He Built One of the Balkans’ Biggest E-Commerce Companies Without an Ecosystem l Mergim Cahani

What happens when a founder leaves the American Dream to build a company in Kosovo? Greg Moran sits down with Mergim Cahani, founder of Gjirafa, to talk about building one of the largest technology companies in the Balkans, starting from a market most people were ignoring. After spending over a decade in the United States, Mergim had what many would call the American Dream. A successful career, a strong team, and a comfortable life but something was missing. Mergim made a decision: leave everything behind and start building. He returned to Kosovo, invested everything he had, and began building what would become one of the region’s most important technology companies focused on creating an internet economy where it didn’t yet exist. In this conversation, we talk about: • Leaving a successful career in the U.S. to start over • The moment that revealed a hidden market opportunity • Why smaller, overlooked markets can offer bigger upside • Building without access to traditional venture capital • Turning limitations into long-term advantages • Why Kosovo can produce global companies This episode is about seeing opportunities where others don’t and choosing to build where it matters most. 👍 Like, comment, share, and subscribe. It helps push these stories globally. 📩 Subscribe to the SAB newsletter for deeper stories scalingacrossborders.com/the-series 🌍 Sponsored by Outsorcy — Global teams without borders http://www.outsorcy.com 00:00 – 04:11 — He Had the American Dream 04:12 – 05:18 — The Moment Everything Changed 05:19 – 06:50 — The Market Everyone Was Ignoring 06:51 – 09:13 — Building the Internet Economy 09:14 – 13:40 — From Idea to One of the Region’s Biggest 13:41 – 18:29 — Why Smaller Markets Win 18:30 – 24:39 — Building Without VC & Taking Risks 24:40 – 35:53 — Challenges, Talent & What Comes Next