Samir Mane (; born December 24, 1967) is an
Albanian entrepreneur. He is the founder and president of
Balfin Group, an investment group operating in the
Western Balkans. The group consists of over 50 companies across 11 countries in Europe and the United States.
In March 2025,
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
magazine included Samir Mane in its list of new billionaires, ranking him 2,271st in the world with a net worth of 1.5 billion US dollars.
Early life
Samir Mane was born on 24 December 1967 in
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
, Albania. He attended the Faculty of Geology and Mining at the
University of Tirana. Following the
collapse of communism in Albania in 1991, he emigrated to
Vienna, Austria, where he worked as a translator and established business connections.
Career
In 1993, while residing in Austria, Mane founded Albatrade, an electronic products and home appliances business in Albania, which later grew into the
BALFIN Group (Balkan Finance Investment Group).
Mane has expanded his business interests across various sectors, including tourism, retail, real estate, and banking. He established his first company, Alba Trade, in 1993, initially focusing on consumer electronics. Over the years, he developed major retail and real estate projects such as QTU and TEG shopping malls in Albania and expanded operations internationally. Notable acquisitions under his leadership include Skopje City Mall, AlbChrome, and
Tirana Bank. BALFIN Group operates in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Switzerland, and the United States. The group employs over 5,000 people.
In 2008, Mane was included in the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' top four "People to Watch in Business".
Personal life
Mane is married to Eva Mane and has three sons and a daughter. He divides his time between
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
and Vienna.
Mane Foundation
Mane established the
Mane Foundation, which supports initiatives in education, environment, health, and poverty alleviation in the Western Balkans.
Recognitions
In March 2012, Mane was named the Honorary Consul of Thailand at the opening ceremony of the new consulate. He resigned from this position in 2023.
In 2016, Mane was awarded the title For Special Civil Merits from the President of Albania.
In 2019, Mane received the
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, the highest Austrian state award, awarded by the Austrian President and endorsed by the Austrian Ambassador in Albania.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mane, Samir
Albanian businesspeople
Living people
1967 births
People from Korçë