Kosovo

Projects

Swiss Entrepreneurship Program

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...

Learn more

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.

Learn more

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.

Learn more

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.
Website

Learn more

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.

Learn more

News

View all news from Kosovo

06.04.2023

Supporting MSMEs in achieving sustainable growth

Ribbons are a unique feature of Lindt chocolate products, and they are handcrafted with care and attention to detail by women at Dimali Tex, a women-owned enterprise in Kosovo. The FEGO Project Kosovo supported Dimali Tex to expand their manufacturing capacities through new sewing machines. These new capacities also created new jobs, and the company now employs around 150 local women.

Learn more

06.03.2023

FEGO Project to boost Kosovo's sustainable economic growth and innovation in Kosovo's Furniture Sector

The Fostering Employment and Growth Opportunities (FEGO) project in Kosovo has achieved incredible success in forming partnerships with the apparel, furniture, and rural tourism sectors in its first year.

Learn more

15.02.2023

Sustainable Agriculture Roundtable: A Discussion on the Future of Agriculture

On February 10th, prominent leaders in agriculture and sustainable food production gathered for a roundtable discussion on the future of sustainable agriculture. The event, facilitated by the Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE) project and sector association Organika, brought together experts from all corners of the industry to discuss the challenges facing sustainable agriculture and the actions necessary to secure a sustainable food future.

Learn more

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.