RisiAlbania - Project Document 2013 – 2017, Annex 10: Sector Selection Report

Sector selection report: Comparative assessment of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Garment and Footwear (G&F) sectors in :

Report by: Andi Stefanllari, Sibora Dhima, Edlira Muedini, Isabelle Fragnière

RisiAlbania - ICT and G&F in Albania: Selection Report

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3 2. METHODOLOGY: SECTOR REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS ...... 3 2.1 Background: methodology used during the Inception phase ...... 3 2.2 Methodology used during the sector re-evaluation ...... 4 3. SECTORS ANALYSIS ...... 5 3.1 Analysis of Garment and Footwear Sector (G&F) ...... 5 RELEVANCE OF G&F ...... 5 GROWTH POTENTIAL OF G&F ...... 6 GOVERNMENT TRENDS AND STRATEGIES ON G&F ...... 7 INTERVENTION POTENTIAL ON G&F ...... 8 CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES OF G&F ...... 9 3.2 Analysis of ICT Sector ...... 10 RELEVANCE OF ICT ...... 10 GROWTH POTENTIAL OF ICT ...... 11 GOVERNMENT TRENDS AND STRATEGIES ON ICT ...... 16 INTERVENTION POTENTIAL OF ICT ...... 17 CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES IN ICT ...... 18 3.3 Additional Experts opinions on ICT and G&F ...... 19 PERSPECTIVE FROM BANKS ...... 19 PERSPECTIVE FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS ...... 19 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 20 ANNEX 1 – EVALUATION OF ICT AND G&F SECTORS BASED ON THE METHODOLOGY CRITERIA ...... 21 ANNEX 2: LIST OF MEETINGS ...... 22

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1. Introduction

RisiAlbania aims at enhancing youth employment in Albania. Our goal is to create better employment and income opportunities for young aged 15-29, though private sector growth and improved job intermediation. To achieve this objective, the RisiAlbania team has identified during the Inception phase the sectors with great potential to grow and subsequently to create employment for the youth. The sector selection process identified Agro-processing, Tourism and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as high potential sectors with Garment and Footwear (G&F) as a forth alternative.

Following the feedback and suggestions on RisiAlbania’s Project Document from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) the team has decided to reassess ICT and G&F to assure the selection of a third sector with maximum potential for employment and which complements the first two sectors. This reassessment is also particularly necessary at this time as a new government has been elected in Albania and the current national development strategies are being revised. For these reasons, it makes sense to validate once again our selection of the third sector, before starting research and interventions.

With this in mind, during January and February 2014, RisiAlbania carried out an in-depth re-assessment of ICT and G&F, their current economic trends, their growth potential and their youth employment potential. The findings have been validated by meetings with sector-specific experts, representatives of the government and donor community, academics and national economic development experts. This report summarizes the findings from the process. 2. Methodology: sector review and selection process

2.1 Background: methodology used during the Inception phase During the Inception phase sector selection process, the team initially gathered background information and assessed the situation of fourteen of the main sectors of the Albanian economy. Through a panel of experts, the six sectors with highest potential were selected. An in-depth research of these six sectors was then conducted, including interviews with sector experts, associations, donors and industry leaders, as well as a literature review. These sector were then evaluated based on determined selection criteria based on RisiAlbania’ s targets and strategic framework as well as the M4P framework and geared towards young women and men as our target group. Selection criteria were Relevance developed along four main areas: i) Relevance of the sector for young people Cross-cutting (particularly women), issues ii) Growth potential in terms of income and Growth Feasibility employment generation, potential iii) Feasibility of stimulating systemic change in the subsector and iv) Cross-cutting issues (gender, rural outreach and alignment with priorities of government and other stakeholders). Each of these criteria (including more specific sub-criteria) was ascribed a specific weight, and a multi- criteria assessment tool was compiled which was used during selection. Following this process, three sectors were selected: Agro-processing, Tourism and ICT. These sectors are very diverse and provide good opportunities for different segments of the Albanian youth to enter the job market acknowledging diversity in terms of skills level, rural outreach and gender. The G&F sector ranked fourth, carrying high potential for job creation, though being not as attractive given the nature of the jobs and low wages it offers. A more detailed description of this process can be found in Annex 10 of the Project Document.

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2.2 Methodology used during the sector re-evaluation The purpose of re-assessing the ICT and G&F sectors was to update the respective sector trends compared to 2013, with more detailed data & information; to review the alignment with priorities and strategies of the new government or any new donor initiatives in the areas of focus and thus to re- evaluate the intervention potential. This was done through review of secondary data and meetings with sector-specific experts, representatives of the government and donor community, academics and national economic development experts. The list of experts met can be found in Annex 2. The process started with the team refining the criteria for selecting between the two sectors. These criteria were used to assess the secondary data as well as to guide the interviews. They are represented in the below table.

Table 1: Methodology criteria for evaluation of ICT and G&F sectors

Categories Criteria / question Weighting 1. Relevance Number of youth employed 2 Income level 1 Attractiveness for young people 1 Multiplier effect 1 2. Growth potential Past employment trends (past 5 years) 1 Demand and competitiveness 2 Future employment trends (next 5 years) 1 3. Intervention potential Need for support to develop potential 1 Availability of resources / feasibility 2 Existence of partners 1 4. Cross-cutting issues Opportunities for women 1 Geographic and rural outreach 1 Alignment on Government priorities 0.5 Synergies with exiting skills initiatives 0.5 Synergies with existing entrepreneurship initiatives 0.5 Potential for regional collaboration or interventions 0.5

Different stakeholders presented an overview of the sectors from their perspective. Sector-specific experts detailed the trends, developments and prospects of their sector of focus. Government and international community representatives assessed potential for alignment with strategies and future planned interventions in the sectors. Macro-economy and economic development experts were able to compare both sectors and highlight their respective strengths, weaknesses and potential. The preliminary results of secondary data review and interviews were consolidated in a team meeting, followed by an in- depth analysis of the findings which is elaborated in this report. At the end of the analysis, the team re- assessed once again the sectors based on recent findings and on results of the analysis in order to decide on the third sector for intervention.

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3. Sectors Analysis

3.1 Analysis of Garment and Footwear Sector (G&F)

Relevance of G&F As noted in the Sector Selection report, the G&F sectors combined make for a very important sector of the Albanian economy with a yearly turnover of 500M Euro. Depending on the sources, data on exports varies greatly. According to AIDA, and Leather exports went from 35% of total exports in 2010 to 29% in 2012. According to INSTAT, the sector has been picking up. Below is an overview of the sector’s export figures in January 2013 and 2014, based on INSTAT data1.

Table 2: industry exports in Albania (INSTAT)

Group of articles Exports January 2013 January 2014 Total Albanian exports 18,128 17,850 Leather, leather by-products, textiles and shoes 5,671 6,618 Percentage to exports 31.3% 37%

These exports contribute to the Albanian international trade balance, to generate inflows of foreign currency in the country, and secure employment for tens of thousands of Albanian households. The G&F sectors are operating mostly under the inward processing regime2.

There are no accurate figures on the number of people employed by G&F. While the two associations report that there are around 400 companies with close to 100,000 people employed, data from public institutions (although incomplete) and surveys conducted by donors suggest these numbers are lower. Official figures from Tax Authorities show that the number of employees in G&F industry is not higher than 50,000. GIZ and USAID surveys completed in 2010 have identified between 100-120 active garment companies and around 40 footwear companies. So, a more reliable estimate would be that both sectors employ between 40,000-60,000 people. As these two sectors are labor intensive, they employ mostly youth coming from rural areas offering them very low income levels just sufficient to ensure their livelihood and survival.

Most G&F companies focus on Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) processes (international companies supply a tailor company with their own fabrics thus saving money on the mark up that the tailor company would otherwise charge for the fabrics) and do not manage more sophisticated processes such as buying fabric, designing clothes or directly selling clothes. Thus, most youth working in G&F are unskilled manual workers employed along the processing line. Though the income is very low, these jobs are appreciated by unskilled youth as they provide stable employment. Managerial and technical positions are few but in high demand according to a recent skill gap analysis.

The industry offers low multiplier effect as private companies produce for foreign customers while being integrated into and highly dependent on foreign markets, and there is little horizontal or vertical co- operation between them and local institutions. G&F companies are linked to global value chains, where most value added services are performed abroad, in EU markets, and receive limited services from local

1 http://www.instat.gov.al/media/229184/tregtia_e_jashtme_janar_2014.pdf 2 Inward processing allows imported raw materials or semi-manufactured goods to be processed for re-export within the Community by Community manufacturers without a requirement that the manufacturers have to pay customs duty and VAT on the goods being used. This EU regulation has been utilized by Italian entrepreneurs who supply raw materials and accessories to Albanian factories who do CMT operations, and then export the finished goods to the EU country tax free. Source: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs

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service providers. Each company is linked to its own buyers and has received over the years not only orders but also embedded assistance.

Growth Potential of G&F The sector boomed in the 2000’s after the investment made by the Italian and Greek companies in 1994- 98. Export (hence turnover) grew by 19.2% annually between 1999 and 2007. The sector was affected by the severe crisis of 2008 in its two main markets – and – and the transfer of large production orders to Asian manufacturing which offered lower prices. Today this sector is down by 22% compared to 2008 affecting directly the employment level, which dropped in four years from 80,000 employees to 60,000. Since 2009, G&F has had to adjust to changes in market demand in Italy and other EU markets. Demand is now for more styles and smaller quantities for each style (also known as Pronto Moda), which results in smaller and more complex orders for Albanian companies. As a result, many companies have had to become leaner and cut workforce by 20-40%.

Inward processing exports of textiles category summed up to 32,167 million ALL, accounting for 35.5% of total inward processing exports and for a 3.9% decrease in absolute value. This is the first decrease of share in years. Footwear products reached 29,625 million ALL having decreased in absolute value by 2%, accounting for 32.4% of total inward processing exports. The share of inward processing to total exports has decreased to 43% of total exports, representing a drop of 7.3 %. The main reason for this was the very strong increase that other mineral products have experienced and also because exports of inward processing decreased by 7.9% in 20123.

Albania’s competitive advantages are: quick delivery to European markets due to geographic proximity; competitive labor costs and production prices; flexibility in order sizes, and experienced production management staff and operators. Albanian companies meet the demands for small orders from the EU. Large orders from the EU, on the other hand, are placed in , South-east Asia, , etc. leaving little room for countries like Albania to compete. This means that Albanian companies’, direct competitors for the ‘Pronto Moda’ market segments are producers from other Balkan and East Europe countries, rather than the producers in Asia. According to interviews with heads of G&F associations, Albanian companies still lag behind in both capacity and quality compared to their neighbors in the region.

As a result of market changes, most Albanian manufacturers have saturated their employment growth potential and are producing with their existing workforce levels. Cases of employment growth using the same CMT operations are very limited. In fact, as both data review and interviews show, based also on the experience of countries who have now a more developed G&F sector, the only (employment) growth potential at present for Albania would be achieved by adding value and performing new operations beyond CMT, therefore moving upwards in the products’ value chain. An advanced garment company, besides CMT and finishing, would perform also the sourcing of raw materials, product development, development of collections, merchandising and marketing. A USAID survey in 2010 of 95 Albanian companies found that 35% of them perform only ‘making’ process (the actual sewing of the cut pieces in order to make a garment) and 54% only CMT processes. Only 9 companies (9.5%) do a full cycle production while none was identified with its own collection. Albanian garment companies prefer to perform mostly ‘making’ as it brings the highest margin in value distribution within the CMT operation. This means that the sector is dominated by CMT companies, which are slow in adding new operations. In fact, only 45% of interviewed companies declared to have added any process during the last three years, with ‘cutting’ being the most frequent added process4.

While there is demand for G&F in EU countries other than Italy and Greece, Albania’s traditional markets, these buyers require that producers perform full cycle operations, not just CMT operations. However,

3 Albania Trade Report 2012, Albanian Center for International Trade (ACIT). 4 Gap Analysis –Albania Garment Industry, SIPPO, 2011

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very few companies have been able to invest in new equipment and knowhow and have managed to offer this type of ‘full package' service. Of the 100 or so active garment and 40 foot-wear companies, in 2014, around 10-15 Garment and 7-8 Foot-wear companies are producing full cycle and applying private labeling. Furthermore, most CMT companies do not have the necessary technology to easily perform new operations. For example, most have manual or semi-automatic cutting , with only 12 companies out of 94 reported (13%) had a CAD/CAM plotter5. There is a tripartite agreement between Turkey, Albania and EU, which enables Albanian companies to source raw materials from Turkey and export to EU tax free. However, only a handful of enterprises are making use of this agreement.

Due to lack of investment and since most of the G&F companies rely on a stagnating Italian market, growth in the sectors is likely to be very limited. By working mostly on CMT processes, it is unlikely that Albanian companies will be able to pressure clients for a price increase as long as they offer the same services and processes. Without making new investments, G&F companies will have no real opportunities to either apply new processes or connect to demanding buyers and access new profitable markets in , Scandinavian countries, and . The overdependence on the Italian market (86% of G&F exports go to Italy) has not been compensated by an increased market share in other EU countries such as Germany, France and Spain6.

In addition, overdependence on the Italian market, has led to disadvantageous business terms for Albanian manufacturers, which suffer the lack of contract enforcement from Italian buyers. Often Italian buyers impose unjust fines on Albanian manufactures directly reducing their profit margins. Late payments from 3 to 6 months have become common practice for Albanian manufacturers working for Italian clients. In addition, there are numerous cases when Italian agents, after having obtained product shipments from manufacturers, disappear without paying them at all, leaving Albanian manufacturers with full annual profits lost and without any recourse to remedy the situation.

As a result, growth potential in both G&F sectors will be limited to the few companies, which have started to produce full cycle. These are likely to demand some skilled personnel for merchandising, patternmaking, sourcing raw materials and marketing operations. However, the number of these companies is still limited to around 10-15 for garment and 7-8 for footwear companies. Additionally, these few more advanced companies, while having achieved production of full cycle products, continue at the same time the CMT business, which takes around 90% of their sales. So, while G&F has new processes and new markets to explore, the potential for new employment in the future remains limited.

Government trends and strategies on G&F The team met experts from the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship (MEDTE), Ministry for Innovation and Public Administration (MIPA) and the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister of Albania, who could not only compare strengths, weaknesses and potential for both ICT and G&F, but also indicate where the Government’s strategic interest lies with regards to these two sectors, and how they envision their development.

Public institutions see this sector as fulfilling the immediate needs of the country for poverty relief and job creation, especially with regards to certain demographic groups of youth coming mainly from rural areas and small cities who would have difficulties finding jobs in other sectors. This sector is often seen as the only alternative for young girls in some poor areas. For this reason, despite the precarious working conditions in this sector, low salaries and the high levels of informality, the Government will carry on supporting G&F as it did in the past. MEDTE has already prepared a supportive package of about 34 facilitative measures, out of which some have already been applied. For example, the Council of

5 USAID survey, 2010. 6 Exports by product groups and main trading partners, January-December 2013, INSTAT.

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Ministers has passed an executive decision changing procedures of renting public assets, lowering the value of rent to 1 Euro for manufacturing, with a focus on the G&F industry, for both national and foreign investors.

G&F is seen as a sector which absorbs to some extent the effects of poverty and , also contributing to avoiding civil unrest in some areas of Albania. An expansion of jobs in the short-run is not expected, rather the Government is hoping to assist current G&F companies, operating mostly on CMT basis, to add value to their production by completing more stages of the production cycle in Albania, and possibly also by completing the full product cycle in their factories. In this regard, the Government envisions this as a sector that will become more specialized and more competitive in cost, quality and production technologies. Therefore, as has been the case in the past through AIDA, G&F is likely to continue and receive Government support through various schemes.

Intervention Potential on G&F In order to maintain growth in the two sectors, the G&F companies must invest and upgrade their technology and knowhow to offer more value to their customers by sourcing materials themselves, developing products, and offer full package products to foreign customers. Investments must also be made in human capital by developing in the new generation the more valuable skills of patternmakers, designers, merchandisers, and marketing people. This is an area where a skills-focused project, especially one that plans to introduce new curricula, would be able to support the sector. Furthermore, the heavy financial investments required to upgrade and diversify companies beyond CMT are beyond what a project like Risi can leverage.

Current resources available for this purpose are scarce. There are only a few service providers within the country offering limited services to G&F companies. The PUT Department of Textile and Fashion offers BA and Msc degrees in textile engineering (50-60 graduates each year), and completes also fabric and leather tests for the private sector. Professors and graduates of the PUT Textile Department have limited practical experience to meet the demand of the industry for value added skills. Furthermore, working in manufacturing is not a strong preference among PUT graduates; their main preference is opening their design ateliers to serve the small local market. In short, the Albanian universities are unable to meet the demand for the required skilled positions. In addition, a formal network of 6 Vocational Education and Training schools including textile departments, each with 50-60 students in total, offers vocational high school diplomas in textiles. However, these are not oriented towards the needs of G&F companies – there are for example no courses on production management though they are greatly needed and no courses on footwear production at all. For all these reasons, few of the graduates from both the University and vocational schools end up working in the G&F companies. G&F companies mostly hire unskilled employees and train operators or low to middle level management staff on their own. Value added skills are outsourced mainly to Italy as companies sub-contract on a full or part time basis Italian designers and patternmakers. Meeting the demand for value added skills would require extensive resources for developing local skilled personnel such as pattern-makers, designers, marketing and merchandising personnel, which even previous USAID and GIZ projects did not have. Given the absence of service providers, supporting the G&F sectors would require working at firm level and supporting directly lead firms in searching new markets, attending trade fairs, instead of relying on business service providers, like the M4P approach suggests.

Until 2013, interest representation of the two sectors has taken place through 2 Associations: the Chamber of Faҫons of Albania, led by Gjergji Gjika, and the National Chamber of Garment Manufacturers led by Bardhi Sejdarasi. In 2013, several footwear manufacturers also founded a separate association for the footwear sector only. This has led to a fragmentation in advocating for their interests with several players claiming to represent the interests of the sector. Efforts by donor agencies

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USAID and GIZ to merge the two associations in 2011 did not succeed. The existence of two associations (now of 3 of them) has made it difficult for a donor project to reach out to all G&F companies in an effective manner. While the associations have been active in lobbying efforts, they remain limited in services like facilitating visits from foreign customers, facilitating participation of Albanian companies to trade fairs, and similar services. The few cases of participation of Albanian companies to trade fairs in Germany or were organized with direct support of GIZ and USAID projects. As a result, associations could not yet be relied upon to perform these services on a regular and commercial basis to their member companies.

Besides the scarce resources in the country, there are no other donors still operating in G&F sectors whom RISI could partner with. The USAID/Rritje and GIZ projects have closed after the end of their contracts. So Risi would be a sole donor in supporting these sectors and could partner only with the Albanian government. Sector wide constraints such as ensuring contract enforcement, would require the involvement of both Albanian and Italian public institutions, an issue that can hardly be tackled by the Risi project. Additionally, new forms of financing that would facilitate new contracts such as purchase order financing have yet to be offered by Albanian financial institutions.

Cross-Cutting Issues of G&F As noted in the Sector Selection report prepared in the Inception phase, the G&F sector fares well in terms of cross-cutting issues. It offers employment opportunities for women (most of the employees are indeed women), particularly in the rural areas, though these are mostly low-income jobs with difficult working conditions. It is represented in the whole country – in every major or secondary town which makes for an ample outreach. Finally, it is one of the government’s top priorities.

To sum up, despite the G&F sectors’ importance in terms of immediate poverty reduction potential, due to a limited forecast growth of two sectors, to a limited number of service providers and limited services, an important lack of skills, the limited multiplier effect, and to detrimental trade practices that the project cannot address, it will be difficult for Risi to have a significant impact using the innovative M4P approach. Although these two sectors are important to the economy and employ tens of thousands of young people, it will be difficult for Risi to play a catalyzer role in a market of limited services offered by weak local service providers, whose capacity development would go beyond the scope of what Risi can offer.

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3.2 Analysis of ICT Sector ICT is a wide reaching sector whose potential has been recognized by the Albanian government. There is a number of supporting functions around the sector covered by both service and information providers as well as multiple players in the market. Overall, also due to the legacy of past donor projects in the sector, we were able to find more data on ICT than on G&F as a sector that only recently has taken the attention of government and donors.

Relevance of ICT Conceptually, the information society is a complex set of topics, entities, actions and relationships. OECD (2009 and 2011), through its Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS), has developed a broad conceptual framework covering the information society measurement areas of ICT demand and supply, ICT infrastructure, ICT products, and electronic content and media, as seen below7.

Figure 1: Information society conceptual framework

As noted in the Sector Selection report, ICT is a substantial employer in Albania – a fact that is overlooked by most studies and stakeholders8. Indeed, ICT employs around 12,000 people (including 7,000 in call centers, 4,100 in telecom, 500 in IT services, and another 300 in hardware) for a total turnover of 148M (IDC 20119). Around 80% or 9500 of the employees of the sector are under 30 and 50% of these are young women (4,500). Besides employment offered by established companies, there are about 1600 registered sole-proprietorships, which include provision of IT services as one of the business purposes in the articles of incorporation10. As there are around 4,000 IT graduates entering the labor market each year, and given the nature of many IT jobs in Albanian small businesses, we also assume a great number of these young people also work informally as employed or self-employed IT service providers working on jobs like repairs, software installation, computer formatting or web design.

ICT consists of four main subsectors: hardware, IT services, telecom companies and call centers  Hardware (including assembly, sales and distribution) in 2011 had a turnover of 7.38 M Euro, employing around 300 people. The main activities in this subsector are server system deliveries, packaged software license and maintenance, PC shipments, external disk storage deliveries, etc.

7 Manual for Measuring ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals, 2014, International Telecommunications Union. 8 Even ICT specialists, including government officials, were surprised by our findings regarding the importance of the sector in terms of employment. This is mainly due to the very recent surge of call centers. 9 IDC turnover estimates seem inflated. Meetings with industry stakeholders indicate the real figure might be closer to 70M. 10 General Overview of Information Technology Companies in Albania, AITA, September, 2012. Survey with 53 IT companies.

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 IT services sub-sector had a turnover of 10.85 M Euro employing 500 people, 80% of them under 30 years old, including 30% young women.  Telecommunication subsector includes fixed-line and mobile-line sub-sectors. Telecom companies in 2011 had a total revenue of 37.4 M Euros, with a total employment of 4.166, 45% of these women. The five main mobile operators together with Albtelecom hold 93% of the sector revenues and have 3.191 employees. The other six smaller alternative operators make up all together 2.6 M Euro, employing 975 employees.  Call centres are the biggest employer of young people for this sector with a total employment of 7,000 Italian speaking employees, 80% of them women. The average age of employees is 23 years old and they are located mostly in and Durres. The market is made by three main companies with 1,000 to 2,000 employees racking up most of the profits and 150 small companies with less than 500 employees - which have no direct links with foreign clients and thus lower profit margin.

ICT offers young people a large spectrum of jobs, from attractive and skilled software development to sophisticated financial or sales positions in telecommunication, and entry positions in call centres that demand skills in both languages and sales/communication. As most people in the industry are young, it is an indicator of high attractiveness of for them. Overall, ICT provides the youth with well-paid, attractive opportunities.

The multiplier effect within the industry itself is low to moderate as growth in one subsector, such as Telecommunications, has developed demand for another subsector, such as IT services. However, besides multiplier effect within the industry, ICT has a great multiplier effect for other industries as its products and services are a catalyst for modernization in other sectors. IT systems for example are instrumental in generating value added, reducing transaction costs, reducing waste, increasing productivity and linking to current and new global and local markets. More importantly, with the increased access to and use of Internet, sectors like Tourism, Agro-processing or other manufacturing industries are now in the first steps of improving their online presence, identifying new markets and enhancing the connectivity with their clients and partners. Some of the benefits associated with this are: the increase in the supply of information; reduction of costs; reduction in the degree of inefficiencies and uncertainty; the overcome of the constraints of distance and geography; the increase of access to global supply chains and markets’ expansion; the growth of transparency, etc. As confirmed by meetings with experts (also in our meetings for other sectors like Agro-processing) Albanian businesses in both manufacturing and services, be they small or big, can no longer afford conservative attitudes towards ICT. In fact, awareness of its benefits is growing and Albanian businesses have started looking for mostly young people to access the web and secure better social networking, connectivity and promotion. Additionally, steps have been taken in Albania and several companies are implementing e-commerce solutions as a new sales channel11. These have been extensively used in strengthening the competitiveness of Tourism, Agro-processing and other sectors12.

Growth Potential of ICT This ICT industry development has been led by the Government of Albania (GoA) and the private sector. GoA has stimulated the industry growth through the privatization of telecommunications in recent years, but also through the adoption of ICT systems by public institutions in a wide range of e-Government initiatives. Several of the e-Government solutions are in place and mandated for use by businesses (G2B) and citizens (G2C)13. The private sector has responded to the new opportunities with large investments in telecommunications, proliferation of Call Centers, and development of IT services.

10 White Paper ‘E-commerce readiness in Garment Footwear industry’, DM Consulting Albania, 2013. 12 ICT as a Catalyst to Enterprise Competitiveness, Business Growth Initiative, USAID. 13 Assessment for Social and Behavior Change Communication for Improved Transparency and Governance, USAID, 2010.

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In 2011, the Albania IT market increased 5.5% year on year to reach $190.43 million in U.S. dollar terms. Measured in local currency, the market grew 1.9% from the previous year. IDC expects the IT market in Albania to expand by 2.5% year on year in 2012 and to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.1% across a five-year forecast period. IT spending is expected to total $211.76 million in 201614. However, ICT subsectors have different growth patterns, with call centers and IT services as the highest potential ones.

IT Services Subsector Spending on IT services grew by 22.2% from 2010 to 2011 to $13.92 million. Packaged software license and maintenance (L&M) spending increased by 9.1% year on year to $9.46 million in 2011. The leading Albanian IT service providers were Infosoft Systems, Horizon, CCS, Tetra Ikubinfo, DM Consulting, Communications Progress, and others. The top three software vendors in Albania are Microsoft, Oracle, and Infosoft Systems15. It is estimated that around 500 people are employed in IT services, however, this figure does not account for self-employed unregistered employees. The figures below represent an executive summary of the Albanian IT market16. The same study estimates that IT services are more likely to grow than software, peripherals, mobile phones, etc.

Figure 2: IT market in Albania17

Structure of the IT Market in Albania, 2011 Systems & Peripherals, Servers, Packaged 4.6% 1.2% Software, Storage, 5.0% 0.5% IT Services, 7.3%

Personal Mobile Computers, Phones, 7.7% 41.9%

Networking Equipment, 31.8%

Total = $190.43 Million

Demand in the domestic market has come from the private sector and government demand for public services adopting ICT systems. Private business sector is the most important primary client for the majority of companies – 57% of them. It is followed by public sector which is the primary client for about 27% of companies. 14% of companies have consumers as main client, while non-for-profit organizations and foreign donors are the least important clients. While IT companies meet demand from almost every industry sector, telecommunication followed by the public administration and education are the most served sectors18.

The Albanian ICT Association (AITA) is currently working to involve local IT companies in the work of large Telecom companies which should help these gain experience and better understand the needs of

14 Albania IT Market Executive Summary, 2011, IDC Adriatics August 2012, Boris Zitnik. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 General Overview of Information Technology Companies in Albania, AITA, September, 2012. Survey with 53 IT companies 18 Ibid.

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big firms. This co-operation would not only provide support to grow local companies and enable them to have a local foothold, but it would also on the other hand lead to cost reduction and operations savings for Telecom companies, it would result in the creation of local digital content pool and facilitate the increase of broadband infrastructure to get the benefit of smartphone devices and its apps marketplace. IT development through services offered to Telecom companies represents a potential growth for export services from local companies towards international markets19.

As domestic market demand for IT services is still growing, in general companies do not specialize on certain services, but instead they have opted for a broad diversification of services. On average sales and distribution account for 36% of company turnover, followed by software development and maintenance at 14% and the IT solutions and consulting at 11%. Software development is a main service for 10% of the companies. Figure 3: Sales of IT companies by service20

Average share of revenue by type of service

Mainteinance, Website 13% development, 5% Training, 8% IT solutions and consulting, 11% Software development, 14% Sales and Software distribution, optimization, 36% 10% Security, 3%

IT companies are relatively young: 47% of them have been in operation for not more than 5 years, about half of which have been created in the past 3 years; 22% in the last 6-10 years, 18% in 11-15 years, and 14% over 15 years. In terms of employment, 57% of IT companies are micro-enterprises (1-10 employees); 38% are small enterprises (11-50 employees); and 6% are medium-sized enterprises (with more than 50 employees). Companies with one or two owners dominate the market: 41% of all surveyed companies have a single owner and 31% of them 2 partners. More than 55% of the companies have hired from 2 to 9 employees since the start of their operation21. These figures speak of IT companies as small companies with a young age, which is a testimony of a growing sector, with still a lot of potential to develop and consolidate, as will be described below. Even though more than half of these companies are micro enterprises with an average of 5 employees they seem to be consistent in the market due to low operation costs and on the outlook for opportunities to grow. They have yet to benefit from any support schemes as most government initiatives have focused on basic IT skills and on the infrastructure – initially on internet expansion and now on the implementation of a nationwide broadband network. This means that conditions are there for future business development initiatives which can benefit from investments in infrastructure, low operation costs and a wide pool of skilled youth.

19 ‘AITA, IT market growth opportunities, digital content’. Presentation by Dritan Mezini for 5th InfoCom Albanian Telecom Forum ‘The Digital Gate to ’, October 2013. 20 General Overview of Information Technology Companies in Albania, AITA, September, 2012 21 Ibid.

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Additionally, demands for ICT services are also likely to increase by other exporting industries that now face specialization and standardization requirements to compete successfully in the EU outsourcing market22. This means that ICT solutions will be more and more required in all other economic sectors, especially those aiming for European markets, as companies will need to apply high-tech solutions and enhance their communication.

In contrast to other sectors, employment in IT sector could come not only from established companies, but also from self-employment or startups. It is easier and less costly for young graduates to start micro and small IT businesses than starting garment companies. University graduates could work as individual developers from anywhere – as it is not necessary to have an office infrastructure. For example, a developer established an online platform for IT technology ‘Solaborate’ and has hired in last 1-2 years about 100 individual developers from Kosovo23. So, in addition to the established companies, there is a lively sector operating with self-employed individuals in the field of IT, mainly in the subsectors of web development and services and maintenance24.

Besides the growing demand from the domestic market, the EU outsourcing market is maturing and demand for IT services is expected to grow. There are opportunities for Albanian IT service providers who offer competitive pricing. However, Albanian companies have to do more to differentiate themselves than only offering a competitive price. For example, specializing in a niche market and offer innovative products or services adding value to the service and improving the competitive position in the market. The emergence of electronic marketplaces, social media, and cloud computing makes it easier to enter the EU IT services market25.

Albania can exploit both its large workforce supply and skills to penetrate the EU IT services market. There are comparable skills between Albanian software developers with those in Kosovo and Macedonia26. In terms of key ICT competitiveness indicators measured by the Global Information Technology Report 2013 of the World Economic Forum, ‘Skills’ and ‘Affordability’, Albania ranks in the median to high range, respectively 56th and 66th out of 144 countries27.

To sum up, the IT services subsector has growth potential in both domestic and foreign markets and offers long-term employment potential for young graduates. However, the IT companies should find their specialization in the global markets and build up their offer to be able to compete not only on price.

Call centers subsector This subsector has boomed in the last 5 years with the proliferation of many call centers set up by Italian investors who face ever growing pressure for cost cuts and who have outsourced these services outside of Italy. Albania’s competitiveness lies in the cheap labor costs, low property costs (rent, etc.), a young well-educated and multi-lingual workforce, proximity to the major EU markets and same time zone. As a result, this subsector has reached high employment in a very short time and it is currently estimated to having between 7.000-15,000 employees28. It is anticipated by experts to have a future annual growth of 10-30% both in turnover and in employment.

22 CBI Market Competitiveness for Information Technology Outsourcing, 2013, CBI. 23 Interview with Agim Bekaj, Country Manager of Microsoft Corporation. 24 General Overview of Information Technology Companies in Albania, AITA, September, 2012. 25 CBI Market Competitiveness for Information Technology Outsourcing, 2013, CBI. 26 Interview with Agim Bekaj, Country Manager of Microsoft Corporation. 27 The Global Information Technology Report 2013, World Economic Forum. 28 Interview with Agim Bekaj, Country Manager of Microsoft Corporation.

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Growth in this sub-sector of ICT would come from further expansion in the Italian market and by penetrating in new markets – the next challenge for Albania is to access new foreign markets of the English speaking call centers, a market today predominantly shared by Egypt, Turkey, and . During the sector selection process in the Inception phase, interviews also identified potential to develop Greek speaking services. This is an especially interesting opportunity given the current return of many immigrants that have spent years in Greece and of their children who were often educated there.

Another challenge is the diversification of services these firms can offer. Currently they focus on customer care or customer relationship management and telemarketing. In the future services like phone surveying or some aspects of market research can also be added to cater also to Albanian clients. For example, another service that could cater domestic demand would be playing the role of contact centers i.e. facilities used by companies to manage all client contact through a variety of media such as telephone, fax, letter, e-mail and online live chat. These types of centers are becoming a rapidly growing recruitment sector in itself, as the capabilities of contact centers expand and thus require ever more complex systems and highly skilled operational and management staff. Providing similar all- encompassing solutions to domestic clients in the larger area of contact management industry is an interesting perspective that Albanian call centers have yet to explore.

Telecommunications subsector Albania’s fixed-line telecommunications sub-sector is dominated by one single company, Albtelecom, which is owned by Turkish conglomerate Çalık Holding A.Ş, which also owns Eagle Mobile company, one of the four mobile operators in Albania. Following market liberalization in 2007, Albania’s mobile market has undergone rapid growth with four operators – Vodafone, AMC, Eagle Mobile and Plus – now offering mobile telephone and internet services. Besides the Telecoms companies, there are a number of internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in Albania providing double- and triple-play bandwidth-intensive services where a single provider delivers voice, Internet, and cable TV. In a few instances the providers also create and deliver (hopefully legal to distribute) video content, with the video delivery through satellite and terrestrial infrastructure29. An estimated 4,100 people are employed in this subsector30.

Figure 4: Turnover of telecommunications operators in 201131

Albanian operators' turnover in 2011

Other operators, Albtelecom, 7% 18% Plus Communicat ions, 2% AMC, 25% Eagle Mobile, 9%

Vodafone Albania, 39%

29 Assessment for Social and Behavior Change Communication for Improved Transparency and Governance, USAID, 2010. 30 AKEP Activity report 2012. 31 Ibid

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As it can be seen from Table 1 below, Telecom companies have potential to expand fixed lines services, and fixed and mobile broadband internet services, which are still at low levels. However, this market does not offer high employment potential as the companies can use their current capacities to extend penetration. Instead, these large Telecom corporations will serve as anchor businesses needing mobile applications and support IT services as they increase mobile services to Albanian consumers.

Table 3: Key telecom penetration by service in 201332

Subscriber penetration rate by service 2013 (e) Fixed-broadband 5% Fixed-line telephony 13% Mobile SIM 165% Mobile broadband subscriptions 18.4%

Hardware supply subsector This subsector encompasses the sales of PC shipments-desktops and notebooks, external disk storage system shipments, server system deliveries, the hardcopy peripherals market, etc. The hardware supply has seen a decline in turnover by 12% starting since 2011 and it’s not foreseen to have any significant growth in the coming year. As this subsector deals only with reselling of imported hardware and there is no prospect in manufacturing or assembly operations, it offers no additional employment opportunities besides keeping existing employment which is estimated up to 500 people. The top PC and hardware vendors in the country are HP, Infosoft Systems, Dell, EMC and IBM33.

Government trends and strategies on ICT Regarding ICT, it was identified that a lack of accurate research and studies on its dimensions and structure stand today in the way of accurately assessing this sector. Nonetheless, Albania’s economic and social development, adapted also to the global competitiveness trends, has to pass through catalyzing and increasing the use of ICT, which today stands as a key factor in the growth of productivity of the economy, public administration, business, industrial production and financial markets. According to MIPA, in the coming decade, to facilitate in Albania economic growth through innovation and ICT, the country must strengthen the legal and economic conditions as well as the necessary human capacities. MEDTE sees this sector as a challenging one due to the low level of infrastructure and level of interest from businesses in other areas compared to businesses in Tirana. The focus would be to initially direct ICT where existing businesses are in order to facilitate growth and increase efficiency. Thus for now ICT is seen by the Government less as a sector per se, and more as an added layer to existing businesses, as a catalyzer and accelerator of growth. This is illustrated by the current lack of Government strategies for the ICT as a sector in its own right. According to interviews, proper studies on the level of awareness and willingness of businesses to invest in ICT, as well as an improved infrastructure, would be an important first step channeling the current government support in the right direction. These can then be followed by the development of specific incentives for enhancing growth in ICT.

While other sectors such as G&F have been and will continue to be assisted, the Government recognizes that it is time ICT also receives the same attention and is looking for actors willing to research and support growth in this area. It is expected that developments in this sector will not only open jobs in labour intensive sub-sectors such as call centers, but also assist small businesses in other sectors to greatly improve their performance. The short-term plans from the Government are to use ICT to i) modernize government services – e-services – for citizens and businesses, ii) introduce en masse ICT services in its education programs to overcome the digital gap in young people’s skills and iii)

32 Source: BuddeComm 33 Albania IT Market Executive Summary, 2011, IDC Adriatics August 2012, Boris Zitnik.

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consolidate infrastructure in the whole territory of the Republic of Albania, especially with the completion of broadband infrastructure. Following these objectives, the Government seems open to any cooperation with donors or other actor that might suggest strategies for the development of ICT as a high-potential sector. Currently a national strategy is being drafted – the Digital Agenda of Albania 2014 – 2020 – which will include ICT together with infrastructure, innovation and other areas.

Intervention Potential of ICT The ICT industry presents potential for intervention in the further development of Call Centers, in the development of IT services and in the expansion of internet and other services from Telecommunications companies. Interventions in this sector are likely to benefit not only ICT specific actors, but also actors in any other sector for joint initiatives given the cross cutting nature of ICT and the importance it carries for Albanian businesses. As noted in the original sector selection report, growth of ICT sectors depends on the development of links to new international clients, the capacity of firms to develop new products and the availability of a skilled workforce, all of which are achievable interventions with Risi’s approach.

IT services subsector In the light of global demand for IT services, maturing domestic market demand and a large local workforce supply, IT services have a long-term development potential and provide opportunities for Risi interventions through an M4P approach. However, while growing, the ICT sector is facing problems of co-ordination among actors and consolidation, which prevent the industry from unleashing its true potential. This is an area of intervention the project can tackle.

While the ICT industry is a government priority (albeit without a concrete strategy), there is room for Risi to intervene and facilitate the process towards an effective government strategy for the ICT industry. Risi could help fill the information gap with accurate research and studies on the sector’s current stage of development, which would help the government develop a concrete sector strategy. This will help the government to build support measures for the sector in the future to realize its employment potential in full, and would strengthen efforts to promote it in foreign markets. Other Risi interventions could focus on extending IT services outside of Tirana where they are less developed.

As mentioned above, Albanian IT companies have not yet penetrated into European or global markets. One Risi intervention could be to promote the Albanian IT industry to the global markets, link them to international buyers, support them to specialize in specific skills sets34, develop new services and enhance their capacity to handle larger scale projects35. Such a promotion could be coordinated with other potential partners such as AITA and AIDA.

Besides the presence of reliable private sector actors, there are other business service providers and donors, which support the ICT industry and could be natural partners for Risi project. AITA has taken a leading role in promoting the new industry and has increased its membership base from year to year. Since October 10th, 2012, PROTIK, a local not-for-profit organization, is working to catalyze the development of ICT sector in Albania. PROTIK’s goals are to: foster innovation and entrepreneurship; help increase demand for ICT and promote networking and partnerships36.

34 For example Bulgarian programmers are renowned for their hacking skills. Interview with Edlira Kasaj, PROTIK. 35 As a result of attending foreign trade fairs through their Association, the Kosovo IT industry has benefited from contracts with German and Scandinavian companies. Source: interview with Agim Bekaj, Microsoft Country Manager for Albania. 36 PROTIK was founded through the combined efforts of the Ministry of Innovation of the Government of Albania, USAID, Albanian-American Development Fund (AADF), Microsoft, Cisco, and Albtelecom.

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While there is a large supply of workforce entering the labour market (around 4,000 IT students graduating each year), their skill levels should be improved to meet industry standards37. Employers complain that students do not receive specific practical training courses and certifications at University level. The presence of large actors in ICT such as Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, and others who have their own IT academies offering practical skills to young people and students is a great asset that could be promoted to reach out through the M4P approach. The project could facilitate between Universities and these private training providers to develop more targeted courses that meet the needs of the leading IT companies. There are already positive experiences on which to build on like Microsoft Imagine Cup, IKUB training academy, and others. Risi will be well placed to collaborate closely with the forthcoming SDC skills project and can co-ordinate with its potential VET and post –secondary interventions.

Call centers subsector The rise of Call Centers has come mainly from Italian investors who have successfully built operations using the Italian language skills already available in the country. Call Centers are a major employer within the ICT industry and still offer high employment potential in the future. As Italian language skills may be saturated there is high potential to expand these services to new markets using other language skills such as English, Greek etc. Risi interventions could help the promotion of Albania as a possible multi-lingual country; improve the coordination between stakeholders and the call centers to do joint promotion, marketing, advocacy, and create a formal representative forum.

Telecommunications subsector As noted in the sector selection report, the telecommunications market is a sophisticated and mature one dominated by large corporations. However, Risi could support endeavors that link IT firms to these large companies as they support mobile services with IT solutions (applications for smartphones, support services etc.).

Hardware suppliers subsector As this subsector has saturated employment potential, it does not offer opportunities for Risi intervention.

Cross-Cutting Issues in ICT As mentioned previously, the ICT sector is gender balanced and it offers women good opportunities to advance in their career. While rural outreach is limited, the extension of mobile services through new 3G technology will make ICT accessible to these areas as well. There is high potential for Risi in using existing skills initiatives from the private sector and the government. In addition, potential for regional collaboration with neighbouring countries is high as it is easier for IT young people to co-operate across borders. In addition, the development of an Information Society has been declared a national priority by the Government of Albania, in large part due to the desire for European Union accession.

37 There is a wide network of Universities with IT departments including the University of Tirana, Polytechnic University of Tirana, University of Durres, University of Vlora, University of Elbasan, University of Shkodra, and many private universities.

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3.3 Additional Experts opinions on ICT and G&F

Perspective from banks With regards to the banking sector, ICT and G&F are not seen as particularly risky sectors and both are seen with interest as sectors carrying a diversity of firms and potential for growth. The banking sector in Albania does little risk measurement at sector level. Apart from businesses in blacklisted sectors (as is currently for example construction) applications for loans from ICT and G&F are treated as individual cases, with each application being considered a potential client. There requests for finance from ICT businesses are in general lower than those of G&F businesses, and ICT is seen as developing at a slow pace. Banks tend to favour G&F, it being an export–oriented sector, but remain interested in ICT especially for subsectors such as telecom and call centres. G&F is perceived as more easily affected by various crises but now is seen as consolidated and on its way to more specialized and diversified products.

Perspective from economic development experts Economic development experts perceive ICT as a sector that still has to be structured and underline the need for studies and research to identify the best growth strategies. There is a clear lack of ICT- specific studies and sectorial economic analyses. Jobs in ICT, especially in call centres, are perceived as not enough stable due to the high turnover rates and the part-time nature of many jobs. Nonetheless, it is likely that interventions in this sector will create jobs that are not only decent but also attractive to youth. The lack of clarity on Government’s plans towards ICT is something that affects the opinions of experts who recognize the potential but are unsure of where the sector is heading, beyond short-term strategies for infrastructure development. For the time being, ICT is seen as supporting businesses in other sectors and as a sector with a very cross-cutting nature. For this reason, it is thought to have a great multiplier effect. One other strength is the low starting costs for an ICT oriented business (for example, a company of 100 employees can be started with E 60-70.000, which are returned on the first year if a company has a good contract). It is also a sector that is much more attractive to youth and experts believe with the right strategies, and the right cooperation with start-up and entrepreneurship schemes, it can become an interesting and energetic catalyser for growth.

On the other hand G&F is seen as having a wider outreach, being more stable and more responsive to Albania’s immediate challenges. This opinion comes from experts that believe Albania has little to offer in terms of competitiveness except cheap labour and foresee labour intensive industries dominating the Albanian economy for still some time. G&F remains dependent on the demand of buying countries which has still to pick up after being hit by the recent crisis. For the G&F industry, the demand for labour remains a derivate of the European demand for garment and footwear and Albania is in a region of highly competitive countries who can offer better infrastructure and quality. Additionally G&F – more so than ICT – is much more dependent on the rest of Europe for growth prospects.

Many experts seem to agree that ICT is indeed a medium to long – term goal for Albania, albeit a certain one, with sectors like G&F rather tailoring to the immediate challenges of the country in terms of alleviating poverty and catering to some disadvantaged demographic groups. In the short-run, the Government is likely to aim the alleviation of poverty and unemployment while aiming in the long-run to develop more knowledge-intensive sectors as Albania heads towards a knowledge economy. However the G&F sector has already received ample assistance from the government and donors and is now at a consolidated stage with two strong associations aiming for more foreign markets. From an intervention perspective, its dependence on the demand picking up in Europe can hardly be influenced and the competitive advantages compared to the region remain relatively small. ICT on the other hand, with the right assistance and vision, could develop both its labour-intensive sub-sector (call centres and other potential outsourcing services) and its knowledge-intensive sub-sector (telecom, IT services and other potential communication services).

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4. Conclusions and Recommendations

The two Risi intervention managers who conducted the sector reassessment, based on the interviews with generalist and sector experts, hands on experience with the two sectors, and the information gathered from secondary sources, gave a scoring for each of the criteria of the evaluation methodology explained above. The average scores are given in Annex 1.

As it can be noticed, while the two sectors are evaluated with close results, the ICT sector has an edge. While past employment and demand/competiveness are at similar levels, ICT offers higher jobs growth potential in the future. Intervention potential in ICT has a higher score as there are more local resources and partners, which make it easier for Risi’s M4P approach to be implemented successfully. The G&F sectors offer a more limited growth potential in added value processes and they requires more local resources, which are not available in the market and would require extensive resources and direct assistance to firms to build up, as well as heavy investments that Risi cannot facilitate. Furthermore, the negative business environment (contract enforcement, etc) would further hamper interventions.

So, while both carry potential for employment, there is more chance for success in ICT due to the existence of local resources. It also makes less sense to invest resources in a saturated sector like G&F, which is very exposed to demand fluctuations in foreign markets and does not have the same growth potential as before. Rather it would be better to invest in a new sector like ICT which is more attractive, with higher income and with greater prospects for growth.

Based on this thorough assessment, RisiAlbania is convinced that choosing the ICT sector as the third sector of intervention carries the strongest impact in terms of job creation for young women and men in Albania.

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Annex 1 – Evaluation of ICT and G&F sectors based on the methodology criteria

Criteria Weight Average Weighted Average Weighted Score ICT score ICT Score Score G&F G&F Relevance Number of youth employed 2 4 8 4.5 9 Income level 1 4 4 2.5 2.5 Attractiveness for young people 1 4 4 2.5 2.5 Multiplier effect 1 3.5 3.5 2 2 Growth Past employment trends (past 5 years) 1 4 4 4 4 Potential Demand and competitiveness 2 3.5 7 3.5 7 Future employment trends (next 5 years) 1 3.5 3.5 2.5 2.5 Intervention Need for support to develop potential 1 4.5 4.5 2.5 2.5 Potential Availability of resources / feasibility 2 3 6 2 4 Existence of partners 1 3 3 2.5 2.5 Cross- Opportunities for women 1 3.5 3.5 4.5 4.5 cutting Geographic and rural outreach 1 3 3 4.5 4.5 issues Alignment on Government priorities 0.5 3 1.5 4 2 Synergies with exiting skills initiatives 0.5 3 1.5 2 1 Synergies with existing entrepreneurship 0.5 3 1.5 2 1 initiatives Potential for regional collaboration or 0.5 3 1.5 1 0.5 interventions Total 60 52

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Annex 2: List of Meetings

Arben Malaj President IPPM Bashkim Sykja Director of Competitiveness Policy Dpt. MEDTE Zef Preci Executive Director ACER Adrian Civici President UET Admira Mlika Manager of Dep. of Corporate Credit BKT Eridon Pashaj Public Sector Dept. BKT Anjeza Kelmendi Director of Agro Sector Credits ProCredit Ledi Goxhaj Project Manager Recently closed GIZ Project Roland Bagaviki Business Advisor Rritje Albania Stefan Qirici Professor of Macro economy Various universities and Institutes Gjergji Gjika Chairman Chamber of Facons of Albania Ermir Kasmi Project Manager Chamber of Facons of Albania Floreta Luli-Faber Director AMCHAM Vilma Petro Head of Cabinet Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister Mirlinda Boshnjaku Advisor Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister Anisa Gjika Advisor of Minister MIPA Lorin Ymeri Director of Cabinet MIPA Anis Lamollari Head of Project Unit MIPA Edlira Kasaj CEO PROTIK Dritan Mezini Director AITA Ledi Goxhaj Project Manager PEM Consult/GIZ Agim Bekaj Director Microsoft Elvis Cirko Manager Microsoft Bardhi Sejdarasi Director National Association of Garments Manufacturers Silva Spahija Lecturer PUT Department of Textile Ermira Shehi Lecturer PUT Department of Textile Ariola Kule Fashion Designer Individual

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