Key Documents

USAID, the Embassy of Sweden in Tirana, and the Center for Economic and Business Education (CEBE Albania) are implementing a $1.435 million, 32-month project, which will establish a Tourism Investment and Finance Fund in Albania. The Fund will be a multi-partner, member-owned, nonprofit financial association that will provide capital and technical assistance to MSMEs operating in Albania’s tourism sectorThe Fund will concentrate efforts to develop the agro-tourism and eco-tourism communities in rural, and natural and protected areas.

The AgroTourism project aims to improve the living conditions of inhabitants of rural areas of Shkodra, Malësi e Madhë and Puka through employment in a sustainable and vibrant agro-tourism sector. The project will support the creation of replicable agrotourism models, providing technical assistance to six fully operational agro-tourism farms in the region. It is implemented by an Albanian NGO, CEED Albania, which provides entrepreneurs business know-how through its accelerator programs and connects participants to mentors and to a community of entrepreneurs that can help take their small businesses to next level.

People First is a 24-month human resources focused project that leverages private sector expertise to promote employability of Albanians in the tourism sector through the provision of employer-valued technical and practical trainings. The project creates partnerships between prospective employees, Vocational Training Centers, and businesses, and establish pathways for prospective employees, particularly youth and women, to gain skills and enter the workforce. The project focuses in four regions: Albania’s southern coast, Durres-Kavaja corridor, Shkodra and Albania’s northern mountains, and the Korca region including Lake Ohrid, Pogradec, and Voskopoja.

USAID seeks to strengthen Albania's financial sector stability and increase public confidence in the banking system in order to stimulate private sector growth, foreign direct investment, and job creation. Through this project, USAID activities build the Bank’s capacity to manage risks in the financial sector and within financial institutions, and enable the Financial Supervisory Authority to build capital markets as a source of non-bank finance for the private sector.

Diber: Trails and Tradition project seeks to increase employment, particularly among youth and women, and to increase incomes of Diber families involved in the tourism supply chain. The project aims to develop and promote sustainable tourism enterprises in communities in northern Albania.

SmartCapital aims to boost economic growth through access to finance and smart technologies to SME entrepreneurs. The 3-year program will mobilize a significant contribution of resources on a 1:3 basis, through innovative and market-based solutions. SmartCapital interventions will be country-wide with attention to rural and under developed areas. Growth oriented services will be delivered through sustainable practices and a wide network of partners and beneficiaries.

Albania’s government has prioritized job creation and strengthening key sectors, including tourism.

In July 2013 USAID and YSB Global Initiatives signed an MOU to enter into public-private partnerships demonstrating mutual commitment to promptly and proactively work together to further the shared goals in various countries. The key objectives of the partnership in Albania is to promote entrepreneurship and the development and growth of social businesses that effectively address the needs of low-income, vulnerable and under-served communities; develop sustainable incubation services and investment approaches that effectively support the above goal; and engage a wide range of additional organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors in the advancement of social business and other innovative approaches to fostering high impact entrepreneurship.