The new partnership between the state, the banking system and Albanian entrepreneurship was signed today for the National Financing Programme for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), “Double Your Enterprise”, an initiative aimed at supporting Albanian businesses, encouraging economic development and creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Prime Minister Rama also attended the event held at the premises of the Bank of Albania, where he stressed that the programme aims to provide businesses with access to affordable financing through loans with minimal interest rates and the sovereign guarantee of the state, creating the opportunity for enterprises to take the next step towards expanding and modernising their activity. According to him, this initiative stems from the concrete need of businesses for accessible financing and represents direct support for those entrepreneurs who have the potential to grow, create jobs and further contribute to the country’s economic development.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you very much and first of all, not out of formality but sincerely, I would like to thank one by one the representatives of the second level banks and, first and foremost, the Governor, the Board of the Bank of Albania for their commitment and for all the discussions we have had, in service of reaching this remarkable day, from my point of view, for Albanian entrepreneurship.

Yesterday, the President of the European Investment Bank visited Albania for the first time and we were together at a signing ceremony of an agreement with one of the banks present here, Intesa Sanpaolo, an agreement which, in our view, should be seen and followed as much as possible by the other second level banks as well with the European Investment Bank.

We have expressed to the European Bank our desire for the first agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo to be expanded to other second level banks as well, because it is an agreement that goes directly into “the very same lane” as today’s agreement, an agreement to finance small and medium sized enterprises, which are the engine of our economy and which today contain within them realities with extraordinary potential.

Personally, I have been able to see a number of small enterprises which, based on the experience of Albanians who have returned from emigration, based on their innovative spirit, based on their will to do something meaningful in the community and to employ their family and the people around them, have been extraordinary experiences, touching I would say and, at the same time, experiences that have shown me clearly that with reasonable financial support, those enterprises, those realities can grow and can bring meaningful novelties to our economy. But it is not only the experience of those who have returned, it is also the experience of those who have worked here from the very beginning and who today are ready to take another step.

At the end of every conversation, the issue has been accessible and reasonable financing, due to the impossibility of obtaining normal commercial loans, which they cannot afford in order to take the next step and this is how this project was born, which initially was a project dedicated to agriculture, from which we jointly drew our lessons and today it is a project that has turned into a very serious support programme of the Albanian government for all small and medium sized enterprises. And today, all those who have a small or medium sized enterprise should hear clearly that within a very short time after the signing of this agreement, a programme will enter into implementation which opens a door for everyone to double their enterprise, naturally based on the business plan and on all the other components that are indispensable and irreplaceable for the second level banks.

Meanwhile, I would like to bring back here what the Governor said in his speech, because this is a moment worth underlining. Five years ago, credit in Albania was around 5 billion euros, today after five years credit in Albania is 10 billion euros. We are witnessing a doubling of the financing capacity of the economy by second level banks, which clearly shows with facts that the economy is in a healthy condition and with great potential for further growth, while, as you yourselves know best, non-performing loans have fallen to negligible levels as a potential threat to the economy, whereas a decade ago non-performing loans were almost 25%.

Only in the last 2 years, new credit has almost reached the ceiling of 5 billion. It is something extraordinary, but on the other hand, it is one more reason to take a courageous step now, thanks to the cooperation and thanks to the total willingness of the Bank of Albania to support economic growth through the growth of small and medium sized enterprises and thanks to the work we have done together.

Therefore, for small and medium sized enterprises, a credit line with a minimum interest rate of 2% and a maximum of 3% will be made available and here, once again, we seek full cooperation and solidarity from your side, but naturally accompanied by a sovereign guarantee from the Albanian government to significantly reduce the credit risk for the banks. A sovereign guarantee ranging from 30% to 70% depending on the assessed level of risk.

Naturally, I will not forget to say that the banks should be a little more courageous also in relation to the agriculture sector where, of course, the level of risk is high, where we have by now learned that projects from this sector that are financeable should naturally be projects with lower risk and linked to agribusiness, linked to innovation, linked to new technologies and, naturally, to agritourism, which in fact is a component that you have supported without any problems.

I strongly believe that also a grant fund, which will be made available for drafting business plans, therefore to help small and medium sized enterprises prepare their applications, will come as added value in facilitating the relationship between the entities and the banks. Naturally, this grant will need to be administered in a coordinated way so that we understand exactly what there is still more to learn in this process.

So, in the end, I hope that the Governor will place at our disposal the two Deputy Governors to help us with this project and on the other hand, I cannot close without paying a complement to our Turkish “brother” for his Albanian, now definitively certified with minimum risk. Today, Sehan, I realized that you can finally be considered ready to receive Albanian citizenship, if you have not received it yet.

Thank you very much!