Training- Mentoring and Empowering
Albania is the poorest country in Europe. After 45 years of brutal communism and 27 years of endemic corruption during a seemingly endless transition towards democracy. Albania is facing deep challenges. A mass exodus of Albanians towards European Union countries, particularly Germany, is symptomatic of the hopelessness this situation has created. The economic effects of the Coronavirus are being felt deeply in this country as exports and tourism have been hit hard.
Yet at the same time Albanians are resourceful, hard-working, intelligent and adaptable people who have a flair for foreign languages and are often highly skilled.
We want to help Albanians to help themselves by providing loans for the creation of small or medium sized businesses. This is all the more urgent after the outbreak of Coronavirus which has caused such severe economic damage around the world. Some may wonder why we should look to do this now but it is exactly now that Albania needs help the most!
What are our aims?
- Economic transformation. For Albanian businesses to compete on a global scale people need the skills and knowledge to run businesses effectively along with the financial resources to turn good ideas into real businesses. We want to equip Albanian entrepreneurs both with business know how and with the financial resources they need. This will in time begin to lessen the “brain drain” from Albania of qualified and gifted people who are so vital for the future development of this country. We aim to impact the Albanian economy by helping businesspeople create new businesses which in time will employ others and bring income into families.
- Social transformation. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms every area of life. This includes our work life. Values that we take for granted in North America and Eastern Europe such as honesty, fair pricing, paying taxes and hard work came from the Protestant Reformation. We want to see Albania transformed by these values and see an end to corruption, tax evasion and laziness. We want to reduce dependency on hand outs or foreign aid and help Albanians to be self- sufficient.
- Spiritual transformation. Creating new businesses will be key for the future of the Albanian church. The Albanian church is largely reliant on foreign support to pay rent on church buildings or to pay pastors and other church workers. This is due not only to poverty but also to the constant stream of believers who have to leave their towns and villages to either live in the capital city Tirana or overseas. The Albanian church will never be self-sufficient financially and will never be able to mature spiritually unless people can earn a living wage and stay in Albania.
We want to invest in Albanian believers who will give generously to their churches and to the work of the gospel in Albania as well as meeting the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable in their society. We want to see church leaders and workers working part time to support themselves and part time for their churches. This will increase the number of workers for the harvest fields and fuel further church planting.
We also want to reach nonbelievers with the gospel. In Albania the perception, especially among men, is that to go to church or to believe is for the inadequate and the weak. We want to change this perception by being involved in the business world and showing that believers can be successful and create the credibility that we need to share the gospel more widely. We want to form relationships with people who would never set foot in church and impact the business community with the gospel!
Ultimately this project is about hope. Hope that you do not necessarily have to leave Albania to find work and get on in life. Hope that you can be honest in business in a corrupt environment. Hope that someone with real business skills wants to help you. Hope that can be found in Christ alone!
Our first training event
On June the 13th and 14th we were able to hold our first training seminar for those interested in setting up or expanding a business. We were delighted to have people from Fier, Patos, Vlora and Ballsh for the two evenings and to see at least three different churches being represented as well as a good number of non believers.
One of our mentors was prevented from coming because of cancelled flights but was able to join us via Zoom on the second evening. Jeff Barrett and Marko Hallidri of LinkAcross were both a huge help and Jonathan Barber was able to join us physically to do different presentations.
What now ?
Our aim is to invite those who came to the seminar for a process of mentoring over the next few months to hone their business plans, to help them study the market and to perfect their financial plans. Our UK mentors are both ready to help in this process
We hope that this will not be the only time that we do an event like this but that we can repeat it next year.
How can you help?
- By contributing financially to our “seed fund” which will provide these loans. Our target is to raise 20,000 pounds to fund these loans and to put on the training events. We need to have a reasonable fund to provide credible loans for businesses and the more money we can raise, the more businesses we can help create. The beauty of a loan scheme is that your gift will not only impact one business but many more as time goes on. This is an investment which keeps going.
- By being a mentor. Would you be able to give a week each year to come to Albania and help those who are forming business plans? Would you be able to share your experience in business and vital skills to those starting new businesses? Would you be able to keep contact with those you are mentoring as they begin their new businesses? Would you be someone who could share how your faith impacts your life in business?
- By making this project known. We need people who will champion this worthy cause among their friends, associates and churches. Would you be prepared to promote this project to people you know or maybe get Christian business people involved as mentors?
If you would like to give to this project or would like more information please contact Will Niven at willniven@gmail.com