Agency to Support Startups Will Emerge in Albania
After the enactment of the "Startup Law" (in Albanian: ligjit për Start Up-et), which introduced the concepts of digital nomads and startups into the legislation, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania has also approved the establishment of the agency "Startup Albania."
This is reported by ACP.al.
This development is not only good news for the startup ecosystem in Balkan countries but also for any potential Albanian or foreign individual interested in engaging in innovative entrepreneurship in the field of information technology or other promising sectors in Albania.
The amendments made to the legislation to support and develop startups focus on three key changes. Firstly, the government has proposed rules for the entry of foreign entrepreneurial innovators into Albania. Secondly, these individuals will be exempted from taxes during their one-year stay in the country.
Thirdly, by amending legislative and sub-legislative acts related to technological and scientific parks, the government has allowed IT professionals with high salaries working for local startups to pay social and health contributions based on the minimum wage. This opens up new possibilities for foreign and local companies in terms of talent recruitment.
This development follows some changes introduced by the Albanian government. The first change was related to the startup support and development law, where the concept of digital nomads was introduced, practically based on two changes.
Firstly, it facilitated the entry of this target group into Albania, and secondly, it granted tax exemptions for their one-year stay in the country. We are seeing the effects of these changes day by day with an increase in entries, their stays, and their connections to Albania's ecosystem.
The second change, even more significant, was the government's decision to amend legislative and sub-legislative acts related to technology parks and scientific parks.
The establishment of the agency Startup Albania will bring about two additional changes. Firstly, the government has delegated all initial evaluation, financial and other support tasks for startups, as well as their monitoring results, to this new structure.
Secondly, the agency will provide real-time assistance to entrepreneurs, ranging from providing information and a "one-stop-shop" service to organizing contacts with other institutions for resolving issues related to property rights, tax and customs privileges.
As previously reported by The Gaze, foreigners working in the information technology field and planning to be employed in Albania are entitled to simplified entry and long-term stays in the Albania.
The government has approved a decision stating that foreigners, who can prove at one of the border crossing points that they will be working for an IT company whose primary activities include computer programming, consulting, and related services, data processing, hosting, and related activities, internet portals, and/or computer program development, according to the nomenclature of economic activities approved by the Council of Ministers, and they will also be working as users in scientific and technological parks, have the right to visa-free entry and stay without a special permit in Albania for up to one year.
During this period, foreigners can apply for a special permit in the Republic of Albania.