“An Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises in Albania” - 2017

Key business constraints in Albania

The Institute for Development Research and Alternatives (IDRA) has prepared the study “Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises in Albania“ with the technical and financial support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the framework of raising the profile of BisnesAlbania as policy actor, following the ILO’s EESE methodology. The study included a combined methodological approach. Survey results were then benchmarked against the secondary data. This included research of previously available and reliable data from the World Bank, IMF, World Economic Forum, Heritage Foundation and other institutions. Albania was compared to other countries in the region, which were selected based on common history, geographic proximity, and similarity of size.

The project consists in 2 phases:

Phase I - Internal and Stakeholder Analysis of Business Albania (12 interviews with senior staff and board members of Albania, 2 FGs with BA members, 31 interviews with government officials, TUs, business representatives, Media and NGOs

Phase II - Assessment of Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises (EESE) – aiming to determine key challenges for business in Albania: critical issues for employers in Albania (3 FGs and 400 F2F interviews with businesses / employers representatives, secondary research from reputable institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, the ILO, etc)

IDRA Reserach & Consulting has finalized the fieldwork and based on the results has published the following reports: 1) National EESE report (integrating primary and secondary data) with concrete policy recommendations, 2) Development of Strategic Policy Framework (SPF), - high level advocacy blue print document for the next few years clear outlining key constraints for employers in Albania.

The findings identified in collaboration with focus groups the key five constraints for employers in Albania. For these five constraints, a questionarie was developed (through ILO’ Enabling environment for sustainable enterprises”) with focus on these problematic dimensions. This questionnaire was utilized during the next phase of the 404 Face to Face interviews with business representatives (owners or decision makers) on a national representative scale, clasified by location (Tirana, Central, North and South) and business size (number of employees). Fieldwork of this project was conducted during October to December of 2016. Along with a detailed assessment of problem srecognised, the report offers recomandations of the respective solutions. Informal competition, tax rates and frequent tax changes, complex and unpredictable legal and regulatory framework, skills mismatch and corruption appear to be the biggest obstacles for Albanian businesses.