🚀 Today, we embarked on a major research and methodological #journey!

As part of the project “Unlocking Women’s Economic Potential – Beyond Gender Barriers,” supported by the British Embassy Skopje, we aim to boost women’s productivity in the workplace through a carefully designed soft skills integration program.
🪡 The initiative is being implemented in and supported by Comfy Angel in Prilep!
For the first time, this journey includes a #RandomizedControlledTrial (RCT), a revolutionary method where participants 🎲 are randomly assigned to different groups to measure the impact of the intervention and ensure the highest level of scientific precision! 💪
#EmpoweringWomen #WorkplaceProductivity #InnovationInAction #RCT

Citizen monitoring as a bridge between political promises and economic realities

During the coordination meeting of the grantees of the Civica Mobilitas program, Marija Basheska from Finance Think presented the #economic and #social areas that will be the subject of monitoring within the program: “Citizen Watch: Bridging the gap between political promises and realities in four developmental areas,” which we are implementing in partnership with: Macedonian Medical Association, 360 Degrees, Macedonian Civic Education Center / MCEC, and Youth Educational Forum / YEF.

At the meeting, we had the opportunity to discuss with the Swiss Ambassador Veronique Hulmann about the key priorities, improving intersectoral cooperation and coordination, as well as how Civica Mobilitas can contribute to the development of civic participation across different sectors.

@Embassy of Switzerland in North Macedonia
#EconomicMonitoring #CitizenEngagement #GoodGovernance #CommunityEmpowerment

We presented our forecasting model in Zagreb

Finance Think, together with fellow macroeconomists from central banks and ministries of finance from the region, participated in an event for experience exchange and projection models in the Western Balkans, held in Zagreb, Croatia.
🚀 We presented our econometric model for producing the annual GDP growth projection, as well as the MK-MOD model.
The event was organized by World Bank Croatia as part of the Macro-learning Peer Events.
🇲🇰 We are proud that the work of Finance Think is recognized at a regional level.

Working lunch with a delegation from the German Bundestag

On September 16, 2024, Blagica Petreski from Finance Think participated in a working lunch with a delegation from the German Bundestag, organized by Deputy Ambassador Jan-Axel Voß from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The discussions focused on topics related to labor and social policy, aiming to foster cooperation between the two countries in these important areas.

Finance Think at a hearing within the European Economic and Social Council

Blagica Petreski, representing Finance Think, participated in the European Economic and Social Council’s hearing on enhancing fiscal transparency! Based on a #decade of experience and best #practices implemented by Finance Think, key topics discussed included:

📌 Data-Driven Advocacy: Using evidence to drive change.
📌 Accessible Budgeting: Simplifying complex data with user-friendly tools, such as the FISCAST platform (www.fiscast.mk).
📌 Participatory Budgeting: Engaging citizens in budget decisions, with a focus on the case of participatory budgeting in North Macedonia.

Our work has significantly improved transparency and citizen involvement in North Macedonia. 🚀💡

#FiscalTransparency #ParticipatoryBudgeting #FinanceThink #EU

Finance Think at the Civica Mobilitas Communication Workshop

Our Bojana Gjuroska participated in a workshop organized by 📍 Civica Mobilitas.

💡 The workshop focused on improving communication strategies and adapting to the habits of target groups.

#financethink #CHinMK #CivicaMobilitas

👁️‍🗨️ Read more: bit.ly/3Tk5OG3

Summary of the Government’s Promises Fulfillment 2020-2024

📣 Now, we are summarizing the fulfillment of the Government’s promises for the period 2020-2024, in the socio-economic domain, based on our four-year monitoring “Economic Compass”. 🌟

The result is almost #FiftyFifty ‼️

51% of the given promises are unfulfilled ❌❌

📍 The economy did not achieve sustainable, accelerated, and inclusive economic growth of 4% by 2024 📉

📍 Investments in the development of road infrastructure, modernization, and safety remained far below the promised 2 billion euros 🚧🚫

📍 The unemployment rate did not drop to single digits, despite the promise, and the indicators for youth and women’s employment and activity either fell or stagnated, contrary to the promised increases 📊🔻

📍 The VAT registration threshold was not raised to 3 million denars, despite the promise 💼❌

49% of the given promises are fulfilled ✅✅

📍 The amount of foreign investments significantly exceeded the promise of 1 billion euros for the four-year period 💼💰

📍 The minimum wage increased much more than the promised 20-40% 💵📈

📍 The average wage increased much more than the promised 20-30% 💰📈

We continue with an expanded version of the “Economic Compass,” tracking a broader set of economic, social, and development indicators, with a stronger focus on youth and women. 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓👩‍💼👨‍💼

The action is supported by Civica Mobilitas. 🤝