20 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP IN ECONOMIC GROWTH BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR GROWTH
SUPPORTING THE GROWTH AND COMPETITVENESS OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES •
• In 1995, the United States Government provided the Albanian American Enterprise Fund’s (AAEF) initial capital of $30 million to enhance the development of the Albanian private sector. Since its establishment, AAEF has invested nearly $62 million in various sectors of the Albanian economy, including the creation of the American Bank of Albania and the modernization of the Mother Teresa International Airport. In 2009, AAEF established the Albanian-American Development Foundation, with initial assets worth over $100 million, to support investments in private enterprise, leadership capacity-building, cultural tourism and ecotourism. • In 1992, USAID established Albania’s first accredited Masters of Business Administration Program at the University of Tirana. USAID’s program provided over 100,000 university textbooks, and the first MBA class graduated in 1998. In 2001, the university partnership expanded to develop an accredited Masters in Public Administration (MPA) Program.
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Between 2003-2008, USAID’s Enterprise Development and Export Market project worked with over 150 businesses in tourism; fresh and processed fruits and vegetables; meat processing; olive oil; and herbs and spices sectors. Between 2006-2008, USAID played a direct role in generating export revenues exceeding $28 million, spurred by client companies’ investments of over $12 million to improve their production capacity, sales and marketing expertise, and overall product quality. In partnership with the American Land O’ Lakes company, USAID helped improve Albania’s dairy industry. USAID supported a network of 12,000 Albanian farmers and dairy processors trained in product development, milk collection, business management, hygiene and sanitation to improve the safety and quality of Albanian milk products. In 2003, the industry adopted a “Seal of Quality” certification for its members aimed to increase the safety and sales of domestic dairy and meat products. From 2002 to 2007, USAID’s Small Business and Credit Assistance project provided direct business financing and one-on-one advice and technical assistance to more than 4,000 businesses throughout Albania.
Developing a More ROBUST FINANCIAL SECTOR • USAID’s new Financial Sector Assistance Program will continue to strengthen Albania’s banking sector through work with the Bank of Albania and Albania’s Financial Supervisory Authority to build the capacity to better manage risk. • A USAID-funded loan guarantee for SME Lending (20052019) supports lending to enterprises. USAID established a $12 million loan portfolio agreement with Raiffeisen Bank that reduces the risk to loan to businesses, supports enterprise development and growth, and facilitates market opening.
Increasing PRIVATE SECTOR COMPETITIVENESS •
AGRICULTURE RESTRUCTURING •
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Between March & June 1992, USAID sent two 10,000ton shiploads of emergency fertilizer materials from the United States that were distributed to 125 private dealers. Assistance continued to build the capacity of private dealers, and by the end of 1994, private dealers had imported 36,000 metric tons of nitrogenous fertilizer, bearing all costs with the assistance of commercial credit from Albanian banks. These imports represented 64% of all fertilizer used in Albania in 1994. In 1993, USAID helped establish the Albanian Fertilizer and Dealers Association (AFADA) that included the major importers and dealers of agriculture inputs in Albania. USAID’s support to the development of a sustainable restructured fertilizer subsector in Albania (1992-98) established an effective institutional foundation to improve the competitiveness of Albanian agribusiness enterprises. Between 1994-1999, USAID’s Supporting Agricultural Restructuring in Albania program supported the development of Albania’s agriculture policies based on agriculture statistics and supported the agrarian economics faculty at the Agriculture University of Tirana. The project validated the new methodology of agriculture statistics in Albania.
The
STRENGTHENING ALBANIA’S PRIVATE FINANCIAL SECTOR
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1990s
USAID joined other donors in supporting the winding down of the pyramid schemes, with the intent of liquidating assets and distributing proceeds to depositors. Beneficiaries included foreign investors wishing to do business in Albania and all depositors, borrowers and entrepreneurs who rely on the banking system. In 2002, USAID in partnership with BKT established the loan guarantee to stimulate lending to businesses working in the agricultural and small manufacturing sector of Albania. Through USAID’s five-year, $750,000 loan guarantee program, BKT leveraged almost 184 loans disbursing a total $5.3 million to SMEs throughout Albania. These small business loans had a very low rate of default. With USAID support, Partneri Shqiptar ne Mikrokredi (PSHM), became the first private financial non-banking institution offering financial services in northeast Albania, and to businesses that were unable to borrow from the traditional banking system. Over 10% of PSHM’s lending reached the minority Roma community. In 2008, PSHM registered as the micro lending institution, Opportunity Albania. Since 1999, USAID and the Financial Services Volunteer Corps helped strengthen the supervisory function of the Bank of Albania, the Albanian Deposit Insurance Agency, and the capacity of the Financial Supervisory Authority to regulate and supervise Albania’s non-bank financial sector including insurance, pensions and securities markets.
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2000s
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In the textile and recycling industries, USAID provides counseling on ways to reduce costs of production, invest in new technologies, and utilize marketing materials. To strengthen the use of modern information technology, USAID is supporting a Business Innovation Center that will increase the use of IT in Albanian businesses. USAID is raising awareness of Albania as a tourist destination and strengthening the marketing capacity of the tourist industry and the delivery of quality customer service.
To improve productivity of farms, USAID supports training of farmers by agronomists, extension services on disease resistant varieties of crops, and the adoption of new technologies to prolong the growing season. USAID facilitates sales through trade missions/contacts with domestic, regional, and international buyers. USAID developed a multi-media market information program (Albanian: SITA) that provides timely and reliable market information to farmers, traders, policy makers and researchers on market trends, and over time will help farmers and traders make better decisions on what to grow and where to sell their products.
2011
and
BEYOND
PROJECTS 1991-1999
PROJECTS 2000-2010
PROJECTS 2011 AND BEYOND
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• Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness Program (AAC) (2007-2012) • Competitive Enterprise Development Program (Rritje Albania) (2009-2014) • Albania-Hawaii Higher Education and Economic Development Program (AHEED) (20082011) • Albanian Cyber-Security Program (2011-2012) • Development Credit Assistance (DCA) for SME Lending (2005-2019) with Raiffeisen Bank.
Emergency Fertilizer Import Program (April 1992-July 1992) Agriculture Development Program (1993-1998) Agro-Business and Trade Association Development (1999-2004) Albanian Land Market Development Project (1994-2001) Support for Agriculture Restructuring in Albania (SARA) (1994-1998) ACDI/Volunteers in Overseas Assistance (VOCA) (1994-1998) Albania Private Forestry Development Program (APFDP) (1995-2000) Integrated Pest Management/Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM/CRSP) (1998-2008) Masters of Business Administration and Public Administration (MBA) Program (1992-2002) Albania Customs Program (1999-2002) Albanian Securities Commission and Tirana Stock Exchange (1998-2001) Banking Supervision (1999-2002) Pyramid Scheme Resolution (1999-2001) Albanian American Enterprise Fund (1995-2010) Removal Impediments to Trade Expansion (1992-1994) Treasury Program (1991-1998, resumed in 2000) Cochran program (1992-2011)
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Albania Livestock Service Centers (2000-2006) Land O’Lakes Dairy Marketing (2000-2005) Registration Operation Improvement (2002-2004) Small Business Credit and Assistance (SBCA) (2002-2007) Enterprise Development and Export Market Services (EDEM) (2003-2008) Support for the Law on Secured Transactions (2001) Ministry of Economy Restructuring (2002) Central Bank Assistance (2001-2011) Servicing Micro-Entrepreneurs in Albania (1998-2007) with Opportunity International Albanian Center for International Trade (ACIT) (2003-2006) with the Institute for Contemporary Studies Albanian Watershed Assessment Project (AWAP) (1999-2003) Community College Program (2002-2005) with the Harry T. Fultz Foundation Junior Achievement (2001-2004) Junior Achievement Enterprise Education Program (2006-2008) Voskopoja Sustainable Development Program (2006-2007)