New lending schemes for businesses - Access to finance increased in 2025, but not support for women entrepreneurs
Access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises appears to have improved during 2025, however the uptake and value of products dedicated to women entrepreneurs remains extremely low.
According to a report by the Investment Council, a number of financial instruments have increased support for small and medium-sized enterprises over the past year. As of February 2025, the Bank of Albania introduced a new financing scheme worth 25 billion lek, dedicated to supporting small, medium and large enterprises, operating mainly in the agriculture, agritourism, and other sectors.
The scheme aimed to facilitate access to finance for these businesses through favorable lending conditions, with reduced interest rates ranging from 2% for loans covered by sovereign guarantees to a maximum of 3.5% for those based on risk analyses of second-tier banks.
The loans are being offered in lek and for investments only. The scheme is currently being implemented through commercial banks and by the end of December, 127 loans worth a total of 1.7 billion lek have been disbursed.
Also, several agreements have been undertaken to strengthen access to finance for enterprises, with support from international institutions.
In January 2025, the Bank of Albania and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a strategic agreement for the development of green finance in the country, which foresees the drafting of a Green Taxonomy for the classification of sustainable activities, support for banks in mobilizing funds for green projects, capacity building for climate risk management, and preparation for approximation with EU standards in this field.
Despite this, there is a lack of attention to financial products dedicated to women in business. Apart from the €1 million financing and technical assistance package signed in November 2025 between the EBRD and a commercial bank for the implementation of the “Women in Business” scheme, this aspect is not reflected in the new Bank of Albania scheme or in other agreements in the banking sector, requiring increased focus in line with the recommendations for gender financial inclusion.
Beyond the activities undertaken by the Bank of Albania in implementation of the strategy for financial education and inclusion (2024-2026), several commercial banks have undertaken individual initiatives in promoting financial literacy and supporting entrepreneurship.
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