In an online meeting on April 15, startups from Albania and Austria will have the opportunity to discuss their challenges, exchange experiences, be able to be guided by experts, and why not build collaborations.
They can further develop the idea / their prototype, thanks to the cooperation of Albanian experts living in the two countries. The meeting is hosted by 2-AL Institute, which focuses on supporting business, fostering innovation, and empowering startups. Starting this spring, the Institute will come up with its own initiatives, which will provide more opportunities for startups. The best of them will have the door open for further development in Austria. A special branch of development is that of startups run by women and girls.
The institute launches its activities, with the first initiative "Tirana Meets Vienna startups", a bridge between startups of the two countries.
Apply to be part of the online meeting!
The following is an interview with Landa Grembi, one of the founders of the 2-AL Institute. Landa comes from the world of technology and has been engaged as a mentor in many startup competitions at the regional and European levels.
"Tirana meets Vienna", is the online event of startups between Albania (Tirana) and those of Vienna? Can you tell us more about this initiative?
During the Covid-19 crisis, a large number of existing startups encountered difficulties, as these initiatives are far more vulnerable than existing traditional businesses to the shock caused by the pandemic. Startups, for many reasons, tend to engage in high-risk activities compared to other small or medium-sized businesses (SMEs). They also face many limitations, one of the examples being access to finance.
At a time characterized by considerable economic uncertainty and revenues influenced by control measures in different countries, as well as a significant decline in demand, startups become more financially fragile and needed more support. Emergency needs are mostly short-term, mainly for liquidity, which is critical to their survival. Another difficulty remains in "selling/expanding" in international markets. They often remain up to the prototype unable to grow. These difficulties, and others like these, are encountered, not only by startups in Tirana (Albania) but around the globe. Part of the 2-AL Institute team currently lives in Vienna, where we have constant contact with the ecosystem here. Through this activity we want to bring together startups from Vienna and startups from Albania and, why not, from the region, to exchange their experiences.
What is the purpose of this meeting? What will the startups of both parties gain?
Participating in such activities, first allows you to meet different people and understand other perspectives, but not only. Startups from these countries operate in different environments in terms of firstly the support they have from the ecosystem in the west, comparing it with that in the Western Balkans. Another opportunity offered to them is the exchange of ideas and the emergence of further collaborations. Also, one of the reasons for this meeting is to identify the challenges they face daily in their countries.
2-AL Institute plans to create these meetings as a tradition in the future. The findings will also be a basis on which we can support new startups in the future.
How do you see the potential of startups in Albania, Tirana compared to Europe? How necessary is the connection with other communities?
2-AL Institut believes that in Tirana, Pristina, Skopje, or other cities of the Western Balkans there is potential for startups, that are at western levels in every aspect. We can mention endless examples that have managed to be present and successful in the European market and beyond. Connecting with other sister communities in Europe we think has become a necessity.
Tirana is also seen as an attractive city to create a startup since it has also been announced this year as Youth Capital. If the ecosystem in Albania would offer the conditions for incubation, as the city of Vienna offers, we are convinced that many startups from other Balkan cities, and why not Europe, would join the community in Albania. A concrete example is the city of Amsterdam, where facilitation policies to develop the business idea have made many of them offer. Also, the adoption of the law on startups in recent days in Parliament was a pretty good omen.
What do we have next? Will we be able to have a stable channel with Vienna in the future and how do you plan to achieve this?
As we mentioned above, Covid -19 brought with it a crisis, a period that was accompanied by a decline also in the registrations of new businesses in all countries. An analysis conducted by the OEDC (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) confirmed that new business registration fell sharply in many countries in March and April 2020, with a large drop of up to 70% in April 2020 in Portugal, compared to the same month of the year before the pandemic, 46%, 54% and 58% in Hungary, France, and Turkey.
Milder but still present declines have also been identified in Australia, the US, and Spain. Given all this, we also consider the situation in our country urgent. As 2-AL Institut we think that creating this bridge of communication with Vienna on an ongoing basis would be one more opportunity for our youth and the region. We are preparing activities for all talented young people to become part of a competition, where the winner will have the opportunity to be presented in several agencies in Vienna. Also, 2AL Institute has been selected to organize the Woman Startup Competition, a Startup competition held once a year, to support women in business, providing visibility opportunities to present their idea before an international jury. More details will be revealed in the coming months.
0 comments