Client: United Nations Development Programme
Country: Albania
Year: 2008-2010
Albania remains a poor country in relation to the rest of the EU. It has a GDP/capita one tenth of the EU 27 average and just 26% of that of its neighbour, Croatia. But Albania has achieved a good macroeconomic performance recently with steady growth and reduced poverty. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has contributed substantially to this strong growth. Supporting FDI is a key Government policy. The Governent views foreign investment combined with strengthening the competitiveness of the SME sector as the route to Albania’s growth and the main means by which the Copenhagen Criteria for Accession to the European Union can be met.
Services provided
This project supported a design of activities to strengthen Albania’s FDI policy. Two assignments were undertaken. In April 2008, Triple Line supported the design of a programme of EC support to the Government and the agency Albinvest and completed the inception report for the UNDP.
The design included setting out:
- Training activities with the agency Albinvest including team building and action planning
- Support to an export credit guarantee scheme
- Support to FDI data collection and analysis
- Support to the development of industrial zones.
A second mission was conducted in September 2010 to fulfil two objectives. Firstly, an internal programme document was produced in order to demonstrate the economic and development case for Foreign Direct Investment and how it can be targeted to be poverty reducing as well as stimulating economic growth.
Secondly, a policy document was prepared for the UNDP to attract funding for a programme of technical assistance in the following key areas:
- Provision of statistics, sectoral analyses and information on Albania in order to have information on what can attract overseas investors.
- Support to Government and agency policies to attract and enable investment including investment laws; trade regulation; incentive laws; and job creation, and industrial zones.
- Strengthening of companies ability to attract business through lead generation activity
- Technical support and institutional capacity building AIDA, the new agency responsible for FDI.
Achievements
- Activities that support the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment take time to achieve measurable results but the activities conducted have led to substantial recent investment in the business processing outsourcing ( call centres) and the shoe and leather sector in Albania.
- The UNDP became uniquely placed to support FDI as a result of its ability to work effectively across government departments; its role in co-ordinating the activities of other donors; and its successful track record in Albania. Triple Line helped to support the strengthening of this message to other donors and secure the UNDP’s position as the lead donor on FDI.