In the winter of 2023, we took our first step into the Albanian startup ecosystem. We’ve been keeping an eye on the steady growth of startup ecosystems across the Western Balkans, looking for an opportunity where we can get involved and support it in its nascent stages. So, we were excited to finally launch our first project in the region – Ecosystem Builders | Boosting the support for MSMEs in Albania.
It was just the right start – because the project’s core goal is to strengthen Albanian businesses and increase their competitiveness in the single European market. How? By building new programs and services with Business Support Organizations (BSOs) and chambers of commerce that they could offer to small businesses to provide a more efficient, sustainable support. The project supports Six Albanian organizations, with 1,400 member businesses collectively that are set to benefit from the new services developed.
So, how is it going? Let’s dive into the update.
Enabling the Chambers
The first year comprised group workshops, individual sessions, and pieces of training with enpact and industry experts. In February 2025, the participating organizations started piloting their new services. As part of the process, our team had the opportunity to join the chambers for a week in Albania to support them with telling their stories and testing their services with the entrepreneurs in their community.
Our first stop was the National Chamber of Crafts, who introduced us to jewelry designer Elda Gjikondi and pottery maker Erlind Fusha. They create handmade products and promote Albanian handicrafts, and they took the time to share their process of bringing their crafts to life with us. As part of the services piloting phase, they attended a five-session digital marketing training for craft-makers. The course covered branding, online selling, content creation, and ethical production.
Another crucial topic and important source of the regional economy is Tourism. This is particularly true in the harbor city Durres, home of the most significant Roman amphitheater in the Balkans and other historical heritage sites. In summer, its palm-lined streets buzz with travelers enjoying restaurants, hotels, and shops. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Durres (CCIDR) supports these types of businesses with enhancing their digital presence so that they are able to grow their operations and attract clients and potential partners from the EU market.
In preparation for the holiday season and busiest time of the year for its member businesses, the CCIDR conducted a series of training sessions on various aspects of digitalization, from managing social media to using AI in their operations. An important aspect was that the chamber selected only local experts to deliver these courses to ensure they are familiar with the business ecosystem and character of the region.
Not far from the picturesque shores of Durres, is an industrial area where you can see the consolidation of diverse enterprises and business sectors. One of which is the Albanian textile industry, which does not only work with well-known global brands but is also an ideal growth environment for ambitious local brands. Here, we met with the DBS group – a textile company specializing in producing sportswear, working with key global sportswear brands. Their value proposition to these brands is merchandise produced locally and ethically in Europe. DBS is a pioneering producer in Albania when it comes to employment, offering comfortable working conditions to their staff, contemporary technology, and extracurricular well-being activities. The focus of DBS on export to the EU countries is the reason for their close cooperation with yet another participating organization of our Ecosystem Builders Albania program: The Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA). AIDA is the focal organization for Albanian enterprises willing to access new markets and find partners, distributors and customers abroad.
AIDA aims to make the trademark “Made in Albania” a household name across the EU. This entails developing a digital export-readiness assessment tool and guidance for standardization in the EU single market. These tools will help Albanian businesses navigate the regulations in the EU market more efficiently and enable them to quickly identify the gaps they need to close to export to the EU countries successfully.
Engaging the Diaspora
Did you know the Albanian diaspora worldwide is over three times bigger than the country’s population? That’s the community that the Albanian Diaspora Business Chamber (ADBC) aims to leverage – with connecting diaspora and local entrepreneurs at its core -as they support enterprises to establish their businesses abroad and vice versa. Their approach to catering to their community is both personal and unique. Within our program, they recently developed an Internationalization Audit Service for export-willing fashion MSMEs.
Walking through the streets of Tirana, we noticed that fashion plays a key role in self-expression throughout the capital, something that was confirmed to us by local fashion businesses ESTELA and DETE, who are both supported through ADBC. ESTELA produces high-quality women’s apparel, while DETE creates comfortable, contemporary children’s clothes – which grew from the founder’s hobby for making clothes for her daughter in her free time.
After taking on the market in Albania, both brands are now looking into expanding to other markets by leveraging the Albanian Diaspora Business’s strong presence – with the respective Chamber’s support.
Women in entrepreneurship in Albania
Our next stop was the Women’s Economic Chamber of Albania (WECA), who focus on supporting women-led local businesses. They just launched Albania’s first mentorship program for women supporting women, which is currently in its pilot phase. Since February, six experienced mentors have guided mentees through business challenges and growth strategies. This service highlights peer exchange, knowledge sharing, and community support, as participating Founders Viola Toma and Adela Luka noted. Additionally, WECA is organizing monthly business skills expert sessions, featuring inspiring professionals like funding expert Alida Kondi and media personality Grida Duma.
The last stop on our trip was the Ipack group, a company that specializes in packaging production. We met Ipack’s founder, Julio Isufi, who identified a gap when it came to packaging waste and decided to develop local cardboard packaging products – using recycled materials for numerous clients around Albania. The Albanian Manufacturers Union (AMU) supports entrepreneurs like Julio – by advocating and lobbying for the interests of manufacturers. Digitalization, including its legal aspects and cybersecurity, is a central topic for AMU and is reflected in the services they are developing within our program. To be functional and competitive in the EU single market, Albanian producers must work on meeting the standards and regulations. Arben Shkodra, General Secretary of the AMU, has a strong vision of how the digitalization of manufacturing and cybersecurity will benefit Albanian producers. He is working with his expert team to provide regular training and info sessions alongside digital resources on the given topics.
We hope that you enjoyed this kaleidoscopic bird’ eye view of our program. Stay tuned for the premiere of our documentary series on the ecosystem in Albania, from the perspective of the project’s participants!
The program Ecosystem Builders | Boosting the support for MSMEs in Albania is implemented by enpact e.V. in collaboration with GIZ Albania, within the framework of the “Sustainable Economic and Regional Development, Employment Promotion and Vocational Education and Training – ProSEED 2.0” project, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).