PINCA.al is a platform for professionals and students. Although the startup started its testing phase during the pandemic, it seems ambitious. We interviewed Pranvera Rrokaj, the founder of this startup to understand more about the opportunities offered by the platform.
What is your platform called and what does it consist of?
PINCA.al is the first platform in the region, which aims to create employment opportunities and professional experience for Albanian professionals and students. It aims to engage students in projects with foreign companies or even by offering employment opportunities inside these companies. Opportunities for cooperation with business are numerous and the categories of services include areas for which services can be provided without any difficulty at a distance and are constantly updated, according to the requirements of businesses. Specifically, in the platform users can select services of: information technology, digital marketing, financial consulting, design, architecture, and language services. PINCA, in addition to being a virtual job marketplace, where professionals can compete with their skills to provide services and engage in short-term distance projects, also serves as a genuine community of professionals and students. They can share their experience and train each other, organize events or further develop skills through the platform, thanks to the partnership that we have with the companies that offer these distance learning programs.
At what stage is Pinca currently?
Although in the first year of operation, PINCA counts about 250 Albanian professionals and students from Albanian-speaking areas, who have been interviewed and selected in advance to be ready to engage at any time with the task profile that best suits them. From October, the platform will be presented in a new form, offering a set of functionalities that make it competitive even with foreign platforms that offer similar services. The announcement of the new version of PINCA (launch) will be slightly different from what we are used to seeing: a dedicated virtual event, which will introduce the newly offered facilities, professionals as part of the community (network), and many others.
How did the idea for this platform come about?
The idea of PINCA was born after my long engagement with projects and part-time collaborations at a distance and after constant discussion with young Albanians and professionals who increasingly find space to test their skills and to be competitive abroad, getting a better payment and having an added experience in their professional portfolio. Albanian youth are highly qualified, speak several foreign languages , and have an adaptive ability that is constantly tested. These factors, which have led to about three thousand Albanians regularly engaging in foreign distance professional engagement platforms such as Fiverr, Freelancer, or Upwork. During the Covid 19 pandemic, the telecommuting market underwent significant development, reshaping the traditional concept of office work. Now, any professional can work for the biggest companies in the world, from his home to the other end of the globe. This concept is also an advantage for businesses, which through the platform significantly reduce fixed costs and increase the flexibility of their operations thanks to experts commitment selected and trained by PINCA to provide exactly the service required by the customer.
How will it bring value to users and do you think it will be exclusive for Albanian users, or could it be an international platform?
The users of the platform are professionals, students, and businesses. They can register for free and be part of the community, gaining full rights to engage in any project that meets the requirements of their qualifications, thus gaining additional experience, with foreign businesses as well as develop their skills to prepare for an increasingly integrated global market. The platform has a special space for students, who often do not have the experience required to start a full-time job, regardless of the results of the study. PINCA aims to fill this gap by engaging users in concrete projects, which also increase their work skills in practice and meanwhile constitute a valuable experience for their CVs. The PINCA community is dedicated to the Albanian youth of the region and the diaspora, while in terms of partner businesses, the platform is entirely international.
How is your journey so far? Who has supported or promoted you the most?
The platform has launched throughout the pandemic, with a simple concept, in the form of a Web site to test the market and engage professionals. Since the beginning, during the first week, about 20 professionals were registered, which showed the need that the market has for this project to continue to develop. The most important step was our participation in the accelerator program in support of women entrepreneurs "Women Founders Network Accelerator". This program served to better evaluate the products that should be offered, to recognize mentors who continue to help the development of PINCA, and to assess the potential that this concept has in the Albanian market as well as the regional one. Subsequently, during 2021, PINCA has been part of the MatchMaking and Exposure Program and Fundraising 101, both supported by the EU for Innovation initiative.
What are your future goals? What do you aim for at this moment?
Over the next year, PINCA will start offering courses through the platform and will continue to develop activities that strengthen the professional community and its development. In the medium term, PINCA aims to create the largest community of Albanian-speaking professionals in the Balkans, offering them opportunities and becoming the first place in the search for opportunities for professional development and growth.
What is your motto in this regard?
PINCA is a startup driven by the need to adapt to an increasingly dynamic market. The ability to bring innovation and engage as many young people as possible in this process is the main driving factor of PINCA's daily life. We are convinced that by being together and having an open mind to any change, we will be competitive in global markets, without leaving our country. And why not: technology can speak Albanian!
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