TechSpace Tirana is a technology and startup-support centre established by Albania’s National Agency of Information Society (NAIS), the public body responsible for digitising public administration and services for citizens and businesses.1 The centre’s stated role is to provide a setting for developing startup-support programmes and helping established businesses expand their activities.1
The website says NAIS inaugurated TechSpace on February 18, but does not give a year; TechSpace’s LinkedIn page says it launched in February 2019.12 The centre is based at the Building of Innovation on St. Pope John Paul II Street in Tirana.14 Its activities include training, workshops, information sessions, job fairs and hackathons, as well as incubation and professional consultations for people developing startup ideas.8 The International Telecommunication Union describes the centre as a place for co-designing and testing products, exchanging ideas and building prototypes; it reports more than 100 members, including startups, digital nomads and private-sector participants.6
A notable programme is the Startup Program—Roadmap to Silicon Valley, run in collaboration with the Albanian-American Development Foundation.8 The centre also works with education and innovation partners, including Tirana’s Faculty of Natural Sciences and Polytechnic University, vocational schools, the Albanian-American Development Foundation and Protik Innovation Center.1 Its documented activities and partnerships are centred on Albania, with the available sources identifying Tirana as its base.12