Six Albanian rural organisations came together on Wednesday (July 21) to launch a new independent Foundation to match local supply and demand for capacity building services in the Albanian rural areas. SNV has committed €887,000 over three years as start-up capital, and is also providing capacity building support. The Albanian Local Capacity Development Foundation was legally incorporated in Tirana by the founding organisations, the National Federation of Forests and Pastures, the Albanian Council of Agro-business, the Association for the Development of Agriculture in Diber, The Association of Forests private users in Korçe, the Rural Women Federation in Diber and The Albanian Association of Livestock. Regional Director of SNV Balkans, Pieter de Baan said the Foundation was the first of many such organisations being established by SNV worldwide. Over €70million has been allocated to the local capacity development fund project. ‘This is a locally owned initiative inspired and supported by SNV. We are delighted that Albanian professional organisations are coming together to take up the challenge of development in the rural areas. SNV is committed to enabling local and national organisations to take responsibility for achieving their own goals and aspirations. It is particularly exciting that the Albanian Foundation is the first to be established, and I am sure it will provide an inspiring model for others to follow.’ The LCDF Foundation will be managed by an Executive Director, responsible to a Board of Directors composed of influential and capable professionals covering legal, communications, governance, and accounting. Investors in the fund will also be represented on the Board. The Fund has two complementary approaches, a fund for co-investment (Capacity Building Partnerships), and support for capacity service providers, especially marketing services, tools and methods (Capacity Building Brokering Facilities). The Capacity Building Partnership will be open to rural actors, whether sole proprietors, micro and small and medium enterprises, associations or local public institutions. The fund will take a robust approach as a co-investor, actively mentoring and supporting rural actors to realize their ambitions and aspirations through the acquisition of local capacity building services. Special attention will be paid to enabling actors with limited resources to participate. The Capacity Building Brokering Facility is a market meeting place and a knowledge nodal point for capacity building services and methods. Facilities will offer a broad range of support to capacity service providers, especially marketing services, tools and methods. The process will structurally improve the service environment and interaction between those demanding and supplying services. The Brokering Facility division will generate revenues to further support its operations and contribute to the Investment Fund. SNV is also actively seeking co-investors from multilateral and bilateral organizations, private sector, INGOs and philanthropic institutions. /ends