PRIVATE SECTOR

ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
FOR USAID/ALBANIA
B-REDI BUY-IN
REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH PROJECT

APRIL 2017
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International
Development. It was prepared by SEGURA Consulting LLC under contract AID-OAA-C-13-
00139 with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The author’s
views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States
Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
B-REDI Buy-In
Regional Economic Growth Project

PRIVATE SECTOR
ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
FOR USAID/ALBANIA

DISCLAIMER
This report was produced by SEGURA Consulting LLC under contract AID-OAA-C-13-00139 with the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The author’s views expressed in this
publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International
Development or the United States Government. Its authors would like to express their gratitude to the
USAID Mission in Albania for their support and input to this assessment.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS ......................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 6
Recommendations................................................................................................................... 6
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 8
CONTEXT / PURPOSE .......................................................................................................... 8
METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................... 8
FINDINGS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................... 12
Specific Engagement Opportunities for Individual Firms and Sector Initiatives ............. 12
Agriculture ............................................................................................................................................................. 12
Fason ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Tritex ...................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Rural Agritourism ................................................................................................................................................ 14
IT Academy ........................................................................................................................................................... 16
Use of Media in Decision-making ......................................................................................... 16
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 17
Development Impact and Business Value ....................................................................................................... 17
INTERVIEWS - Selected Public Sector Interviews of Higher Interest............................. 18
ANNEX ...................................................................................................................................... 21

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ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS
Agritourism: Agricultural tourism is a commercial enterprise at a working farm or ranch
conducted for the enjoyment and education of visitors, and that generates
supplemental income for the owner or operator. Ref. (Hilchey D. 1993.
Agritourism in New York State. Farming Alternatives Program, Department of
Rural Sociology. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.)
BIO: refers closely to organic, naturally grown produce without non-organic
fertilizers and pesticides.
BSO: Business Service Organizations - This term used here encompasses all for-profit,
non-profit, donor or government business service associations and training
providers.
CDCS: Country Development Cooperation Strategy
COP: Chief of Party
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
DA: Development Alliance - A DA is a specific type of public-private partnership
whereby USAID works with private sector partners to advance mutual interests
and increase the impact of development investments. The public-private
partnerships referred to this report are all DAs.
EDS: Albanian non-profit that organizes and support cultural, sports and scientific
activities at national and local level.
EU: European Union
FDI: Foreign Direct Investment
GAP: Good Agricultural Practices
Impact: The term "impact" refers to significant change or progress that occurs over time
as a result of or following a series of activities, outputs and intermediate
outcomes.
Indicator: A measure of progress, typically numeric or otherwise quantifiable. In this
report, "indicator" and "metric" are used interchangeably.
Investment: The term "investment" is used broadly in this report and refers to contribution
of both financial and non-financial resources with an expected return – financial
or otherwise.
IPA: European Union assistance program for pre-accession countries.
KPI: Key Performance Indicators
Market-based: The term "market-based" is used to refer to programs and approaches that
incorporate markets, commercial products and services, business models and
other forms of commercial activity - formal or informal - as means of achieving
development progress.
Mission: USAID/Albania

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MOU: Memorandum of understanding
Outcome: The term "outcome" is used specifically to reflect near-term changes in status,
condition or behavior. Outcomes follow execution of activities and production
of outputs; outcomes are predicates to longer-term development progress or
impact.
Output: The term "output" refers to the tangible product of a process or activity.
Private Sector: The term private sector generally refers to for-profit entities as well as
nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions.
However, in this report, only alliances that included for-profit entities
(companies or businesses) were assessed and, as such, “private sector partners”
is used to refer only to for-profit entities. These entities may be of any size and
were both local and multi-national.
PSE: Private Sector Engagement
QC: Quality Control
Sustainability: In this paper, the terms "sustainability," "sustained" and "sustaining" refer not to
environmental issues but rather to the likelihood and ability that a development
outcome will prevail or continue beyond the scope of a donor or aid-sponsored
project.
TA: Technical Assistance
TVET: Technical and Vocational Education and Training
USAID: United States Agency for International Development
USG: United States Government
USPC: United States Peace Corps
Value: This report focuses on value from the USAID perspective: benefit derived from
using the alliance approach that enhances development outcomes.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The main goal of the Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Assessment is to locate active companies, groups
of companies, or Business Service Organizations (BSOs) that are considering private sector engagement
in Albania. Additionally, our aim is to identify their planned budgets for upstream and downstream PSE
among other topics and sector(s).
Our team began this rapid assessment work in early November 2016 and completed field visits by late
February 2017 based on a desired completion date of April 2017 for a final draft and a final assessment
report. Our team consisted of a local Albanian firm and a regionally based team leader who made two
visits to Albania.
A total of 48 interviews were conducted with private sector companies, BSOs, donor programs, and
local government offices. The results from these interviews with the highest potential for alliances with
USAID are listed in the chart below. We listed the companies and project model concepts with the best
probability based on combined business operations, organized training or service to the employees or
suppliers within their sector(s), and a reported desire to forge a strategic alliance with USAID. The
entities with the lowest rankings reported only normal business functions with little to no PSE outside of
normal operations.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Strategic Alliance Opportunities – based on company PSE contributions to their sector. During planning
meetings with USAID, they asked for us to provide recommendations to engage with companies
through strategic sectors or sub-sectors of the business economy. Given the differences in sectors, it is
highly unlikely for USAID to engage in sectors related to mining/extraction, petrochemicals, insurance
and financial services, construction, and some others. The conclusions below will attempt to support the
following recommendations in sectors and sub-sectors agreed with by USAID/Albania in March.
Ranking System Sectors or sub-sectors and companies with high partnership potential are listed below:
Sectors – Sub-Sectors Partnership Potential
Agriculture - IT High
Fason - garment/shoe production High
Rural Agritourism High
IT – programming education High
Additional recommended Partnership Potential
Vodafone – Ag Portal Sharing High
Relikaj Ltd. – Sage, Herbs High
Olive oil model High
Mrizi i Zanave Agriturizëm High
Tamarë TBD
Ikubinfo – IT Academy High

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Highest:
Agriculture: – Long term approach: Establishment of a classical value chain development program;
 Vodafone Albania would appreciate cooperating with USAID with the Agroweb project (an
agribusiness program financed by USAID) linking it with their web project Agr.al.
 Relikaj Ltd. Company is a natural herb processing and export company. It is among the leading
export companies for sage in Albania. Other herbs are sustainably gathered from the wild, and
medicinal herbs can be used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry in addition to the
culinary industry. The owners have prior experience with USAID programs and would enjoy
additional assistance to further improve the harvesting and handling and to approach the US
market.
 Olive oil factories – we describe opportunities where technical assistance and promotions could
have substantial impact in a sub-sector where an internationally recognized Albanian firm,
Shkalla, already demonstrates potential.
Fason
 Moving from a low cost, workforce usage sector largely limited to sewing to a complete textile
development sector approach.
 Another value chain development model that would create and promote a “Made in Albania”
identification and labels along with encouragement assistance to register more firms that
continue to operate in the grey economy.
 Upgrade the workforce and add more processing to claim more value-added production in
Albania until local designers are better positioned to capture local and European market share.
Agritourism:
 A private sector community development initiative for the adoption of a village that is located
strategically on a high traffic tourist trail. Through long-term technical assistance in coordination
with other donors, USAID could adopt a village making it a model for other villages to follow.
Specific tasks would be to provide hands-on guidance to improve the quality of the guesthouses,
maintenance, infrastructure, garbage collection and handling, guidance to the mayor and village
leaders to attract funds from the national government, a village info webpage and links with
tourist websites, promotion of local foods and recipes, and maintaining the originality of the
village while upgrading the cleanliness and overall tourist services. Potential technical assistance
partners include: The Peace Corps, executive volunteers, diaspora, and other donors.
IT: Training Academy led by a successful established business – ikubINFO
Lowest Potential: These include the extraction industry, construction, financial/insurance, and
government/public sectors. We did find one excellent example of CSR from Antea (Titan Greece)
Cement that serves as a model for future CSR initiatives in Albania. A complete list of interviews with
details can be found in the annex.

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INTRODUCTION
CONTEXT / PURPOSE
This assessment report aims to assist the new project design guidance as it underscores the need for
active engagement of partners, including the country government and the private sector. Private Sector
Engagement is a critical element within USAID’s development model as it seeks to increase the number
of partnerships with the U.S., foreign, and local private corporations and in the process, contributes to
the sustainability of USAID initiatives.
During our interview, introductions, and discussions, PSE was described using USAID materials because
PSE means different things to different people. The assessment team used examples showing that USAID
maintains alliances with multinationals such as Cargill or Starbucks, who have aligned business interests
in several countries where USAID also works. Some see it as engaging with corporations like Coca-Cola
or Exxon, or their foundations that have corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives not directly
related to their country business activities. Others see it as an opportunity to empower local businesses
by integrating them into the development projects.

METHODOLOGY
In addition to reviewing relevant documentation provided by the Mission, the Assessment Team used
stakeholder (group and individual) meetings as a means of gathering data. The assessment was
conducted consistent with current USAID assessment guidelines. Rapid appraisal techniques (e.g. key
informant interviews with site observations) were used conducting the assessment. The Assessment
Team developed an appropriate methodology and work plan/schedule to address the scope of work.
Prior to the Field visits, the Mission provided the assessment team with pertinent background
information on expectations. Upon arrival, an initial briefing was held on November 22, 2016 with
USAID staff and a work plan was presented for information collection, assessment analysis, reports,
briefings, and follow-ups. An exit interview with the USAID/Albania team including Representative
Catherine Johnson, Dennis Wesner, and Zhaneta Shatri, was made on March 15, 2017. At this meeting,
it was agreed that a draft Assessment Report will be submitted o/a March 31, 2017 with final completion
for the purposes of final editing, formatting and branding in April 2017. The Assessment Team will work
closely with, and receive direction from the relevant USAID/Albania teams and Filip Stoyanovich, the
REG COP for SEGURA Consulting.
Key activities within the Desk Study included:
 Review of the relevant documentation on all sectors (not including tourism) and opportunity
areas in Albania. These will range from publically available documents to materials sourced from
the Mission and other development partners.
 A review of documentation and knowledge products from across the Agency and other
development partners on PSE models and approaches worldwide that may applicable to the
Albanian sector context.
 Limited interviews with USAID/Albania, USAID/Washington Bureaus and Offices, and selected
implementing partners, in close coordination with the USAID/Albania Program Office and
technical teams.
Assessment Questions

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The Assessment Team discussed the following questions with the Mission and will address, among
others, the following issues and questions when designing the one-on-one interview questionnaire:
Internal (Private Sector) Questions:
 What are the major business sectors that show potential for growth and investment in the next
3-5 years?
 Do any of these sectors face barriers or challenges? If so, what are they?
 What are the particular business challenges/concerns that the private sector would like help in
addressing, particularly with regard to scale and sustainability? What CSR issues are important
to companies and can USAID help companies address those issues?
 What resources (investment, technology, expertise, etc.) might the private sector bring to bear
in addressing these development challenges/concerns? What resources could USAID bring to
bear?
 What are major potential private sector partners for USAID going forward in building alliances
and why?
 Within the private sector, what are the major Albanian potential partners?
 Within the private sector, what are the major multinational potential partners?
 What are the major constraints currently inhibiting engagements with identified potential
partners if any, and why?
 What is the experience of identified businesses in addressing development issues or engaging in
corporate social responsibility, particularly in regard to those development objectives already
identified by USAID?
 What types of strategies, interventions, and approaches might the Mission wish to consider
deploying within its CDCS and subsequent programs to de-risk, incentivize, and facilitate private
sector investment and action in these areas?
 Potential Areas for USAID/Albania Engagement?
 Potential PSE Engagement Models and Strategies?
External (Private Sector) Questions:
Three Key Questions
Within the suggested opportunity areas, and based on available information, the desk study will answer
the following questions:
1) What is the private sector already doing in these sectors that might align with USAID/Albania’s
priority objectives?
2) What roles could USAID/Albania play in working with the private sector to unlock the potential
within these opportunity areas?
3) How can USAID/Albania position itself in order to best leverage private sector engagement to
increase impact within target sectors and opportunity areas?
4) Independent media is a big issue for the USG, and I think it would be great to know how the
private sector views the news media in Albania. Do they use it for decision-making or planning?
Do they subscribe to any media outlets? If yes, which ones?
Other Questions used at the discretion of the interviewer that were designed to facilitate
conversation in the interviews
 Have you ever received Government subsidies for your production, technology upgrade,
innovation, training, etc.? Rate their availability. Define problems, problem causes, and
suggestions for improvement.

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  Have you ever received donor support? If yes, for what? Did you get financing guaranteed or
supported by USAID (including bank credits)?
 Have you ever participated on your own or by co-funding in any training, specialization, and
certification processes?
 Have you ever organized trainings, specializations or workshops for your employees? Your
clients? Your suppliers?
 When you have re-invested in your company, what has it been for office, technology /
machinery, staff, suppliers, etc.?
 If you could provide assistance to your suppliers that would be mutually beneficial, how would
you do it? Elaborate on the needs. Get them to describe the entire process, costs, timeline to
implement, expected results - quantified, barriers and/or challenges (Problems, problem causes,
suggestions for improvement).
 What is your budget for this year activities for suppliers, workforce development?
 How would you describe the level of technology use in your sector? Have advanced technology
practices been introduced to the sector? Discuss current levels of innovation in the value chain,
transfer of technology, gaps, compare to region and get them to discuss Problems, problem
causes, and suggestions for improvement.
 What is their level of integration and position of local companies in the regional (or global)
Value Chain? Do you consider yourself a leader, in the middle or below?
 Do they outsource a significant portion of their work? Would it be more efficient to outsource
any of the work? Alternatively, would it be better to cease outsourcing and perform that work
in house?
 How efficiently is your workforce in use of special technology? What other technologies are
available that you are not using? Which technologies could be used with your suppliers or
buyers, to improve your work with them?
 Rate the level of satisfaction of skilled workers provided by educational institutions? How could
you work together with educational institutions to improve skills and knowledge your sector
requires?
 What are the companies doing with regards to PSE including CSR?
 Can you share with us your thoughts about how you might see a working alliance with USAID?
 What would be the roles and responsibilities of each party in the alliance?
Interview Targets
The target of the Assessment Team was to conduct not less than 30 face-to-face interviews from
principals of private sector businesses distributed throughout the main business sectors in Albania.
Definition of sectors /companies
According to the economic profiles at the Albanian Ministry of Economy, companies extracting natural
resources and those utilizing low cost labor generate 90 percent of Albanian exports. The assessment
team decided to include in the list of potential interviewees those companies that are producing
economic activities in a) the sectors that are creating more value added and b) are based in innovative
sectors.
The Interviews
During November 2016, the Assessment Team wrote emails to a selection of companies across the
industry sectors describing the scope of the interviews along with the background of the project.
Unfortunately, the number of replies was very low.

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To aid in reaching more interviewees, the team met with Business Associations operating in the sectors
of the selected companies to be interviewed. This included the Albanian Chamber of Commerce,
Business Association “Business Albania”, Business Association “Konfindustria” and the Council of Agro
business. The team also consulted with the American and Albanian Chambers of Commerce. These
private business institutions facilitated the contacts of our team with the businesses.
Overall, more than 50 interviews were conducted with many more visits and consultations. The results
of the business interviews are presented in the annex along with a matrix.
Observed Opportunity constraints stated by most interviewees:
 Most interviewed companies described the discrepancies in business needs and skills provided
by educational institutions. Despite the VET programs, a majority of young adults do not possess
the skills needed by employers. (Please see the interview with Ms. Silva Banushi, General
Director of Education and Vocational Training at the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth at the
end of the next section - IV. Findings.)

 None of the companies interviewed claimed that the media has any significant impact in their
decision-making. Certain events that are publicized in the media – particularly regarding
government instability -- do create uncertainty and potentially impact their long-term strategic
planning.

 Few companies understood that USAID operates beyond public sector or policy assistance,
which impacted their ability to describe how a strategic relationship could exist.

 Few companies had defined CSR policies, which are mainly located within their marketing
department and budget. (An exception is Antea Cement – Titan, where CSR is located within
HR department.) There is an Albanian CSR Network with members and more details in the
annex.

 Most CSR-related funds are provided to sports and related team funding, as well as more typical
charitable donations typically related to catastrophic events.

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FINDINGS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS
SPECIFIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL FIRMS AND
SECTOR INITIATIVES

Agriculture
1) Vodafone Albania
Vodafone Albania would appreciate cooperating with USAID with the Agroweb project (an agribusiness
program financed by USAID) linking it with their web project Agr.al.
Agroweb.org intends to change the reader’s way of thinking, making clear that agriculture is the
backbone of Albanian economy and our everyday life. Agroweb.org is part of AgroCapital, an
agribusiness program financed by USAID and implemented by CBS, generating economic growth for the
agriculture sector through access to capital and strengthening of agribusiness entrepreneurship ability.
Agr.al is a unique platform of its kind, dedicated entirely to agriculture and livestock. This project is
financed by Vodafone Albania Foundation, EDS foundation and Streha.
Agr.al Fresh is a project with the aim to restore the broken link between farmers and consumers. Since
most consumers purchase products with unknown origins in stores or in the nearest market, their
webpage offers consumers a better choice. The boxes of fresh product ordered online from agr.al
contain the ideal quantity for a family’s weekly consumption, with fresh, seasonal products directly from
local farmers. Everyone will not only get quality products, but will also support a community of local
farmers.
For producers, this is a good opportunity to advertise their products on the Internet, an environment
that certainly had not been imagined before, or had simply not been considered.
The second and later goal is to reach the international market. Working with farmers' associations and
interested companies, agr.al wants to attract foreign buyers to the Albanian produce market. Bio
products and competitive prices are the primary factors that can increase interest from countries in the
region and beyond after GAP (good agricultural practices) and BIO certifications are in place.
The important thing is that all this is carried out in direct contact between producers and buyers; ideally
without intermediaries and without added commissions.
2) Relikaj Ltd. (Medicinal herbs)
Relikaj began twenty years ago and continues to add value to a myriad of products gathered from the
wild and processed in their facilities. They perform collecting, sorting, cleaning, drying, and bulk sales of
a wide range of natural medicinal plants and herbs used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and culinary
industries.
Despite some improvements, Relikaj is still not equipped to respond to more robust international trade
opportunities and they need more technical assistance to enhance the growth of their business,
improvements to the processing lines, and to increase sales in more export markets including the USA.
A USAID program could provide targeted technical assistance to farmers and gatherers along with
Relikaj, which contributes to increased competitiveness, economic growth, stability, and access to
finance. USAID could provide technical assistance to help raise the farmers’ product quality to
internationally recognized standards. With help and guidance, the collective herb farmers and gatherers
would be able to comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations including sanitary and

12
phytosanitary certificates indicating that its goods do not contain living pests and obtain certified Global
GAP producer compliance with global agriculture product certification standards.
Relikaj has made significant investments into their business in order to raise funds to purchase and
integrate modern technologies into their production lines. Production line workers also need training on
handling techniques to be compliant with Global GAP standards. They represent the linkage that farmers
and gatherers rely on to access the markets.
3) Olive oil factories (Agribusiness)
Representatives of the olive oil association believe that one of the following ideas would be a good
opportunity for cooperation with USAID.
a) Establish the branding of Albanian products "MADE IN ALBANIA" according to some set
exporting standards, including a logo and representative bottle for Albanian olive oil of high
quality -- regardless of the factories in which it was produced.

b) Develop policies for marketing of high quality Albanian olive oil.

c) Conduct a revitalization of olive traditions by connecting agro-tourism with agribusiness. A good

idea would be to take a village with historical elements and agribusiness elements and turn into a
tourist village (pilot project) in which tourists can find different products under the logo MADE
IN ALBANIA.

d) A good option would be the creation of two-year training course for specialists in the field for
agro-technical services.

e) Creation and guidance of working groups composed of all specialists for thorough treatment of
olive groves. This will reduce production costs, it will ensure the highest productivity of olive
groves in a year and will increase employment opportunities in this sector.
One small Albanian olive oil producer, Shkalla, received international recognition for the quality of their
olive oils. Following their positive example, other companies can be assisted to compete in this lucrative
world market.

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Fason

Tritex
The active processing industry fason is one of the main generators of employment in the country
through the relatively low cost workforce. Textiles and footwear companies cover over 20% of the total
number of employees in Albania. Currently, the fason industry works with ordered materials where only
a part of the production process is performed in Albania. The stakeholder companies in this industry
aim to add links to the value chain. This includes designs through all stages of production to the final
boxed product and export of products that include the "MADE IN ALBANIA" label to the international
market. Adding these production links along with the "MADE IN ALBANIA" logo will have a significant
impact on the economic growth in this sector provided businesses can alleviate the shortage of a skilled,
trained workforce.
From an interview with the company, Tritex, they are in negotiations with some of the well-known
companies of high-end clothing production in Italy to relocate the entire production chain in Albania. To
produce clothing for the top brands, Tritex must be able to deliver on the following demands
consistently:
a) Mindset;
b) Full design details including measurements, fabrics, printing techniques, and supporting images
for the garments
c) Sourcing all materials, fabrics, and accessories
d) Patterns, sampling and size grading
e) Preparation for mass manufacturing
f) Mass manufacturing and quality control
g) Shipping
Due to the lack of qualified workforce in every step of this process, Tritex aims to open a training
center for the potential workforce in their specific fields. Many of these trained workers will work for
Tritex with many others working for other companies in the sector. The partnership assistance of
USAID in this initiative will serve not only in increasing the capacity of the workforce of Tritex, but the
whole fason sector bringing economic growth through added value for the Albanian economy as a
whole.
USAID could encourage fason industry leaders along with municipal governments to contribute to the
establishment of localized workforce development training centers. The centers could be housed in
buildings provided by local governments with training equipment and trainers being provided by the
companies in cooperation with USAID. Financial assistance to support loan guarantees would also be
advantageous to encourage companies to make larger investments into equipment needed to close the
production chain being less reliant on producers in Italy.

Rural Agritourism
A good example of agritourism in Albania is a restaurant with its farm, vineyard, and vegetable garden,
its own olive plantation, delicious wine, lovely nature of the countryside with historic significance sets
the ground for a unique experience for many visitors. One such example is Mrizi I Zanave in village
Fishte of Zadrima commune in the northern part of Albania. Apart from historical significance, it also
sets a fine example of a newborn social-economical tourism pattern in traditional Albanian gastronomy.
The food in Mrizi I Zanave is delicious, a modern touch spicing up local tradition. Food consumed locally
claims to be 100% BIO and 100% Albanian. Freshly picked vegetables from the garden, cooked and
served on ceramic plates from a nearby ceramic business, dairy products such as goat or cow cheese

14
processed by the restaurant staff, country ham preserved in their basement, red Kallmet wine from the
local vineyards, local fruit desserts, create an authentic dining experience even for the locals.
Agritourism is not widespread in Albania although people are becoming more interested in knowing
how their food is produced and what food they consume. Honey and wine tasting, learning about cheese
making, picking fruits or vegetables, or shopping for local handcrafted gifts can add value to every local
culinary business. These are simple ideas, which can add value to a business but also represent the
cultural highlights of such localities. This modern form of intra-cooperation between local businesses in
building sustainable agritourism can lead to an increased interest in the quality of regional products, as
well as awareness and replicating such business models in other parts of the country.
Agritourism contributes to the evolution of the local cultural and social infrastructure in rural areas. A
paradox exists, though, where local producers of wool products, i.e. clothing, rugs, blankets, works of
art, pollute the environment due to practices that are not up to modern standards.
A positive aspect is the engagement of women in the manufacturing of fine crafts sold on the Western
market. Women are increasingly involved in providing sustenance for their families, continuing this
tradition individually. One of the challenges they face are difficulties reaching potential markets due to
extremely low volumes of production. Only when women and girls can work together to produce large
amounts of handicrafts, their products may find buyers at markets within and outside the country. A
good example is the return to the Albanian tradition of artisan processing of wool in the village “Asim
Zeneli.” "Artisans of Antigone" is a revival of the craft project with loom processing of wool. This
project resulted in is the employment of 20 women and girls from the village and an increase in income
of the community due to higher prices of the wool from goats and sale of handicraft products
domestically and abroad.
In rural Albania, there is ample motivation to find potentially viable alternatives though few have the
experience to take the steps necessary for tangible results. It takes local leadership to enable the villages
to utilize their human and natural resources in new ways and to access the urban consumer market that
lies within 90-minutes of Mrizi I Zanave, for agritourism. Mrizi I Zanave and Antigonea both provide a
template for emulation in other similarly culturally-rich areas and show the economic/social potential for
agritourism to provide support for sustainable rural development. Agritourism can be an effective tool
to educate consumers about local agriculture, its issues and its importance for the country's economy
and quality of life. Agritourism also showcases the diversity and uniqueness of local agri-culture, thereby
increasing the visibility and the appeal of locally grown products. This may result in regional marketing
programs and public-private partnerships that can support and sustain agriculture and the economic and
environmental diversity of Albania.
USAID could sponsor an organization to help create an environment of local cooperation from village
stakeholders. Promotional efforts could include "Press Days" where members of the media are hosted in
the guesthouses as well as creative targeting of urban consumers. Future attractions could include art
and music festivals. Each year an updated booklet with local listings could be distributed as an insert in
newspapers in Tirana and in other rural tourism guides in Europe.
Additionally, USAID could provide assistance to local villages in leading and training on how to survey
guests (age, household income ethnic origin, gender, education levels, and percentage who are returning
visitors) to determine how best to market village offerings. Additional survey data could include tracking
of expenditures by food and drinks, overnight lodging, recreation activities, fuel/diesel, groceries for
home, others. These data will be used to track the economic benefits and impacts along with trends for
future planning. (Since Albanians are generally not willing to share their financial incomes or worth,
knowing what vehicle they drive combined with the distance they traveled combined with local
expenditures can help guide locals on how valued a day or weekend away is to guests and particularly
returning guests.)

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To further the village tourism idea, USAID could consider concentrating its efforts with a village that is
located strategically on the higher traffic tourist trails, like “Mrizi i Zanave Agriturizëm” (90 minutes
from Tirana) and Tamarë (three hours from Tirana). In coordination with the local government and
prominent business owners, USAID could use funds to match the development efforts identified by the
local stakeholders and for technical assistance with local level assistance provided by USPC and
executive service corps volunteers. The embedded USPC community development volunteers would
provide the local long-term assistance with executive volunteers providing short-term assistance
combined with off-site advice. Given the serene beauty and security in Albania, identifying willing
volunteers should not prove to be difficult.

IT Academy
ikubINFO
The "ikubINFO Academy" is a 3-6 month training program for students, through which the company
aims to develop the programming skills of candidates with methodologies and technologies that are
considered “state-of-the-art” in the global software development industry. The company is assisting
students with the expertise of its best specialists during the professional development process and
provides them with studying premises and all other necessary materials indispensable for the respective
professional development. While this activity is ongoing, ikubINFO can readily train 20-30 IT students in
each program, while they typically cannot hire more than 6-8 of those students. The remaining students
who successfully pass the program are assisted to gain employment by other Albanian IT firms.
Cost sharing the expenses with USAID would enable ikubINFO to train more students while adding
advanced courses for follow-on training – as demand improves in the maturing IT sector. Co-sponsoring
IT-related Career Fairs with IT firms at the conclusion of the training programs allows students to
compete to attract offers of employment from the interested firms.

USE OF MEDIA IN DECISION-MAKING

Throughout the questionnaire, 52 companies were asked regarding the role of media in the private
sector development in Albania.

This question was composed of three sub questions:

 How the media is perceived by the private sector in Albania?

 Do companies use the media in their process of decision making and planning?

 Is your company registered in any of the 'media outlets' (newspaper, magazine radio, television
or internet)?

Most of the answers relating to the first sub question consider the media as a ‘good’ influence in the
private sector. The media in Albania focuses mostly on issues related to politics and actually contains
little economic-related analysis.

The replies to the second sub question are that none of the companies interviewed use the media
during the process of decision-making and planning. The companies reported using printed, visual and
social media mainly to advertise their products and to obtain general information.

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The companies perceive the media as only having an informational role that company representatives
tend to seek and receive information that relates to their own interests. Government bodies and other
economic stakeholders influence most media sources and the media present information biased towards
those groups. Lastly, in many cases, these media are used as opposing groups in order to display an
interfering role in an attempt to control public opinion.

The responses to sub question three are that all 52 companies interviewed have websites and they are
using their websites as a source of advertisement and communications with their customers and
business partners. The companies with larger advertising budgets actively use television and radio to
advertise their products and services and only the business associations that we spoke to have
subscriptions in the economic magazine, Monitor.

CONCLUSION
The assessment team remains available for further clarification of the report contents. A complete list of
the 52 people at meetings along with 48 detailed interviews is located in the report annex to the
assessment, along with a desk study on PSE and a list of all entities considered for interviews. Below is a
brief list of impact and value-based indicators to guide the development of future economic development
programs.

Development Impact and Business Value

Examples of Development Impact:
 Improved economic livelihoods
 Improved local governance
 Increases in new long-term jobs
Examples of Business Value
 Improved supply chain
 Access to new markets
 More productive workforce
 Addressing business environment
 Improved publich relations
 Fulfillment of CSR objectives

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INTERVIEWS - SELECTED PUBLIC SECTOR INTERVIEWS OF HIGHER
INTEREST
Sonja Popa
General Director of Tourism Development
Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship
In October 2015 the new law no. 93/2015 “For Tourism” entered into force, which supports sustainable
tourism development. This law defines three main touristic sectors, which consist of Accommodation
sector, Tour operators and travel agencies and tourist guides. Ms. Popa gives USAID credit for having a
significant impact in this law even though it came about roughly ten-years after USAID provided
assistance.
In the accommodation sector, the law strictly defines the categories of the accommodation structures
according to a specific system. After entry into force of the law, each accommodation structure is
obliged to undergo the process of classification defined by the DCM no. 730 “On approval of the
regulation for the conditions, requirements, fees, terms and procedure for classification of
accommodation facilities.”
A specific commission in the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship
evaluates and classifies the hotels according to criteria defined by law. Private evaluators subcontracted
by the Ministry make the field assessments of hotels. In the future this evaluation should be transferred
to a specific association.
The law also defines some specific standards that should be fulfilled to become a tourist guide. National
Association of Tourist Guides of Albania (NATGA) is part of World Federation of Tourist Guide
Associations, which is the largest entity in this sector. There are a number of criteria defined by law for
becoming a certified tourist guide. NATGA needs to be bigger and stronger to better defend the needs
of the sector.
Areas in which the tourism sector needs intervention:
 Assistance in tourism consultancy
 Training of the staff in the accommodation system for the practical part of the sector
 Making campaigns or pilot projects for increasing the ecofriendly approach by arising awareness
 Must be established a proper Association of hotels to better address the needs of the sector
 Promotion of tourism- There is a National Agency of Tourism that deals with the promotion of
the tourism in Albania by taking part in various International Fairs and organizing different events
in this sector. The main problem in this sector consists of selling something we do not have as
the demand in the tourism sector is growing rapidly whereas the supply is in its first steps and
needs to be improved.
Another concern for the Ministry are the foreign tourist guides, which are operating in Albania and are
interpreting our history by their own interests.
It has been established the Tourism Inspectorate within the Ministry of Economic Development,
Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship, which is responsible for quality and standards of the services. A
good way to achieve the objectives would be the partnership of the inspectorate with Tour guides for
information and report of problems or things that are not done correctly.

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Ms. Silva Banushi
General Director of Education and Vocational Training, Ministry of Social Welfare & Youth
In 2015, the vocational education has been passed under the competences of Ministry of Social Welfare
and Youth. The main goal of this department is to identify the needs of the labor market, preparing
students for the labor market and the linkage of education with employment and labor market.
During the past years, the reform of vocational schools by concentrating them in number and in the
focus they have. Also, it entered into force the new law, which regulates the functioning and
organization of these schools. All vocational schools are equipped with laboratories and needed
equipment. There have been created school boards with the chairman a representative from one of the
biggest businesses in the country. In the near future, it is planned to create a special unit that will be part
of the board and will carry out the business-school connection.
Various donors have supported vocational schools by twinning with schools of the same nature in
neighboring countries, to exchange experiences, curriculum, teachers and students. In the vocational
school in Durres have come teachers from their twinning schools to teach open lessons. One of the
largest donors is the Swiss government through the UNDP and the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation. Other donors are the German Government through GIZ, the Italian Government, etc.
There are no projects supported by USAID in support to vocational schools.
There have been created the first schools of excellence with support from the state budget. These
schools are pilot projects as a model on how vocational schools should function. Also, the Agency of
Curriculum was created within the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth, which prepares curricula for
36 vocational schools and 10 vocational training centers. These centers offer courses and training for 40
professions. In 2016, according to the Order of the Prime Minister’s Office, these courses are opened
only in certain areas according to the private sector demand. There was an increase in the demand for
these courses that were noticed during the last year with an increase of 200% of the demand in these
courses and training. Even businesses lead their employees to attend these courses after work to further
qualifications. These courses are in without payment for Citizens registered as unemployed at the Labor
Office. For the reduction of the unemployment rate and the informal sector, the new law removes the
right for the unemployment people receiving jobless assistance in case of rejection of a job offered by
the employment office accompanied by free corresponding training for this position.
One of the pillars on which is supported Training and Employment strategy 2015-2020 is education and
professional training. This strategy provides the establishment of multifunctional centers that serve to
every person regardless of age, gender, employment, etc. These centers are designed to take
qualifications and to update knowledge of certain areas. The opening of these centers located in
Shkodra, Elbasan, Fier and Kamza are supported by IPA projects.
Directory of Education and Vocational Training has updated and formatted the list of professions. They
have also conducted many studies and analysis supported by various donors to make the reform of
vocational education. Each year is realized the market analysis to identify needs, new curricula, etc. This
directory also organizes events and fairs for the promotion of vocational schools, with the participation
of pupils, parents and businesses.
One innovation is the creation of the “Chamber of Crafts” that will help in the well-functioning of the
labor market in this sector. Another innovation in the new law is the use of products made by school
pupils for benefits of the school. These schools offer two types of certificates; one for first level and
second specialist, which is obtained after two years of study at vocational high school and high level
certificate together with high school diploma after completion of the complete cycle of four years of
vocational school. Finally, vocational training centers offer free courses for immigrants who return to
work and stay in their country.

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With the support of GIZ has been completed the training of the directors and accountants in all
professional schools of the country. The process of training the teachers and trainers has just begun.
The challenges that the Ministry is facing are:
 Increasing the quality of vocational schools. Indicators of measuring quality are school buildings,
laboratories and teaching quality of the teachers.
 Creation of a dual system, which consists of a semi school-semi practical work. The challenge is
adaptation of this model to the conditions of Albania.

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ANNEX

1. Private Sector Engagement Desk Research

2. Interviews and Meetings List Summary
3. All Formal Interviews Conducted
4. List of Albanian Companies Grouped by their Activities
5. List of Albanian Companies Grouped by Revenues with Locations
6. Business Sector Matrix of Interviewed Companies
7. Albanian CSR Network

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