On 9th of March the Albanian Agribusiness & Tourism Support Facility (AATSF) and the Municipality of Malësia e Madhe organised an agribusiness matchmaking event at the city hall premises. Malësia e Madhe has a strong tradition in the production and export of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs). MAPs are one of the main agri-food products for export purposes. In this regard, the agribusinesses of region have great potential demand accessing finance through AATSF and grants through the IPARD scheme.
A majority of the agribusinesses of the area attended the event. The purpose of this workshop was to present the AATSF and the potential benefits for all the agribusiness of the Municipality of Malesia e Madhe.
The AATSF experts presented financing opportunities for agribusinesses through the AATSF Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs). Further, the AATSF experts introduced the agribusiness specific technical assistance program that complements the financial support.
Specific PFIs’ service offers to agriculture clients were introduced and lively discussion on how specific agribusinesses could access these services took place. In addition, the AATSF experts introduced supporting schemes from EU and the Albanian Government that can serve as sources of co-financing for agri-investments. Especially in combination, AATSF and IPARD or national grant schemes can have substantial impact on agri-investments in Albania.
At the end of the event, the attendees had the opportunity to become better acquainted with the mechanisms of AATSF as an innovative financial instrument to encourage lending by financial institutions to the whole agribusiness value chain. The Albanian Agribusiness & Tourism Support Program (AATSF) is a project funded and developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in cooperation and with the support of the Albanian Government.