“In the Republic of Kosovo 70% of the population is under the age of 35”
The Republic of Kosovo is located in the center of the Balkans with an area of 10,908 km². It is bordered by Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The population is 1.8 million, with over 800,000 living abroad. Kosovo was declared an Independent State becoming the last state to emerge after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The official language is Albanian and Serbian, while English and German are widely spoken.
The Municipality of Gjakova is ranked the third with an area of 586.62 km² has 94,556 inhabitants (according to the last census of 2011), including ethnicities: Turkish, Goran, Bosnian, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, and Serb. It lies in the southwestern part of the Dukagjini Plain, between Prizren and Peja in Republic of Kosovo.
The Municipality of Gjakova was developed during the XIV - XV centuries around the Hadum Mosque, which was built in the XVI century. The city of Gjakova had a rich trade and was a center of handicraft. Around the 1660’s, downtown was thriving catering and shops which was also finalizing various leisure products, which covered the market demands in the area of Gjakova and its surroundings. Later on, with the products coming from Gjakova economy, also the market of Gjakova highland was covered.
At the time of the Renaissance, the city had developed several branches of the feudal economy while trade took place in about 1,000 shops. During this time, the economic system of guilds is mentioned. Gjakova has an ancient history, which is also symbolized by historical and religious monuments; it is a city of all in terms of religious affiliation, Muslims, Christians, Orthodox living together respecting each other and being an example to others.
In the years 1975-90, Gjakova had a plan and developed industry, with spectacular: textile industry with spin production factories, fabrics, coagulant, knitwear and confection. The metal industry for the production of: tubes wire production, production of enameled, teflonized or galvanized dishes. Electro technical industry with electromotor production; food industry, wine and beverages industry, wood processing industry, rubber industry, technical gas production, tobacco industry, construction and material production. The total amount of exports was $ 100-120 million a year. Countries where the products were exported were: Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, Russia, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Countries of the Former Yugoslavia were the main destinations of exported goods. During that time, Gjakova has employed about 25.000 workers from all over the region.
But this development started to stagnate after the 1981 and totally stopped after 1985, after the introduction of war measures from the Serbian government as the economic destruction started. During this period and the war period, many enterprises were heavily damaged. According to a report of Temporary Government of Gjakova prepared from the “Directory for Economy, Finance and Inspecting works” in August 1999 on “demages of Gjakova economy during the war”, the caused damage come up to 170.252.772 DEM or € 87,048,955.63. This value seems to be only for the public sector of economy.
Exactly where the trade stood out, the Gjakova Bazaar was the only in Kosovo (also known as the Sarajevo Bazaar in Bosnia, which was almost identical regarding style and infrastructure) which was destroyed during the last war for Kosovo liberty.
While the Hadumi mosque with its library, was burnt during the first night of the NATO air strike from the Serb paramilitary forces, thus destroying the rare documents dated since the establishment time.
After the war period, the recovery phase started, as on February 17th 2008, Kosovo declared its Independence. The Grand Bazaar and the city are already rebuilt from the ground and are faced with many human-economic-financial challenges.
The Republic of Kosovo stands out as a country with great investment opportunities in the Balkans, attracting international investors as a primary place for their investments.
- The monetary currency in the Republic of Kosovo is Euro (€).
- The Republic of Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe.
- Kosovo is ranked among the top economies worldwide with the greatest improvement in doing business reforms.
Potential Investment Opportunities may include: Information and Communication Technology, Food Processing and Packaging, Mining and Metal Processing, Energy, Textile and Leather Processing, Woodworking, Tourism.
Regularly economic report for Western Balkans 2016 – 2020
Some of the reasons to invest in Gjakova:
- Good infrastructure and geographical position
- Free access to the foreign market
- Lowest operating costs in the region
- Availability of workers
- Economic stability
- Lower Taxes
- Benefits of financial initiatives
- Strong institutional support
- High quality land / soil