Albania

The following WB EDIF financial instruments are in place in Albania

WB EDIF Guarantee Facility
EIF signed an agreement with ProCredit Albania in December 2013 for a portfolio of EUR 20m, the instrument has been absorbed very well by the market.

Following the success of the first round of financing, a further envelope of EU funding was deployed via the same instrument by EIF during 2016, under the title WBEDIF Guarantee Facility II.

WBEDIF Guarantee Facility II
EIF signed an agreement with Raiffeisen Albania in December 2016 for a portfolio of EUR 17m, the instrument will start being deployed on the market in early 2017.

The following WB EDIF Support Services projects are in place in Albania

Triple Helix: this project, run by the OECD, aims to design sustainable policy frameworks for partnerships in Albania via economy-specific capacity building and implementation support projects. These are based on the three pillars of knowledge based economy (forming the triple helix structure for innovation); wealth generation (industry), knowledge creation (university) and governance of interactions (government).

The Triple Helix structure provides successful models from transition countries which form the foundation of further cooperation adapted to Albania – where there is a specific focus on Innovation Policy.

For more information please visit http://www.oecd.org/investmentcompact/triple-helix-competition-albania-kosovo.htm

Small Business Act (SBA) monitoring: this project, run by the OECD, provides a monitoring tool which allows for a transparent and comparative way of ensuring that WB EDIF’s reform priorities can create regional synergies between government and donor efforts in supporting SMEs. The upgraded SME Policy Index methodology aims to deepen the assessment, to better capture policy performance and provide more detailed recommendations for Albania.

For more information please visit: http://www.oecd.org/globalrelations/smallandmedium-sizedenterprisessmepolicyindex.htm

Road to Europe – Program of Accounting Reform And Institutional Strengthening (EU-REPARIS): this project, run by the World Bank, supports the implementation of corporate financial reporting frameworks in line with the EU standards in the countries of Southeast Europe with a view to promoting enhanced availability, transparency and reliability of financial information. Sound CFR provides systematic information to business management (better monitoring leads to greater efficiencies), supports a business environment that is conducive to access to finance, and helps reduce the burden of tax compliance. REPARIS furthermore provides essential support to beneficiary countries to help them ensure their financial reporting frameworks are in line with requirements of the EU acquis communitaire.

Venture Capital & Investment Readiness (VC-IR): this project, run by the World Bank, focuses on two areas of particular priority in Albania; namely;

1. Venture Capital: for the development of a framework for the assessment of and recommendations for reforms and a tailored technical assistance programme
2. Investment Readiness: for the design, implementation and evaluation of the pilot Western Balkans Membership Assistance Programme (MAP) and generation of a pipeline of projects to be taken up by potential investors.

Advice for Small Businesses; this project, run by the EBRD, helps SMEs to improve, grow and develop to a point where they are better able to attract investment. ASB provides direct support to SMEs in the WB economies by improving investment readiness of companies, introducing international best practices in accounting and financial management, strengthening human capital and expertise, enhancing innovation and assisting with export compliance standards, to name a few activities

For more information please visit: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/advice-for-small-businesses/albania-overview.html

Support Services management and coordination; the EIB has been nominated as the WB EDIF Support Services Manager and Coordinator; whereby it centralises and harmonises monitoring, reporting and communication strategies, as well as measuring impact and identifying delivery gaps in the market.