What if they say yes?”: Inside Albania’s efforts to back women in business
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In Tirana, Albania, a municipal mini-grant programme is helping women turn ideas into income and uncertainty into confidence. What once felt out of reach is becoming possible, as more women take steps toward financial independence.
For six months, 34-year-old Elena Vela ran a small printing and customization business from a room in her Tirana apartment. The heat press was wedged between other household furniture. Orders arrived through social media. Every night, after her 6-year-old daughter fell asleep, Elena Vela taught herself graphic design from online tutorials.
“There were nights when I would cry,” she says, seated in the small studio she has rented since winning a mini-grant from the Municipality of Tirana. “I had so much uncertainty. But I was also very determined.”
Her story reflects a reality many women face when re-entering the workforce after maternity leave. A psychology graduate, she tried returning to employment twice after giving birth. Both stints only lasted a few months. Long commutes, rigid working hours, and a lack of understanding from employers made it impossible to continue.
“There was zero empathy,” she says. That’s why she turned to self-employment, which would help her generate some income.
The grant that changed everything
Everything shifted when a friend mentioned a mini-grant programme run by the Municipality of Tirana to support women entrepreneurs. At first, she was skeptical.
“Someone was going to give me money, and I wouldn’t have to pay it back? It seemed unreal.” The programme is part of broader efforts to strengthen gender equality at the local level, and it is supported by UN Women through the “European Union for Gender Equality” project – Phase II, which helps municipalities provide funding, training, and guidance to women starting or growing a business.
The application was straightforward. Writing a business plan was not. Nevertheless, she received a grant of 5,000 euros to cover three months of studio rent, so a financial weight lifted. She closed her accounts properly and then invested the remainder in equipment and supplies. The impact was immediate. Working informally from home, she had produced around 100 items a month. Today, she can complete the same order in just two days.
A municipality at work
The mini-grant programme has been running since 2016, launched as a joint effort between the Municipality of Tirana and UN Women. Between 2022 and 2024, it supported 39 women, 14 starting new businesses and 25 developing existing ones, while 78 women received business plan training, including women from Roma and Egyptian communities and women heading single-parent households. Building on this momentum, the Municipality is scaling up from 25 to 60 grants annually.
“We want to increase opportunities for women and girls, because this fund from the municipal budget is dedicated exclusively to them,” says Adela Bushaj, Director of the Employment Promotion Directorate.
These efforts are anchored in the Local Action Plan for Gender Equality and are feeding into the next planning phase, because Albania’s EU integration journey requires more than ad hoc compliance.
A shift in mindset
The biggest change for Elena Vela, she says, is not the size of her orders or the quality of her equipment – it’s her mindset. Where family members once discouraged her, she now encourages other women to take that first step. “You already have the 'no' in your pocket,” she tells them. “What if they say yes? It could completely change the course of your life.”
Majlinda Sinani knows this change well. As an employment specialist at the Municipality, with over 15 years of experience, she has followed Vela's journey closely from the start. “Skepticism is the biggest barrier we see in women,” she says. “Not the lack of opportunity, but the belief that the opportunity isn't really for them.”
Elena Vela is already planning her next step. Rejection of a grant application no longer devastates her, and slow months with less activity no longer frighten her. “Even when you hear a 'no', there are people behind the scenes who remember you. And just when you think you're about to give up, someone comes along and says: this month, we'll work together.”
As Albania works towards European Union integration, the country is required to implement gender equality programmes that move from policy to practice, and from practice to measurable change. The “European Union for Gender Equality” project, implemented by UN Women, was designed to accelerate this process, giving municipalities the tools, frameworks, and expertise to turn national commitments into local action.