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Albania officially joined the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code at a launch event in Tirana on September 8, 2026, according to Bank of Albania Governor Gent Sejko. The initiative is intended to improve understanding of women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, supported by a gender-disaggregated SME finance data foundation and a Code dashboard. The speech did not specify numerical targets, a timetable for publication or expected changes in lending.
Albania officially joined the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code at a launch event hosted by the Bank of Albania in Tirana on September 8, Governor Gent Sejko said. The initiative aims to improve understanding of how women entrepreneurs access finance and to bring public bodies, lenders and business groups into a shared effort; its early work includes a foundation for tracking SME financing by gender and a Code dashboard.
Sejko described the Code as a commitment to financial inclusion and to building a financial ecosystem better able to understand women entrepreneurs’ financing needs. He said access to finance should be viewed not only as the ability to obtain a loan, but also as a way of directing capital toward businesses and investments with potential to create value. That is the governor’s case for the initiative; his speech did not quantify its expected economic effects.
The governor identified two pieces of work already developed: a foundation for a national view of financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, disaggregated by gender, and a dashboard for the WE Finance Code. He said these are intended to make information about women entrepreneurs’ financing clearer and more comparable. The speech did not provide the dashboard’s data, say when it would be published, or give figures for lending, applications or approval rates.
The Code is organised around Institutional Leadership, Action and Data, Sejko said. Leadership means treating the issue as an institutional priority; data is meant to identify gaps and needs; and action is the step of turning commitments and evidence into changes in the market. He said the initiative’s results should be judged by changes in how women entrepreneurs access and use finance, rather than by the signing of documents or the number of meetings.
Tracking Women’s Access to Finance
A gender-disaggregated view of business financing could help institutions see whether women entrepreneurs are accessing finance on different terms or encountering different barriers. Sejko said that better information could give public institutions a stronger basis for policy and help financial institutions understand the size and characteristics of this market. Those are intended uses of the data, not evidence that access or lending terms have already changed.
For entrepreneurs, the practical test will be whether the initiative leads lenders to adjust products, processes or services in response to documented needs. The governor specifically addressed banks and microfinance institutions, describing the Code as an opportunity to make more effective use of data and develop services that respond better to women entrepreneurs. The speech did not announce new credit products, lending commitments or eligibility changes.
The initiative also matters because it assigns roles across a wider group than the central bank alone. Sejko said public institutions, financial institutions, business organisations and groups representing women entrepreneurs all have parts to play, with international partners providing expertise and technical support. Coordination could connect data collection with policy and lending decisions, though the speech did not set out accountability arrangements or measurable targets.
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A Data Foundation for the Code
The launch follows diagnostic work involving stakeholders, according to Sejko. He thanked participants from that phase and named the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative and Frankfurt School as partners that supported the process. The speech did not detail the diagnostic’s findings, explain how participants were selected or publish a baseline against which future results can be compared.
Sejko placed the Code alongside the Bank of Albania’s recent work to modernise financial and payment infrastructure, expand access to financial services, strengthen financial education and improve the quality and use of financial data. He said the Code complements those efforts by giving women entrepreneurs’ access to finance a more structured, evidence-based framework. The speech does not describe specific changes to regulations or the central bank’s mandate as a result of joining.
The three pillars connect institutional commitment with evidence and follow-through. In the governor’s account, data should help identify financing gaps, while action should translate findings into market changes. The planned gender breakdown of SME financing is one element of this approach; the available announcement does not define which indicators the dashboard will include or how frequently data will be updated.
“Albania officially joins the global WE Finance Code – the Code for Financing Women Entrepreneurs.”
— Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania
Targets and Lending Results Unreported
The launch speech does not give numerical targets, a timetable or a published baseline for measuring progress. It also does not report how much finance women-owned or women-led businesses currently receive, whether they face different approval rates or costs, or what specific barriers the diagnostic identified. The dashboard’s indicators, publication schedule and data sources were not described.
It is also unclear which institutions have made formal commitments under the Code, what actions each will take, and how the initiative will report on delivery. Sejko said success depends on partnership and on market changes, but the speech did not specify a monitoring body, deadlines or consequences for missed commitments. No change in lending or access can be confirmed from the launch announcement alone.
From Launch to Market Changes
The next steps described by Sejko are to use the data foundation and Code dashboard to build a clearer picture of financing for women entrepreneurs, then use that evidence to inform policy and financial services. Public institutions, the Bank of Albania, lenders, business organisations and women’s groups are expected to contribute in different ways, with international partners offering technical support.
Further details on the dashboard, its indicators and release schedule would show how progress will be measured. Banks and microfinance institutions’ actions on products and processes will also indicate whether the Code moves beyond coordination and data work. The governor’s speech did not give dates for those steps or announce a next formal milestone.
Key Questions
What did Albania announce?
At a September 8, 2026 event in Tirana, Bank of Albania Governor Gent Sejko said Albania had officially joined the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, a framework focused on women entrepreneurs’ access to finance.
What are the Code’s three pillars?
Sejko identified Institutional Leadership, Action and Data. The framework links institutional commitment and evidence about financing needs with practical changes in the market.
What data work has been reported?
The governor said work had established a foundation for a national view of micro, small and medium-sized enterprise financing broken down by gender, as well as a dashboard for the Code. The announcement did not provide data values or a publication date.
Will the Code change loans or lending rules?
The speech did not announce changes to loan terms, eligibility rules or regulations. Sejko said banks and microfinance institutions could use better information to develop products and processes that respond to women entrepreneurs’ needs.
How will progress be measured?
Sejko said the measure should be changes in how women entrepreneurs access and use finance. The announcement did not set numerical targets, deadlines or a reporting schedule.
Source: primary
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