Albanian President visits USAID beneficiary to mark International Eradication of Poverty Day

Speeches Shim

Wednesday, October 17, 2018
President Meta (center with microphone) meets with CityTex employees.
USAID/Albania

TIRANA, ALBANIA     The President of Albania Mr. Ilir Meta visited an USAID assisted businesses, CitiTex, to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17. CitiTex is one of hundreds of businesses supported by USAID’s partner Yunus Social Business Balkans. YUNUS helps establish, incubate, accelerate, and scale new businesses to help promote entrepreneurship and job creation in Albania through the growth of small, and medium size businesses.

The President was joined by U.S. Embassy/Tirana’s A/DCM Dan Koski and USAID/Albania Country Representative Mikaela Meredith. 
 
CityTex is a garment factory that employs approximately 100 people, mostly low-income women from a rural area outside the capital of Tirana.  CityTex pays its employees above-average wages and provides fair and safe working conditions. The factory is the brainchild of an entrepreneur competitively selected by YUNUS to receive technical assistance and close mentoring from inception to completion of his vision to provide employment to vulnerable women in rural areas.

Since January 2016, Yunus Social Business Balkans has worked closely with over 250 businesses and provided training and mentoring to over 17,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.