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• EBRD extends up to €5 million to Landeslease under the SME Reboot Programme
• At least 70 per cent of sub‑leases dedicated to GET‑eligible green technologies
• Technical assistance and grant incentives funded by Switzerland through SBIF

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening its support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Albania through a new partnership with Landeslease. The Bank will provide a senior loan of up to €5 million to expand access to finance for MSMEs nationwide.

The funding, supplied under the EBRD’s SME Reboot Programme, will enable Landeslease to offer sub-leases for MSME investments in higher-performance technologies and services. It will help local firms go beyond business as usual and upgrade processes to meet European Union (EU) directives and other internationally recognised standards, boosting competitiveness at home and abroad.

To further reduce the cost of investment and ensure high-quality implementation, the programme provides technical cooperation, including support for implementation, marketing and monitoring. Eligible MSMEs will benefit from grant incentives of up to 10 per cent of each sub-lease, released after the investment has been verified. For this Landeslease loan, both the technical assistance and the investment grants are funded by Switzerland through the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF).*

At least 70 per cent of the funds will finance green technologies eligible under the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, supporting energy and resource efficiency and the adoption of cleaner solutions across Albania’s MSME sector.

Ekaterina Solovova, EBRD Head of Albania, said: “We are pleased to initiate a new partnership with Landeslease under our SME Reboot Programme. Through this collaboration, we are expanding access to affordable finance for Albanian MSMEs. With a strong focus on green investments, businesses can upgrade equipment, improve efficiency and align with EU standards, helping them grow sustainably and compete beyond the domestic market.”

Rezart Ferzaj, CEO of Landeslease said: “We greatly value this collaboration with the EBRD, which will enable Landeslease to combine leasing solutions, technical assistance and incentive programmes to help SMEs upgrade their business, improve efficiency and grow in alignment with EU standards.”

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Tirana, Landeslease is one of Albania’s largest leasing companies. It specialises in finance and operating leases, with a strong focus on vehicles and equipment.

The EBRD’s SME Reboot Programme is designed to combine finance, advisory support and investment incentives to help small firms recover from recent macroeconomic challenges and raise performance standards.

To date, the EBRD has invested more than €2.3 billion through 175 projects in Albania.

*Other SBIF donors include: Italy, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

June 21, 2023

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt again ranked among nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt was again recognized as a national leader in pediatric health care, earning the distinction as the No. 1 children’s hospital in Tennessee and sharing first place in the Southeast region, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report Rankings.

By Christina Echegaray

Midlife is often described as a period of professional stability: experience earned, skills refined, and confidence established. Yet for many women in STEM, midlife can quietly become something else entirely — a convergence of career pressure, identity shifts, family responsibilities, and emotional exhaustion.

This phase is rarely discussed openly in engineering spaces. Instead of dramatic life changes, the struggle often unfolds silently through burnout, anxiety, loss of confidence, and, for some, unexpected communication challenges. I know this because I lived it.

The Invisible Pressure Many Women Engineers Carry

In midlife, many women engineers experience what researchers describe as role overload: the accumulation of competing responsibilities across work, family, and personal life. Career uncertainty, caregiving, leadership expectations, financial pressure, and (for immigrants) visa insecurity can coexist simultaneously.

In technical roles that value clarity, speed, and confidence, emotional strain is often hidden. We are trained to solve problems, not to pause and admit vulnerability. Over time, that silence can take a toll.

For me, the impact went beyond stress. Chronic pressure affected how I showed up professionally, especially how I communicated.

When Stress Affects Communication

At my lowest point, I noticed something unsettling. I struggled to speak confidently in meetings. I froze midsentence. I forgot simple words. My voice felt shaky, and my thoughts felt inaccessible.

This experience was frightening and isolating. In engineering environments, communication is tied closely to credibility. Losing ease of expression felt like losing part of my professional identity.

What I later learned is that prolonged stress and burnout can interfere with cognitive processing and emotional regulation — both critical for communication. This is the nervous system signaling overload. Many women experience this quietly, fearing it reflects weakness rather than exhaustion.

Rebuilding From the Inside Out

Recovery did not happen all at once. It came through intentional, steady rebuilding, both personally and professionally. What helped most:

• Meaningful technical work: Re-engaging with hands-on projects restored my confidence and sense of capability.
• Continuous learning: Structured learning provided clarity during uncertainty.
• Community: Connecting with peers reminded me that struggle does not equal failure.
• Boundaries and self-compassion: Letting go of perfectionism allowed space for healing.
• Movement and mindfulness: Gentle exercise and yoga helped regulate stress and rebuild focus.
• Support systems: Family, faith, and trusted mentors served as anchors during the transition.

Over time, my confidence returned — not because my challenges disappeared, but because my resilience grew.

Why This Matters for Women in STEM

Midlife transitions are not signs of decline; they are inflection points. When acknowledged and supported, they can become periods of renewal, leadership growth, and deeper alignment.

By normalizing conversations about burnout, mental well-being, and communication challenges, we can create engineering cultures that retain talented women rather than silently losing them.

If you are navigating uncertainty in midlife — professionally or personally — know this: you are not alone, and you are not failing. You are responding to complex pressures with the tools you have.

Growth does not always look like acceleration. Sometimes, it appears like recalibration. And that, too, is engineering.