25% ROI in 100 Days: Diaspora Mentorship Boosts Albanian Women Entrepreneurs
Date: 12/11/2024
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About the project In early 2024, supported by the U.S. Embassy in Tirana’s Small Grants Program, Germin launched “Diaspora Supporting Albanian Women Entrepreneurs.” This initiative strategically connected experienced mentors from the Albanian diaspora with women entrepreneurs in Albania, aiming to address critical challenges that women-led startups face, such as limited digitalisation, investments, and global expansion. Among the impactful pairings was London-based AI & Strategy expert Arta Statovci with Eldisa Cirogu, co-founder of Albanian startup Commercey/ Bot Medics Care – this case study reveals how their collaboration led to transformative results.
Goal: Transitioning from Local → Global, Traditional → Tech-first Eldisa Cirogu, founder of Commercey / Bot Medics Care, had a clear goal: to scale her healthcare business and compete on the global stage. However, she faced a dual challenge. Externally, the global healthcare sector was rapidly advancing with AI-powered health tech, becoming more competitive and presenting high barriers to entry. Internally, despite her determination to embrace a tech-first approach, she struggled to compete with global giants in the healthcare space due to her startup’s limited advanced AI expertise, skills, and resources.
Action→ Scaling with AI: Blended strategic & tech approach To address these challenges, her mentor designed the mentorship around three core principles:
AI-powered design thinking & product-market fit: Use AI to uncover the root cause (not symptoms!) and refine the portfolio to focus on delivering products that meet both local and global market needs.
Investor & revenue-driven AI roadmap: Set ambitious targets for AI to deliver measurable results within 100 days – outcomes no investor or client could ignore.
No-code AI upskilling and solutions: First, validate demand and deliver results with no-code AI tools that don’t require deep AI expertise, then partner with AI companies for the next level.
100-Day AI Results: →Boosting ROI, growth, and operations
By following these principles and a clear strategic direction, Commercey /Bot Medics Care achieved significant progress, transforming from a traditional healthcare startup into an AI-driven health tech model. Within the first 100 days, the company reported a 25% increase in ROI, a 20% growth in its client base, and a 30% reduction in operational costs. This transformation not only boosted efficiency but also demonstrated how AI can enhance customer service through personalized, data-driven solutions. As a result, Commercey Botmedics Care emerged as a competitive, innovative player in the global health tech industry, highlighting the profound impact AI can have on empowering women entrepreneurs.
Firsthand, mentee’s advice for women entrepreneurs, particularly from traditional backgrounds:→ “Don’t be afraid of AI. The right mentors will guide you in using AI to overcome challenges, grow your business, increase revenue, and enhance your brand—no matter your tech expertise or industry background – Eldisa Cirogu”.
Next steps: → Creating a domino effect for Women Entrepreneurs with AI The Diaspora Supporting Albanian Women Entrepreneurs project has demonstrated that women-led startups, both in Albania and globally, can overcome systemic challenges and position themselves on a global scale by strategically leveraging mentorship and deploying AI—even without deep tech expertise. The strength of the AI mentorship model lies in its ability to offer personalization and scalability. It’s not limited to helping just one startup at a time; instead, it’s scalable, and with a community-driven approach, women can create, collaborate, and deliver with confidence. Reflecting on the experience, both the mentor and mentee, alongside Germin, expressed excitement to continue expanding this momentum and pursue purpose-driven collaborations. With support from program sponsors and investors, they aim to open new opportunities for other women entrepreneurs. For more information, feel free to directly connect with Germin, the AI & Strategy mentor Arta Statovci, or mentee and co-founder Eldisa Cirogu.
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Success Story: Transforming Education Through Diaspora Mentorship
Empowering Educators with Cutting-Edge Technology
In a small corner of Kosovo, a remarkable partnership between a diaspora expert and a high school has reshaped the way education integrates with technology. Shkëlqim Sina, a Senior Software Engineer based in Germany, brought his global expertise to the "Peer-to-Peer Diaspora Mentorship" program. Through Germin's matching efforts, he collaborated with the teachers of “Lutfi Musiqi” High School in Vushtrri, Sector Workforce Innovation Grantee of the PSWD, to drive impactful change. Together, they embarked on a mission focused on developing a joint project to develop an application for registering students’ absences at the School.
The Challenge
Like many educational institutions in Kosovo, “Lutfi Musiqi” High School, faced challenges in adopting modern technological solutions to support their teaching and administrative tasks. Tracking student attendance was a cumbersome and time-consuming process, often prone to errors and inefficiencies. The school needed a practical, user-friendly digital solution that could be seamlessly integrated into their workflows.
The Solution
Over 12 intensive mentoring sessions spanning May to July 2024, Mr. Sina introduced the high school teachers to .NET Core Web API, Entity Framework Core, and essential software development practices. The mentorship program focused on a collaborative project: developing an application to track student attendance.
Guided by Mr. Sina's expertise, the teachers:
Designed and built a robust application leveraging SQL Server for efficient data storage.
Learned advanced coding practices, including API documentation using Swagger and testing with Postman.
Implemented secure authentication and role-based authorization to ensure data privacy.
Key Outcomes
The mentorship not only resulted in the successful development of the student attendance application but also equipped the teachers with the skills to sustain and expand their technological capabilities.
Teacher Fatime Azemi reflected on the experience:
"We have successfully developed a student attendance application aimed at evidencing the number of students’ absences during the school year. The mentorship increased our knowledge of using .NET Core Web API, and we greatly benefited from Mr. Sina's professional expertise and cooperative approach. We are optimistic about the potential for future collaboration and will soon start using the developed application."
Teacher Adil Jusufi highlighted the broader impact:
"This mentorship has provided us with technical and practical knowledge that will serve to advance our teaching methodology and improve communication with parents. This collaboration has been a big step towards improving education in our school."
The Impact
The collaboration demonstrated the transformative power of diaspora engagement in education. By bridging global expertise with local needs, the program not only addressed immediate challenges but also laid the groundwork for long-term improvement.
The mentorship program equipped the teachers of “Lutfi Musiqi” High School with the knowledge and skills needed to develop a digital solution for tracking student absences. As a result, they are now prepared to adapt and implement the project, marking a significant step toward modernizing administrative processes and embracing digital tools in education.
This success story underscores the profound impact of connecting local educators with global expertise, proving that mentorship can truly transform ideas into lasting impact.
This activity is implemented within the framework of the USAID Private Sector-led Workforce Development Activity financed by USAID and implemented by IREX and GERMIN.
