Although in Albania, 99% of businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises, most of them are unable to take loans. A World Bank survey reveals that Albania is one of the countries with the lowest percentage in the region with regard to small business access to credit. 66% of entrepreneurs who have applied for loans to the bank have been rejected and only 20% of small and medium-sized businesses have a formal loan.
“Only 17 per cent of Albanian small businesses believe there are no obstacles to obtaining a loan, a figure significantly lower than in other similar economies”
, the report says.
The report also draws a part of the responsibility in the policies pursued by the government, which should be a line rather than the case of anti-informality, and then forgiveness of taxes. “The government must continue to implement carefully balanced measures that provide the necessary controls and incentives by minimizing the moral hazard created by paying taxpayers”.
In the World Bank Enterprise Survey, it turns out that small business is required to issue a collateral up to 3 times higher than the amount it receives.
But even though the EBRD state has allocated an amount of 300 million euros to guarantee loans in the agricultural sector, this branch of the economy continues to remain with the lowest funding. “Most of the agricultural enterprises that applied for a loan in 2017 have been rejected,” the report concludes./tvklan.al
