TIRANA, April 20 /ATA/-By Maela Marini/ Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on Monday that the national program “Double Your Enterprise” will not be accessible to large businesses, but will be available only to startups and small and medium‑sized enterprises.
Rama held a meeting on Monday with representatives of agrotourism in Tirana to discuss the Mountain Package as well as other programs being initiated to support small and medium‑sized businesses.
Focusing on the “Double Your Enterprise” program, Rama announced that the national initiative will be launched soon, and by the end of April an agreement will be signed between the Bank of Albania, second‑tier banks, and the government.
The Prime Minister explained that the program involves a financing facility supported by the Albanian government.
According to him, this financing facility will support every effort by anyone who owns a small or medium‑sized enterprise and has the ambition to grow it.
“We have called the program ‘Double Your Enterprise’, but it could also mean financing at 50% or even tripling, depending on the project. This program will be backed by a direct credit facility from the Bank of Albania, to be disbursed through second‑tier banks,” Rama added.
The Prime Minister stated that the credit facility will be guaranteed by the Albanian government through a sovereign guarantee and will carry an interest rate lower than that of commercial loans.
“The facility will have a cap of up to 2 million euros and will not be accessible to large companies. It will be available to startups, small and medium‑sized enterprises, workshops, and agrotourism businesses seeking to expand,” Rama added.
He emphasized that the initiative is not limited to increasing the number of rooms in agrotourism structures, but also aims at broadening their processing capacities beyond their current scope.
“An agrotourism business may have a vineyard in one place, a farm in another, a dairy elsewhere, or even a jam workshop located somewhere. It does not necessarily need to be within the same territory. If such a business exists and seeks to double its volume, then it is eligible for the program,” Rama added.
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