In her remarks in parliament during the discussion of the draft budget 2022, Ibrahimaj stressed that, “support and promotion of entrepreneurship will be achieved through the implementation of several schemes: support for manufacturing companies to launch the “Made in Albania” product; disbursement of a Sovereign Guarantee worth ALL 1 billion for Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship; the drafting of the Export Strategy aimed at internationalizing our products in the regional and international market, as well as the kickoff of the second phase of the Eu4innovation project, funded by the European Union, in the amount of 10 million euros, of which about 4 million euros are grants.

Ibrahimaj noted that a special emphasis will be put on development of the value chain for medicinal plants, fruits and vegetables.

“Through a fund of 1.8 million euros allocated by the Swiss government, we will support the increase of productivity from growers, collection points to exporters of this sector, which has great potential for the country’s economy and the rural one,” said Ibrahimaj.

The minister said that special focus will be on small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We will support SMEs and startups with a grant of 250 million ALL to help increase competitiveness. “We will focus on training, counselling and increasing SMEs, with special focused on SMEs in tourism and agribusiness to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, through a project funded by the German government worth 4.2 million euros,” said Ibrahimaj.

She went on saying that with the help of the World Bank, SMEs will be offered webinars for e-commerce and digitalization, and the project with the World Bank training about 400 women in digital skills will be ongoing.

“In the 2022 budget, special attention will be paid to expenditures for IT infrastructure, public administration and young people who will have the opportunity to gain more knowledge and develop skills to compete with dignity in the future in emerging information technology markets. Digitalization reform increases the quality of services to businesses and citizens, as well as helps in the fight against corruption. “Investments in digitalization include the relevant ministries in the sectors of order, defense, health, finance and economy as well as education,” the Minister said in her remarks.

Ibrahimaj said that, “through a fund of 1.9 billion ALL, we finance scientific laboratories and information technology classes in pre-university education, adding that, “with investments in projects for training young people in information technology, they will be better adapted to the demands and offers in the labor market and the creation of quality jobs. ”
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