Arlind Haxhijaj: “We Believe in the Power of Collaboration and technology to Impact”

By Rudina Hoxha

THE FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COOLAB TIRANA, ARLIND HAXHIJAJ TOLD TRAILBLAZING MAGAZINE NEWSLETTER WHY HE CREATED COOLAB TIRANA AND HOW HE SEES ITS FUTURE.

“We want to offer inspiration, community, comfort and excitement by providing a place where you can stay connected to your work and get playful at the same time. Every day we have more and more members joining the space from different backgrounds and countries,” Haxhijaj said in this exclusive interview.

He said that during 2020, Coolab organized many successful events. “With more than 40 Events online and in person with more than 600 Participants we are very happy to have hosted some of the biggest events during 2020.To name some of them: Hack the Crisis Albania in collaboration with EU for Innovation and Crazy Town from Finland, Global Entrepreneurship Week and a series of events about startups with international experts in collaboration with Swiss Entrepreneurship Program,” he said.

Full interview below:

Let’s begin from the start. How did you start Coolab, and what is its mission?

Coolab Tirana started out in 2019 but the idea and first steps toward designing the space that we have today dated back to some years before that.

While I was working for a Tech company in Tirana, we always explored possibilities how to get involved with the Tech community in town. Back in the day only a handful of spaces were available and most of them saw coworking as a real estate business more than a Hub to support local entrepreneurs, startups or communities. Because of this need Coolab was created.

We created a space for freelancers, entrepreneurs, business professionals and technologists who want to be part of an active community.

What can Coolab offer to start-ups, young entrepreneurs in Albania or even youngsters coming back to Albania after finishing their studies?

We believe in the power of collaboration and technology expertise to achieve our goals and make an impact. We seek to be more than just a working place. We want to offer inspiration, community, comfort and excitement by providing a place where you can stay connected to your work and get playful at the same time.

Every day we have more and more members joining the space from different backgrounds and countries. Students returning from the studies or professionals working in international companies remotely in cities such as New York, Singapore, London, Berlin. We are always constantly creating meaningful connections of talents, startups and organizations in the ecosystem and ways to have an impact.

Can you mention some of the main events Coolab has hosted so far?

Since day one we launched a series of events and activities that aim on building capacities for members and followers. Community building being one of the most important pillars for us has had a massive impact on the events scene in Albania.

With more than 40 Events online and in person with more than 600 Participants we are very happy to have hosted some of the biggest events during 2020.To name some of them Hack the Crisis Albania in collaboration with EU for Innovation and Crazy Town from Finland, Global Entrepreneurship Week and a series of events about startups with international experts in collaboration with Swiss Entrepreneurship Program. This offers a big potential for Albania, being an attraction for remote workers and digital nomads having a Mediterranean climate and food, affordable real estate and great lifestyle. We already have a lot of members having a pleasant experience in Albania, become ambassadors to other peers around the world and consider coming back. We launched Coolab on the Beach in May as a way to adapt to these changes and offer an alternative for remote workers in Drymades.

Do you believe that coworking will grow a lot especially in such a pandemic time when people are moving away from 100% officebased work? Do you have a strategy?

Last year was a very important year for Coolab because of our launch but an unlucky year for the industry because of the pandemic. Running a coworking space in the last two years is a challenging task because we are here to bring people together and for most of the time that was illegal.

Nevertheless the future is looking bright , the pandemic accelerated in a global scale processes and regulations about remote work in the workplace. This means that more and more companies let the employees choose where to work from, being inside or outside the country for short and longer periods of time.

This offers a big potential for Albania, being an attraction for remote workers and digital nomads having a Mediterranean climate and food, affordable real estate and great lifestyle.

We already have a lot of members having a pleasant experience in Albania, become ambassadors to other peers around the world and consider coming back. We launched Coolab on the Beach in May as a way to adapt to these changes and offer an alternative for remote workers in Drymades.