Albania is a nation in Southern Europe that is part of the Balkan Peninsula. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Macedonia to the east, Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, and Italy to the sea. The country has a variety of climates, ranging from a hot Mediterranean climate along the coast and in the lowlands to continental and even subarctic temperatures in the mountains.
Albania’s economic, political, and social adherence to the Western model is significantly influenced by its geostrategic location. Since it has traditionally been at a crossroads between the east and the west, Albania has additional prospects for economic cooperation with nations throughout the Mediterranean Region and beyond thanks to its access to the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
Tourism, fishing, shipbuilding, and ports and harbors for transportation and commerce all have a lot of promise along the coastline. The shoreline starts in the north at the Montenegro border and extends down to the Greek border in the south.
Investment opportunities in Albania
Albania is now anticipating the beginning of admission talks with the EU. This indicates that the nation advanced in important areas including the rule of law and the reform of the justice system. Even though there is still much to be done, Albania is particularly focused on possible investors. The most successful managers and businesspeople hold the view that if one can identify the main industries that are the best places to invest in and if they thoroughly research the market circumstances of a country, they will be successful in every country they choose to do business. The primary industries that could be beneficial for any domestic or international investor are listed below.
Agriculture, food products, and processing
The majority of the food goods in Albania are still imported from other nations because there are just a few food processing factories there. Due to the increasing demand for food items, there are numerous chances for investors in the Albanian market for such products. A high-quality item with a reasonable price would work miracles.
Reasons why investments in this sector are recommended
- Growing plants that are delicate to a particular place is possible thanks to a favorable temperature and various microclimates.
- Good soil and water resources
- Albania is a WTO member.
- CEFTA member (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The advantages of free trade agreements with BE (the world’s second-largest economy according to 2016 data) and EFTA (Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and Lichtenstein). All customs duties on industrial goods, including fish and other marine products, have been eliminated since the Agreement entered into force. Agriculture bilateral agreements exist between Albania and Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway.
Factories for export purposes
Moving your manufacturing and production facilities to Albania has several benefits. You might save a ton of money—in terms of shipping and travel expenses—by doing this. You may open a branch of your business in Albania and hire local staff there (the easiest thing if you rely on the workforce, taking into account the high number of unemployed persons in the country.) Currently, despite the economic issues in their target markets, the footwear and manufacturing sector is performing well. The proximity to the European market, a 25-year history, and low salaries all contribute to the growth of the Albanian footwear and manufacturing business.
Tourism
In Albania’s tourism industry, both domestic and foreign investments are common. You might notice several buildings being constructed in every city. Investments are frequently made in various transportation concepts, sports, entertainment, restaurants, or nightclubs in well-known locations. Taking into mind that Albania is currently referred to as “Europe’s last secret,” the number of travelers and tourists to the country has increased year over year up until this point (2018). In 2012, Albania received about 4,2 million visitors, primarily from the European Union and its immediate neighbors. Lonely Planet ranked Albania as the #1 travel destination in the world in 2011. An all-time high number of foreign nationals are anticipated to arrive in Albania in 2019 for tourism and leisure.
IT & virtual services
In the online market, there are still a lot of job chances for Albanians that are either unknown to them or have yet to be identified, such as IT development, virtual assistance, design, quality assurance, and other client services. Numerous Albanian students are already employed in large numbers in Italian, English, and German call centers. The growing e-commerce has also been highlighted by Albanians’ increased use of debit and credit cards and the new, alluring internet era. The earliest stages of this procedure have barely begun. Trending positions for online entrepreneurs are provided by the yearly increase in the number of new businesses with European founders and the competitive market for recruiting the best people.
