The Bank of Albania announced the signing of a framework agreement with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and commercial banks to implement the national financing initiative for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and farmers, known as Double Your Entrepreneurship. The agreement is intended to strengthen interinstitutional cooperation and create more effective instruments to expand access to finance for smaller businesses and Albanian farmers. At the signing ceremony, Governor Gent Sejko said MSMEs remain a main pillar of the Albanian economy but still have relatively lower access to bank financing, making stronger lending to MSMEs and especially the agricultural sector a national priority. He noted that the private sector loan portfolio reached ALL 907 billion at end-March 2026 and that lending to the private sector has grown by around 15% a year on average over the past two years. Sejko also highlighted the Bank of Albania's SME Financing Program and the Albanian government's Sovereign Guarantee Scheme for the agricultural sector as concrete instruments to support lending to these priority segments.
Bank of Albania 2026-05-13
Bank of Albania signs framework agreement to implement MSME and farmer financing initiative with ministries and commercial banks
The Bank of Albania has signed a framework agreement with several ministries and commercial banks to implement the national financing initiative for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and farmers, “Double Your Entrepreneurship”, aimed at expanding access to finance. Governor Gent Sejko underscored that MSMEs remain central to the Albanian economy but face relatively lower access to bank credit, and highlighted the Bank of Albania’s SME Financing Program and the government’s Sovereign Guarantee Scheme for agriculture as key tools to support lending.