wallets, and eIDAS 2.0 will mean for lenders across the Western Balkans

Vladislav Vasilev · Regional Manager — Balkans, Evrotrust Technologies

Second round of expo demos and 1-on-1 meetings.

The existential question for non-bank lenders: capitalization pathways beyond development grants.

• ·The current funding landscape — how are Western Balkans lenders actually funded today?
• ·Development finance institution dependency — what happens when grant cycles end?
• ·Private equity and venture capital — what are regional and international funds looking for in lending?
• ·Institutional investors and impact funds — what do they need to see before writing a check?
• ·Securitization and forward flow — is the Western Balkans market ready? What’s the minimum scale?
• ·Deposit-taking, bond issuance, P2P — alternative regulatory pathways to funding

Speakers TBA

Key takeaways and preview of Day 2.

Celebrating the spirit of the Balkans.

• ·Traditional Macedonian cuisine and award-winning local wines
• ·Live music and cultural performance
• ·MicroBalkans Innovation Award 2026 ceremony
• ·Networking in a relaxed, festive atmosphere

• ·Recap of Day 1 highlights and key insights
• ·Setting the stage for policy, regulation, trust, and forward-looking discussions

North Macedonia’s digital agenda and the Digit Mak project. Speaker to be announced.

Keynote + audience Q&A

• ·North Macedonia’s digital strategy and e-government roadmap
• ·Digital identity, e-signatures, and what it means for financial services
• ·How digitalization creates opportunity for fintech and non-bank lenders
• ·The Digit Mak project — accelerating the country’s digital transformation

Speakers TBA

The view from the top: policymakers and regulators on the future of the sector — vision and partnership, not compliance checklists.

• ·The role of non-bank lenders in financial stability and inclusion — a policy perspective
• ·What a healthy non-bank lending sector looks like in 2030 — the policymakers’ vision
• ·Balancing innovation and consumer protection — where to draw the line
• ·Cross-border lending and supervision — challenges in a fragmented region
• ·What policymakers need from the industry — data, dialogue, and self-regulation

Speakers TBA

From vision to obligation: the concrete rules landing on lenders’ desks — deadlines, requirements, and what to do now to be ready.

• ·CCD II (November 2026) — what changes for non-bank lenders in EU-aspirant countries?
• ·EU AI Act (August 2026) — impact on automated credit decisioning and scoring models
• ·APR caps tightening across the region — country-by-country status and business model impact
• ·eIDAS 2.0 digital identity wallet — opportunity or threat for current onboarding?
• ·Compliance cost reality — what’s the investment, who can afford it, who gets squeezed out?

Speakers TBA

The part of lending nobody talks about at conferences — but everyone deals with every day.

• ·Digital collections — what automation actually works: reminders, payment links, self-service restructuring
• ·Outsource vs. in-house — when to use a debt agency and when to keep it internal
• ·Collections as customer retention — how you collect determines whether you keep the client
• ·NPL portfolio management — hold, restructure, or sell? Decision frameworks for Western Balkans lenders
• ·The regulatory pressure on collection practices — what’s tightening and where

Speakers TBA

A conversation with female leaders who are driving change in the regional lending industry.

Moderated conversation with 2–3 female executives + audience Q&A

• ·Breaking through in a male-dominated industry — personal stories and practical advice
• ·Leadership styles that build stronger lending businesses
• ·Mentorship, pipeline, and what the industry can do to attract more women

Speakers TBA

Unscripted conversation with 3–4 CEOs from leading regional lenders.

Moderated conversation with audience interaction

• ·Talent — where do you find people who understand both lending and technology?
• ·The bank threat — are banks finally waking up to the segments we serve?
• ·What would you do differently if you started your company today?

Speakers TBA

• ·Key takeaways from both conference days
• ·MicroBalkans Alliance commitments for 2026–2027
• ·MicroBalkans 27 location reveal
• ·Closing address by the President of the NBFI Group of North Macedonia

Final networking over local cuisine before afternoon activities.

Pre-registration required. Choose one: Canyon Matka boat tour, or Skopje Old Bazaar food & culture tour.

• ·Option A — Canyon Matka boat tour & Vrelo Cave (transport included)
• ·Option B — Skopje Old Bazaar food & culture tour (walking; ideal for evening flights)