The technology and telecommunications sector is really key to the country's economic development, which became clearer during the pandemic, with the urgent need to digitize every process. One of the companies that is contributing and enabling digitalization in many countries of the world and is considered a successful partner of businesses and consumers, is Vodafone Group, which for 20 years operates in the Albanian market as one of the most important foreign investors in the country.

Situated for a short and very intensive working visit in Tirana, the General Director for Vodafone Europe, Mrs. Serpil Timuray gave an exclusive interview to Euronews Albania, where she stressed that Albania is one of the markets with the best performance and that it has a lot of potential and opportunities to benefit from digital transformation. 

"The government of your country is very focused on digitalization. This is a pro-business environment, so we would like them to play our role as a global actor to do what is possible for Albania to benefit from our expertise and experience, to accelerate economic progress and that of society in general," - said the General Manager for Vodafone Europe, listing three important strategies of Vodafone Group in Albania: providing a superior network quality, both in the mobile and fixed network, which will be achieved through the introduction of 5G technology and improving fixed network technology; digital transformation, where world-class digital skills are now being implemented in Albania, as well as the continuation of projects, to further develop and train new talents, which would turn Vodafone Albania into an incubator of new innovation initiatives and Albania one of the three digital laboratories in Europe, which will work for the group enterprises.

During the interview, Mrs. Serpil spoke about the primary objective that Vodafone had during the pandemic to ensure that customers and communities where it operates were connected to the network and had the right support. "We have supported 1.5 million health workers through our funds and services, and we have provided free access to online health sites to 15 million people. At the same time, we provided support to 5 million students, providing free access to digital websites, as well as 4 million businesses. All this support plan captures a figure of 150 million euros in material donations, from which 100 million people have benefited." 

The director of Vodafone Europe continued with the actual and consistent investments made in Albania, focused mainly on the quality of the network, making Vodafone have the best network.

She expressed enthusiasm that businesses in Albania follow the Vodafone strategy and that they are thus becoming important contributors to the Vodafone Group strategies. To the question of the journalist Çifligu about the entry of Vodafone Albania in the fixed internet market in Albania, after the purchase of ABCom, Mrs. Serpil responded that this is a strategic acquisition by the company and in line with global strategies to provide customers with converged services. 

The conversation in the Euronews studio also touched on the social issues that Vodafone supports, with the aim of connecting everyone, in the name of a better future. "We have three priorities: the first is to support the creation of a digital society; secondly, inclusiveness, so that no one is left behind, and thirdly, to contribute to the protection of the planet. We have taken several initiatives around the world to meet these three priorities."

Serpil, emphasizing that Albania is a good example of important initiatives that are being undertaken for women, one of which is the campaign "Pour a h'app", where through technology will help women at risk of violence, especially the one in the family or the initiatives for the preservation of the planet, operating in the market with 100% renewable energy sources, which makes Albania one of the best examples of the use of ecological energy. 

At the end of the conversation, the General Manager of Vodafone Europe expressed her strong conviction that Albania has a lot of potential and opportunities to benefit from the digital transformation.