Their program is designed to provide startups with immediate access to a global experience and a vast international network.
“Plug and Play” will not be limited to serving as a platform for Albania; it has larger ambitions in terms of presenting startups, with the goal of becoming a regional hub for technology development and supporting them,” said Uranik Begu, director of “Plug and Play” for the Western Balkans.

Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the opening ceremony of “Plug & Play” today, which has found an ideal environment in Albania to introduce these innovative services to various industries, aiming to establish Albania as the regional hub for these enterprises.

The “Plug and Play” platform has expanded globally to over 60 locations across 25 industries, with more than 550 partners. To date, it has invested in over 2,000 companies, with a vision to make innovation accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Prime Minister Edi Rama pointed out that few could have predicted that by 2025, Plug&Play, a global platform known for fostering tech giants, would choose Tirana as its regional hub, offering a gateway for young people from Albania and the broader region to pursue their digital ambitions without facing discrimination.

In this world, it doesn’t matter where you are, who you are, what color your skin is, what religion you belong to, or if you curse God from morning to night, what language you speak—there’s only one thing that matters: the imagination and ability you have to stand out from the rest.

Access to spaces like Plug&Play is crucial, and today marks an exciting milestone in Albania’s transformation journey as it continues its climb toward reaching its 2030 goals.

Today we are here, just a few hours ago we were at the opening of the Rochester Institute of Technology in Tirana. A day earlier, we were at the opening of the Audiovisual Production Training Center, also with American partners from California—people coming from the world’s largest audiovisual production industry, including representatives from major companies like HBO, Netflix, and others that support the center.

Just a few meters away, “School 42” (Ecole 42) is preparing to open its doors. This impressive space, originally created in France, offers opportunities for learning and gaining knowledge for those eager to explore the vast digital world. A few more steps up, but this time requiring a climb, is Tumo, the center of excellence for younger children. It already welcomes many kids, and I’d like to take this chance to emphasize that it has the capacity to welcome even more. Children between the ages of 12 and 18 who wish to enter the tech world are encouraged to join, and thanks to the collaboration between the Albanian-American Foundation and the Municipality of Tirana, the courses are completely free.

It truly feels great to continue counting achievements in a field where we were once behind everyone else. Today, however, we are ahead of the curve for digital governance across the region, and we are also among the top in Europe. This is not just something we say, but is reflected in various rankings, as we provide 95% of public services online. Thanks to the new system we have built, we have completed over 45 million services in total—45 million interactions between people and officials, 45 million times spent waiting in line, 45 million paths leading to the office where services are provided, and 45 million lost opportunities for any form of bribery or kickbacks.

We began with a very limited and inefficient set of services, and today, with over 3 million users—both individuals and businesses—on the public services platform, we started with fewer than 50,000 users. Even those who were registered weren’t actually accessing any services.

It’s a remarkable transformation to think that in just a few weeks, we’ll be opening the doors of a technology park designed to host startups and companies in the digital world, all under the most favorable legislation in this part of Europe. There has already been considerable interest from businesses, both from within our region and even from the United States, eager to set up in this park, located between Tirana and Durrës, known as “Durana” Tech Park. Additionally, in partnership with ADF, we’re also working to launch “Vlora Tech Space” at the center nearing completion in Vlora.

Tumo won’t simply relocate; it will expand, remaining in its current location while also growing into new cities like Shkodra, Elbasan, and others.
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