Business Leader 2026 unites North Macedonia's business elite; about 600 guests at Skopje Philharmonic
Around 600 business leaders, officials and diplomats attended the third Business Leader event in Skopje where data-driven awards for 2026 were presented.
The third edition of Business Leader gathered about 600 representatives of North Macedonia's business community, public institutions and the diplomatic corps at the Skopje Philharmonic, concluding with the presentation of the Business Leader awards for 2026.
Conference, panels and a focus on AI
The evening programme began with a conference on macroeconomics, technology, data and artificial intelligence, featuring a macroeconomic overview and three panel discussions with business leaders, institutional representatives, technologists and academics. One of the panels — titled "Business in 2030: Data, AI and companies without blind spots" — examined how data and AI will change corporate decision-making and how Macedonian firms should prepare for the next phase of digital transformation.
On the main stage the event organisers highlighted the economic weight of the attendees: companies represented in the hall together produce more than 2 billion in revenues and employ over 50,000 people, underlining the event's role as a gathering of a substantial part of the country's economy.
Speeches at the central ceremony were delivered by Business Leader founder Ognen Ognenoski, Halkbank AD Skopje CEO Dr. Fatih Shahbaz and Prime Minister Prof. Dr. Hristijan Mickoski. In his remarks Ognenoski said: "Macedonia may be small on the world map. But the size of a country is not measured only in square kilometres. It is also measured by what its people are capable of creating. And tonight, when I look into this hall, I see proof that Macedonia has its own high peaks."
The awards themselves were based on data-driven analysis carried out by Business Network, the event's organiser and analytical partner. Several firms across industry, trade, pharmaceuticals, technology, telecommunications, finance, logistics and healthcare were recognised for measurable business results.
FACTUM received the special "Startup of the Year 2026" award: in two years the company grew from roughly 7,000 of annual revenue to approaching 400,000 in annual recurring revenue and now counts more than 500 active users.
The evening's top prize, Premium Business Leader 2026, went to Sava Pension Company AD Skopje. Business Network's analysis singled out Sava for achieving the highest credit rating among Macedonian companies for three consecutive years. The award was symbolically presented by Prof. Dr. Zlatko Ja07ovski and accepted on behalf of Sava by the chairwoman of the board, Snezana Stankovic.
The programme was hosted by Igor Dzambazov and the musical part was led by Djijan Emin with an orchestra. At the close of the ceremony all award winners took the stage together — companies of different sectors and sizes united by the results they produce — and organisers emphasised that each summit reached marks the start of a new challenge.
Halkbank AD Skopje was the event's general partner for the third consecutive year. Other partners and supporters listed by the organisers included MS Creative Studio, Pari.com.mk, Delfino Mobility Group, Alikas, BiMilk, Acibadem Sistina, Makstil, Zegin and many more.
Photo: press material from the event
