The Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and Business Operations Outsourcing (BPO) sector in Albania have been going through transformation.

The revenue in the IT Services market is projected to reach USD 128.90 million in 2024. IT-Outsourcing services lead the market with a projected market volume of US 50.57 million in 2024. The predicted market growth for IT outsourcing services between 2024 and 2029 is 9.24% (Statista)

Albania’s IT services export remains comparably low, reaching 0,86 % of GDP in 2022. (EmergingEurope, 2024)

Tirana is the main ICT-BPO hub of Albania, followed by Durrës, Shkodër and Vlorë. The ICT-BPO sector in Albania has seen steady growth since its inception (Aida.gov, 2024).

Data entry and call centers are among the top outsourced activities in Albania. They export services mostly to Europe. Nevertheless, there is huge room for improvement by acquiring a two-pronged approach. First, by taking advantage of the multilingual ability of the population and by jumping into higher margin/niche services and diversifying the range of its activities, attracting investments related to more complex processes in finance & accounting, digital processes, software design and development, block-chain technologies, cyber-security, etc.

By leveraging these two segments, Albania can attract more foreign investors for exporting the already present services to a wider market in Western Europe.

Other reasons for Albania becoming a ICT-BPO services hub are its urban culture, availability of resources, infrastructure and attractive Investment Incentives (AIDA, 2024).

ICT & BPO Companies in Albania

There are currently 3,349 active enterprises that operate in the Information and Communication sector in Albania (AIDA, 2024), where 843 were registered in 2020.

Out of these enterprises:

 – 440 operate in Telecommunication

 – 1,606 operate in Computer programming, consultancy and related activities

 – 574 in Information service activities.

Out of 42 IT companies listed in clutch.co, 30 companies employ less than 50 people, 8 companies between 50 and 250, 2 companies between 250 and 999 and one company more than 1,000 people. (clutch.co).

GDPR compliance

Albania is in the process of developing the legal framework for GDPR compliance in the scope of the EU Integration process. Already now, companies serve international clients based on the GDPR standard.

Noteworthy Companies and International Investments

Due to Albania’s tech-readiness and enterprising culture, several companies and foreign investors have found its ICT and BPO sector to be lucrative. Some of the most important ones are Lufthansa Industry Solutions, Deloitte, Teleperformance, IDS, B810, Innovaway, Alba Contact, Albacall, Ernest & Young, Euroservices and LocalEye.

International clients from many countries look at Albania as an attractive IT hub. Some of the prominent client countries include Italy, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Outsourced business operations are used by famous international brands like Apple, Vodafone, Adidas, eBay, Barclays, Groupon, Lufthansa Group, Air France, and Alitalia.

Education and training institutions: (AIDA, 2024)

In 2020, 20.1% of graduates were STEM students, while 27.3% of the total number of students were enrolled in STEM programs.

This offers a large pool of graduates and skilled resources, which can be immediately absorbed by the Albanian BPO industry. In the same year 5.4% of students were graduated from Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programs.

Of the total number of students 6.7% are currently enrolled in ICT programs.

Albania is ranked 1st in the CEE region (Central and Eastern Europe) in terms of the number of IT graduates per capita, 81 per 100,000 people, and is expected to rise going forward, according to the IT Landscape Report 2021 of Emerging Europe.