Kosovo

Projects

Senior Expert Contact

Promoting entrepreneurship through expertise - Imparting technical skills through volunteer work Through their services, Senior Expert Contact (SEC) experts provide hands-on, direct support to companies and institutions in their efforts to grow.
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Fostering Employment and Growth Opportunities (FEGO)

The FEGO project aims to generate employment and income for women, men, and youth, presently living in poverty and socio-economic marginalization. The project seeks to reach sustainable and scalable growth of micro/small (family) business and start-ups, in three main sectors where the project is focused: apparel, furniture and rural tourism.

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Promoting Private Sector Employment

Kosovo has grown moderately at an average rate of 4% in the last few years (pre-COVID 19) and is constantly facing growing labour force, while the labour market falls short of generating the jobs needed to absorb the new entrants (around 30,000 annually). Formal employment makes around 75% of the overall employment, with public sector accounting for 25% of formal jobs. Youth, women, and minorities (particularly the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian) remain the most excluded groups. The COVID-19 pandemic did not spare Kosovo’s economy from its devastating impact.

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Boost Employment: Continued efforts for labour market inclusion in Albania and Kosovo

After the successful 10-year intervention for the employability and economic integration of marginalized and youth groups - based on the “Coaching for Employment” methodology - Boost Employment Project brings Swisscontact’s support to labour market in Albania and Kosovo to another level.

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Swiss Entrepreneurship Programme

The heart of any entrepreneurial ecosystem is the community of entrepreneurs themselves. The Swiss Entrepreneurship Program (Swiss EP) has incorporated this belief and supports building local startup communities bottom up by working with ecosystem leaders and builders since 2015. We do this by working with selected startup support organizations...

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News

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02.08.2022

Manifesta 14 transforms Kosovo’s capital into a 100-day exhibition venue

Manifesta Biennial is a European roving contemporary art biennale, taking place in different city every other year. In 2019, the Supervisory Board of Manifesta selected Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo to host the 2022 biennale – Manifesta 14, making it the first city in the Western Balkans to host the nomadic event. Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE), a project implemented by Swisscontact and Riinvest Institute, supported the international media tour and the commissioning of wearable souvenirs by local artists.

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26.07.2022

Building Trust – A Playbook to Build Trust in Networks and Ecosystems

Together with Erin Ouzts and Kevin Asinde, Swisscontact has compiled methods to support ecosystem actors as they reflect on their roles and intentionally build trust within a community.

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03.06.2022

Smart Interventions for Job Creation

Since 2013, the Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE) has had a pioneering mission in Kosovo – increase employment and employability by supporting growing and resilient SMEs and farms in the food and natural ingredients (FNI) and tourism sectors.

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Country Director Kosovo

Argjentina Grazhdani

Swisscontact in Kosovo

Swisscontact’s key objective in Kosovo is to strengthen the private sector, improve business conditions and create a dynamic labour market that offers job and business opportunities to all. The focus is on the unemployed youth, women, and minorities.

In Kosovo, Swisscontact works across several segments of economic life in the country, from supporting job creation in the food and natural ingredients and tourism sectors to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, Swisscontact trains coaches, enabling them to guide young people into the world of work.

This is done in collaboration with a broad spectrum of local partners from the government institutions, private sector, education institutions and business organizations.

Swisscontact’s work in these sectors is an essential part of Switzerland’s development strategy in the country.