The study, conducted assesses thecurrent state of agricultural finance in the Republic ofKosovo (Kosovo) and determine ways to improve the provisionof finance to Kosovo's growing agricultural economy.The study is aimed at informing the full range ofstakeholders about the best options to scale up financialservices for agriculture. The study relies on data fromavailable statistics as well as on individual and groupdiscussions with stakeholders. Kosovo's businessenvironment is improving, despite slow advancement in thecapacity and function of the public institutions responsiblefor providing guidance and direction to the industry.Government focus on the World Bank (WB) Doing Businessindicators has produced encouraging results. According tothe Doing Business 2018 report, Kosovo is currently ranked40th in the world, up from 126th in 2012, a leap of 86places. In ease of starting a business, Kosovo verysubstantially improved its ranking, by 160 places. A law onstrategic investments is under consideration, and attentionis being given to support public institutions that improvethe business environment, such as the Business RegistrationAgency, which ultimately will support investors. Thesedevelopments are taking place in an economy marked by highgeneral unemployment (30.5 percent) and very high youthunemployment (52.7 percent). The public sector remains thedominant employer and pays higher wages on average than heprivate sector. The supply of skilled workers isinsufficient to satisfy private sector demand. Small andmedium enterprises dominate the economic landscape; whilethese are increasing in number, few grow into larger entities.
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