The President of the Economic Chamber, Branko Azeski, attended an event organized at Prilep Town Hall, where approximately 40 secondary vocational school students from the city and the surrounding area presented 20 innovative business concepts to the business community. The projects featured practical applications for industry and daily life, incorporating environmental awareness and advanced technological components. The event, titled "Pitch Stage Prilep," was organized by the Prilep-based NGO GenVibe and the Regional Economic Chamber, with senior officials from the Economic Chamber of Macedonia in attendance.

Nikola Marinoski, President of the Prilep Regional Economic Chamber, stressed that the initiative motivates young people to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, noting that in an individualized world, it ensures the next generation is heard, given a public platform to demonstrate their capabilities, and supported in having their concepts embraced by industry.

The Chamber—which has kept educational policy at the forefront of its strategic priorities for years as one of its three core focus areas—actively encourages initiatives of this nature, as business leaders show keen interest in adopting them. Without quality education and properly trained workforce, sustainable economic development remains out of reach. Notably, these young innovators hail from vocational secondary schools—a sector where the Chamber has spent more than a decade and a half championing dual vocational education. Strong private-sector demand exists to finance and advance viable industrial innovations. In recent years, the Chamber has collaborated with international financial partners to equip secondary vocational schools with modern facilities, ensuring high-quality practical training designed to supply skilled talent aligned with labor market demand and national economic strategy.

The Mayor of Prilep, Dejan Prodanoski, urged the students to believe in their ideas, assuring them of sustained backing from local self-government. He underlined that the municipality aims to build an environment where young people look toward building a future locally rather than seeking opportunities abroad. Prilep possesses a long-standing industrial and entrepreneurial tradition spanning decades of production, investment, and enterprise, making it natural to cultivate new avenues for emerging entrepreneurs.

Following the team presentations, President Azeski—joined by Chamber Executive Director Antoni Peshev, MBA, and Prof. Dr. Darko Lazarov, Vice-Rector for Investments and Development at Goce Delchev University in Shtip and President of the Chamber's Exporters’ Club—presented a Chamber statuette to one of the participants in recognition of an outstanding innovative concept. All participating students received publications produced by the Chamber, authored and initiated by President Azeski.

At the conclusion of the pitches, the Executive Director of the Economic Chamber, alongside the President of the Prilep Regional Chamber, awarded symbolic cash prizes and Chamber statuettes to the top three teams. Event organizers from "Pitch Stage Prilep," acting as a regional catalyst for youth entrepreneurship, presented formal certificates of participation to all 40 students.