GIZ Office’s Initiative in Support of MSMEs in Albania

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has severely hit the Albanian economy. Due to the slow economic recovery and rising unemployment, especially the tourism, agriculture as well as all other sectors are facing limited income and shortfall in revenues. Because of the challenging situation, the Albanian Government supported by Germany set up an Advisory Facility combined with grants to mitigate the COVID-19 consequences of MSMEs, known as CoSolve-19, announced a press statement released by GIZ-Office Tirana on Thursday.
“This joint initiative will offer a tailor-made coaching and advisory ser-vice for MSMEs with the additional possibility to obtain small grants to adapt their business operations to the new situation, as well as other information on the access to finance,” said the press release which revealed that the initiative is implemented by GIZ and focuses on cushioning the aftermath effects of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the recovery of the businesses and their adaptation to the new normal.
“All MSMEs will have detailed information on access to finance in government schemes or other donors’ schemes according to their business needs indicated in their applications. The sectoral lines for participation in CoSolve-19 are tourism, agriculture and other affected sec-tors by the pandemic,” said GIZ Office. In the meantime it informed businesses and individual farmers who can benefit from this joint initiative to be registered in Albania before March the 1st, 2021. Everyone who is an individual farmer, an owner of an agricultural business, accommodation businesses (hotels, guesthouses, campsites), registered tour operators, restaurants in rural areas that offer touristic activities, producers of textiles and clothing, leather and footwear, handicraft businesses, etc. as well as other businesses that are affected by the COVID-19 crisis can apply.
The application period will be opened from 25th of February, until 31st of March 2021. In the first round 210 applicants will be chosen for immediate support, while CoSolve-19 will sup-port 900 affected MSMEs by COVID-19 pandemic, until the end of 2022. More information about CoSolve-19 and its application procedures are available at www.cosolve19.al./argumentum.al