9H Digital

9H Digital, the business behind the ANCHOVY (A 9H Company) MT listing, is a technology, artificial intelligence and marketing company with its Maltese office at 53 Tigne Street in Sliema. It builds custom software and web applications, connects the systems a business already runs, automates routine work with AI, and designs the brands, websites and campaigns that sit on top. The firm appears in our directories of IT companies in Malta and marketing agencies in Malta.

For a UK business, the appeal is a single English-speaking team that covers engineering, data and creative work. A company opening a Maltese subsidiary, a gaming operator that needs platforms to scale, or a finance team tired of manual invoice handling can brief one partner rather than coordinate a developer, an automation specialist and an agency separately.

The firm was founded in 2006 and now has around 80 people working with clients across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Its website records more than 1,000 clients served, a typical first reply within minutes and round-the-clock support for critical systems.

Who 9H is and how it works

The mission rests on three ideas: passion, commitment and quality. The first is about producing digitally accelerated solutions, advising on opportunities and bringing knowledge to every level of a client's business, from leadership to the marketing team. Commitment means taking time to understand what each client needs and building long relationships on trust. Quality means that every line of code, pixel and strategy goes through careful checking before it reaches the client.

Leadership and team members named on the site include Timothy Buttigieg as chief executive, Emily Attard as chief creative officer, James Borg as head of tech and Sarah Kennard as head of PR. The growth model is land and expand: the team starts with a focused piece of work, proves its value and then widens the relationship as the client's needs grow.

The chief executive's stated belief is that technology should fade into the background so that human connections can shine. That shows in how projects are framed: systems exist to remove friction for staff and customers, not to be admired for their own sake. The offer is pitched at the technology, product, marketing, operations and finance teams inside a client business, each with its own set of tools.

Information security matters to many clients, and 9H is certified to ISO 27001, the international standard for information security management. If you are weighing up IT partners, our wider list of technology consultancies such as 4Sight Group gives you a sense of the market.

Custom web applications and software

The engineering division builds custom web applications, customer and staff portals, internal tools, APIs and content-managed platforms. The preferred stack is Payload CMS, Node.js, Next.js, React and TypeScript on a PostgreSQL database, which keeps the code consistent from database to interface and gives editors a clear, role-based way to update content without calling a developer each time. Next.js also gives fast, search-friendly pages from the start.

Several services target problems that many British companies recognise. Legacy modernisation upgrades ageing platforms step by step, aiming for no disruption to critical data and processes, and the team also maintains and modernises existing Laravel applications. Rescue projects cover stalled or inherited builds: the team reviews what exists, explains what can be kept and what should change, then restarts delivery. API development, scalable architecture, UX and UI design, web development and ecommerce, and hosting complete the offer.

Projects follow four stages. Discovery and scoping establishes how your business works and what to build first. Design shapes the data and the experience around real users. The build is delivered in small releases so you see working software early, and launch is followed by support, with a service level agreement where a system is critical. Pricing depends on scope and integrations, so the team agrees a proposal with you before work begins.

AI, automation and integrations

The AI and automation line covers custom AI agents and bots for customer service, workflow automation across sales, marketing and HR, data analysis and predictive analytics, and intelligent document processing. Each is connected to the tools your team already uses, so you keep your existing ERP, CRM and finance systems rather than replacing them.

Integration work links CRMs, ERPs, payment gateways and data systems into one automated environment, with API connectivity, automation pipelines, data unification and real-time reporting. For finance teams, 9H has built its own product, H6, an explainable AI tool for accounts payable. It matches invoices, processes the routine ones that follow your historical approval patterns, passes exceptions to your team with context, and extends to forecasting and automated purchase ordering. Companies in the Malta financial services sector will find this the most relevant part of the range.

Funding can be part of the conversation. Malta has government schemes that part-fund eligible digitalisation and AI projects, and 9H is an approved service provider for the SME Digitalisation and AI Grant Scheme. Eligibility and amounts depend on your business and the scheme's current terms, so ask the team to check what applies to you.

Brand building and digital marketing

The creative side handles web design and development, SEO and AI search optimisation, branding, marketing, UX and UI design, creative production, and PR and media buying. Corporate websites, search optimisation and pay-per-click advertising are the most common entry points for smaller clients.

The agency treats advertising as a connected system rather than a set of isolated campaigns. The team's thinking is that advertising platforms now do most of the optimising, so results depend on the quality of conversion data, the volume and variety of creative, clear tracking and the links between media, CRM and analytics. In practice that means 9H tries to join up your data, media and creative so that each supports the others.

Brand projects shown in the portfolio include work for regulators and public bodies such as the Malta Gaming Authority, the Land Registration Agency and the MFSA, and for companies in insurance, fintech and hospitality. Event management and creative concepts also feature, for instance branding for Olympic and Paralympic teams in Saudi Arabia.

Sectors served

The firm organises its work around six markets: finance and fintech, iGaming and entertainment, retail and ecommerce, hospitality and real estate, corporate and enterprise, and the public sector and non-profit organisations. Featured case studies include the MFSA, Kindred in Cheltenham, Crosscraft, Al Balad Hospitality, Insinet and the Malta Gaming Authority. UK readers will recognise the connection to the Malta iGaming industry, which is a long-standing client sector for Maltese technology firms.

Other projects have involved Malta International Airport, MAPFRE Middlesea, the Biennale and MISK Communities. For businesses planning a move, our Malta relocation guide and guide to working remotely from Malta explain the practical side, while the Malta tax guide for UK nationals and our featured partner CLA Malta cover company and tax questions. A local firm such as 8 Corporate Services can help with company administration.

Offices, location and how to start

The Maltese office is at 53 Tigne Street, Sliema SLM 3173. Sliema is a waterfront town a short ferry or bus ride from Valletta, with plenty of places to stay, listed in our guide to hotels in Sliema. A second office is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which supports the team's work in the Gulf.

Practical points are worth knowing before you call. Support for critical systems is available around the clock under a service agreement, hosting is offered for platforms the team builds, and requirements for data protection differ by sector, so they are covered during scoping. Clients outside Malta are welcome.

To begin, tell the team what you want to build, automate or grow. A first reply typically arrives within minutes, and a call can be booked with the team to scope the work. Use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to 9H Digital.