According to a statement, the association representing the interests of the Swiss-Albanian entrepreneurial community, swissalbs, has honored three personalities from its ranks for their exceptional achievements during a gala event held at the Zurich Convention Center. As the co-founder of Lumvin, a start-up focused on sustainable LED lighting solutions based in Baden in the canton of Aargau, Besfort Biljali was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Shkurta Gashi was recognized for academic excellence; the data scientist has carried out research at the ETH AI Center, among other institutions, and now works for the Inter IKEA Group in Switzerland. The actor, producer and all-round creative Ridvan Murati was honored by swissalbs as a Community Hero. Përparim Avdili, President of swissalbs, highlighted the importance of the awards at the gala event: “Two identities are not mutually exclusive; rather, each strengthens the other”, he commented. According to Avdili, the evening was made possible by the role of Gisada as sponsor, a Winterthur-based perfume brand owned by Arben Ademi, an entrepreneur of Albanian descent.
Besfort Biljali, an entrepreneur of Kosovar descent, co-founded the start-up Lumvin in 2020 alongside its current CEO, Kristjan Jozipovic. Today, Biljali serves as Head of Sales. As a full-service LED lighting contractor, Lumvin combines engineering, manufacturing and lighting design. Lumvin states that it places a particular focus on circular economy principles, making existing infrastructure future-proof by leveraging cutting-edge technology as part of a process known as retrofitting. Lumvin was the recipient of a Swiss Economic Award in 2025 and claimed the “Leuchtturmpreis” at the 2026 Aargau Business Awards.
Shkurta Gashi, the recipient of the Academic Excellence Award, studied Computer Science both at the University of Sheffield in England and at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI: University of Italian Switzerland) in Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino, where she also earned her doctorate in this field. At the ETH AI Center, Gashi conducted research on machine learning, wearable sensor technology and healthcare. Today, she works as part of the data and technology team at Inter IKEA Group in Pratteln in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland.
Kosovo-born Ridvan Murati is known for being a Swiss actor and director. He heads up the Zurich-based Plan B Creative Agency and the Shqip Up Comedy Festival in Zurich, a brainchild of his that Murati has helped to make one of the largest Albanian comedy events across Europe. According to the website, there have also been international offshoots of the festival since 2026; comedy events were held in the German city of Cologne back in the spring, and the series is set to continue in Frankfurt am Main this December. The Shqip Up Comedy Festival will be celebrating its fifth birthday on October 31. ce/yvh