Gjergj Leqejza, the General Manager of a textile and clothing manufacturer in Albania, stands on the factory floor. In the background, workers operate sewing machines.

ILO Voices | Small and medium enterprise (SME) development

I put my workers at the centre of my business

Gjergj Leqejza is General Manager of a textile business in Albania. Through the ILO’s SCORE Programme, the business improved productivity and increased wages for its workers.

30 April 2026

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I am Gjergj Leqejza. I was born in Shkodra, Albania, and I have lived here all my life.

Historically, Shkodra was a prominent place for craftsmanship. It was famous for wood processing, leather production and the manufacturing of other products.

The city is over 2 500 years old, and it was one of the main economic and cultural centres of the country until the arrival of the communist regime. Then, unfortunately, the economic situation declined for many reasons.

In the 1990s, when the democratic movement brought an end to communism in Albania, it was total anarchy.

People found themselves completely unprepared in the face of the political changes. They were unemployed and hopeless, and many chose to leave the country.

Despite the challenging situation, I never thought about emigrating, even though I had opportunities to leave my country and my city. Instead, I wanted to create something of my own and to serve the community with my ideas and activities.

At the beginning of 1995, a large Italian clothing manufacturer, was looking to hire people for the creation of a manufacturing business in Albania.

Through an acquaintance, I got to know the owners of the Italian company. I studied finance at university and had experience working in finance across several sectors, but I had never worked in the textile and clothing sector. Nonetheless, the owners of the company immediately accepted to work with me. It was not easy for them to trust a person who was 2 500 kilometres away and who didn't have any experience of their sector. It was a family business, and the owners had built it with a lot of effort. So, I understood that I had a huge responsibility.

Gjergj Leqejza stands beside a production line with a worker. He looks closely at a long piece of wide fabric about to be cut. — In the beginning, I had to work very hard, not only to gain experience in the textile sector, but also to gain the trust of my Italian partners. (Albania, 2025)

In 1997, Albania went through a very difficult time of civil unrest. During that period, there was no functional state organization. Nevertheless, we kept our enterprise running with two shifts a day.

In 2001, with the approval of our Italian partners, we decided to decentralize our business and create other enterprises to be more flexible. In addition to the main enterprise, Shqiperia Trikot Sh.p.k, we set up six satellite enterprises, including Madi LLC, which is our manufacturing enterprise for the undergarment sector.

During the Global Financial Crisis, in 2007 and 2008, we faced another very delicate moment. But we got through it, thanks to coordination with the business in Italy. During that time, our Italian partner made a very important decision. They decided to delocalize all their production to Shkodra to be more competitive.

Our workers are our main capital, and this is precisely why the ILO SCORE Programme is so valuable to us.
Gjergj Leqejza, General Manager and Administrator of Shqiperia Trikot Sh.p.k

In recent years, the participation of one of our satellite companies in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) SCORE Programme led us to also join the initiative.

The SCORE Programme is very diversified and covers many areas that are important to us, such as warehouse management, the organisation of production lines and quality control.

For example, in our management of raw materials, we have reduced our inventory dead-time, freeing up workspace and materials for new models. We have also improved our production quality by reducing defects through better controls.

By improving our production efficiency and operational processes, we have become more competitive in the market. We have seen improvements in many areas, and this has led to an increase in our profitability. The results of the programme are commendable.

Female employees work with sewing machines in a textile factory. — In 2000, before creating five satellite enterprises, we had around 500 employees. Now, we have almost 1 500 employees. (Albania, 2025)

For most businesses, the main objective is the production. But what we are most proud of is the social aspect of our work.

After undertaking SCORE Training, we improved productivity and were able to increase the average wage from €570 to €650 per month, which is significant.

The SCORE Training also led us to make improvements in professional training and occupational safety and health at work. Our workers are our main capital, and this is precisely why the ILO SCORE Programme is so valuable to us.

In general, our work culture is very rigorous. We respect all the European standards in terms of relations at work, safety and hygiene, and labour contracts. We also provide periodic health check-ups for our employees and, since the majority of our workers are women, we focus on aspects that are important for them.

Gjergj Leqejza stands smiling with his daughter Jona on the textile factory floor. — In the future, I would like to enter other sectors, so we can diversify our production. But as I get older, I will eventually pass the baton to my daughter, Jona, who manages one of the satellite companies. (Albania, 2025)

My parents, and in particular my mother, raised me to try to be valuable to society and to contribute. Regardless of your social standing, what matters is what you give with your heart.

Over the years, I have grown my businesses and created hundreds of jobs. I have always felt that it is good to be in business, but you are also responsible for the community. More than one thousand families are affected by our success or failure. This makes me very happy, but it is also a huge responsibility.

For me, it's very important that these jobs are quality jobs, so that people want to stay and have a better life for themselves and their families.

Maybe, this is why more than 80 per cent of the employees that we hired in our early years are still working for us today. Many workers were young women when they started and now they are grandmothers. The fact that they didn't leave shows something.

For me, it's very important that these jobs are quality jobs, so that people want to stay and have a better life for themselves and their families.
Gjergj Leqejza, General Manager and Administrator of Shqiperia Trikot Sh.p.k

Currently, we produce between 12 and 15 million high-quality items per year, supplying brands in Europe and the rest of the world. This is a very significant achievement.

In my opinion, business always has its challenges. Even if you don’t have any problems, there is always something to improve, and this has always been my motivation. It is this principle that has allowed our activities to expand steadily over the years, despite economic and social crises.

I'm also involved in the social life of the region. We support sports teams and cultural activities. We are also trying to support an institution to help the disabled people that work in our companies. This, for me, is social justice.

If I were to give advice to people who want to start a business, I would say no matter what you read or see, a person who dares can achieve their goals. There are many opportunities today, so don't be afraid.

Fast facts

The ILO’s Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme improves productivity and working conditions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through practical training and in-factory consulting.
In Albania, SCORE was implemented under the project “Business Partnerships and Solutions for SDGs” (BPS4SDGs), funded by the Swedish Government.
The Global SCORE Programme was implemented in over 30 countries from 2010 to 2025.
It was funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
SCORE Training focuses on developing cooperative working relations resulting in shared benefits for enterprise owners and those who work there.
It also promotes international best practices in the manufacturing and service sectors, to help SMEs participate in global supply chains.
In Albania, 38 SMEs received SCORE Training, benefiting a workforce of over 2,400 workers.
Participating enterprises reported significant improvements, including increased productivity, reduced waste and safer working conditions.
Since its launch, SCORE Training has reached more than 6,200 SMEs worldwide, benefiting over one million workers, as well as their managers, through improved productivity and working conditions.