Kosovo business exodus fuels alarm as €100M shifts to Albania in 2024, says AKB

A growing number of Kosovar businesses are relocating operations to Albania, with investments from Kosovo reaching €100 million in 2024, according to the Kosovo Business Alliance (AKB). The group warns that the trend could undermine Kosovo’s economic stability and reflects deep dissatisfaction with the local business climate.

Why is this important: The movement of capital and businesses from Kosovo to neighboring markets—especially Albania—signals declining investor confidence in domestic conditions. AKB reports that over 600 Kosovo-owned enterprises are now operating in Albania. The exodus is attributed to policy failures, legal uncertainty, and lack of institutional support in Kosovo.

Context: According to a statement reported by Gazeta Tema, AKB says direct investments from Kosovo into Albania in 2024 rose by 32% compared to 2023, bringing the total to €100 million this year. The cumulative stock of Kosovar investments in Albania has reached €450 million since 2020.

The group warns this shift is not a sign of healthy expansion but rather a survival strategy by companies facing domestic challenges. Cited factors include:

·       Lack of institutional support

·       Legal and procedural insecurity

·       High operational costs and unequal competition

·       Absence of incentives for local capital

“Kosovo is losing businesses, and with them, the economic lifeblood of the country,” said AKB president Agim Shahini. “Instead of protecting domestic enterprises, current policies are pushing them out.”

What else: AKB has called for the urgent drafting of a National Economic Pact, urging Kosovo’s institutions, private sector, and diaspora to collaborate on creating a more favorable investment climate.

Shahini emphasized the long-term social and economic risks of capital flight: “Capital is the lifeblood of the economy—Kosovo cannot progress by bleeding out its own.”

What’s next: AKB has urged Kosovo’s government and parliament to undertake immediate structural reforms aimed at reversing this trend. Failure to act, the group warns, could deepen economic stagnation and increase dependency on foreign markets.