The global apparel market’s growth is mirrored in Kosovo too and it’s driven by fashion awareness, demand for custom apparel, and the rise of social media. The apparel sector in Kosovo is comprised mostly of micro and small businesses with a labor-intensive focus on fashion design and production, mostly led by women who also lead these companies. The apparel sector in Kosovo is predominantly female workforce, mostly from rural areas and many new companies have emerged from families with a heritage in knitting, weaving, and sewing, transforming to high-end fashion design.
The project facilitates entrepreneurship growth initiatives around start-ups and recently established enterprises. It supports business initiatives around new products and services mainly, but not limited to, business-to-business (B2B) markets. It focuses on supporting entrepreneurship initiatives that address the demand of micro and small manufacturing businesses in the selected sectors, in the function of the demand and needs of their buyers and distributors, and/or the possible direct marketing channels with a focus on digital marketing. It engages local partner organizations specialized in entrepreneurship initiatives to implement these interventions. It facilitates entrepreneurship growth by supporting young enterprises and start-ups with products and services that are essential for growing manufacturing businesses, assisting these to improve their business knowledge; building their technical, entrepreneurial, marketing, logistic, and quality management capacity; enhancing their (new) business development; and forging the required linkages in the value chains and market networks. The project also engages diaspora actors and networks as a knowledge source to promote Kosovo’s private sector growth.
