The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Business Growth organization, Creative Business Solutions (CBS) organized the "Balkanomics" Conference in Tirana, a regional conference that aims to support and promote economic growth opportunities for the Western Balkans.

For the first time, the Conference gathered international experts, businesses, financial institutions, development partners, and policy makers to explore innovative solutions and build partnerships that drive sustainable economic progress in the region.

The two-day conference was opened by Mischere Kawas, USAID Representative for Albania, followed by a panel discussion with David Wisner, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Albania, and Silvio Gonzato, EU Ambassador to Albania.

Emphasizing how strong political partnerships can accelerate USAID's development initiatives and Albania's progress towards EU membership, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Albania, David Wisner said: “We believe in a deeper integration major regional, which will undoubtedly promote prosperity and growth throughout the Western Balkans. In Albania in particular, we always say that we focus on three major issues: defense, democracy, and business. In each of these areas, we are working both with the European Union itself and with the member countries to see the kind of change and to help promote the change we want to see in the region and Albania."

Also present, the EU Ambassador to Albania Silvio Gonzato explained how the European Union is helping the Western Balkans and Albania to address structural economic challenges in the context of the EU integration process. He emphasized the importance of the EU Growth Plan for the economic convergence of the region and Albania with the European Union.

On the first day, the Conference focused on core themes of the USAID CATALYZE EoG in the Western Balkans, such as mobilizing access to capital for SMEs, the importance of capital markets financing, financial innovations, and the transformative power of digitization and e-commerce.

Equally important, the "Balkanomics" conference exposed during its proceedings Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, sustainable finance, and the role of public and private partnership in promoting the progress of ESG policies.

The conference will also announce the next meeting of the ESG network in Albania, which will take place on September 16, 2024. To bring other perspectives, Delina Ibrahimaj, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Climate, spoke on the second day of the conference.

Strategic partner of the Conference, Mario Bracci, General Director of Titan Albania and President of ESG Albania, presented the best practices that support the adaptation of businesses to ESG policies in Albania.

Also, the conference covered topics such as private capital perspectives in the region, banking standards with Responsibility for Green Projects, initiatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in embracing ESG as well as the use of FinTech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business innovation.