A €20 mln plafond

Intesa Sanpaolo supports the internationalization of Southern Italy’s small and medium-sized enterprises and offers to SMEs active in Albania tools to increase their business and investment opportunities, including:

• a €20 million plafond to support investments in the green economy - photovoltaic, energy efficiency, etc. - made available by Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania;
   
• the extension to Albania of the international "Confirming" platform, an innovative digital solution of supply chain finance that supports Italian and foreign companies in commercial exchange activities.

Italy is Albania's main trading partner with a market share of over 31%, equal to €2,9 billion (+28,7% vs 2020) and Puglia is the first Italian region for commercial exchange with Albania. In 2021 the Albanian economy grew by 8.5% recovering to pre-pandemic levels, and international trade reached about €11 billion, with a tendential increase in interchange of 39% compared to the previous year.

Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania, which is part of the International Subsidiary Banks Division, provides financial services in line with the highest European standards to more than 2,000 client companies, 500 of whom are Italian companies mainly active in the textile-clothing and mechanical sectors, thus playing a leading role for the development of the country system. With total assets of €1,621 million and 35 branches, the bank is a growing reality in terms of results, innovation and digitization and it was also recently awarded with the 2021 “Bank of the Year for Banking in the Community” award, assigned by The Banker.

In order to ilustrate the business opportunities offered to companies operating in Albania, Intesa Sanpaolo organized a meeting in Bari dedicated to SMEs based in Puglia, Basilicata and Molise, and attended by institutional representatives from Italy and Albania.