Named to Forbes Europe 30U30 (Finance) list in 2022, Erblin Ribari is the CFO of dua.com, a matchmaking app valued at $53 million with more than six million registered users. The success of dua.com aside, Ribari is most proud of the moments he has been able to create real change in the lives of others.
After graduating from TLU in 2013 with a degree in Business Administration (finance), the Kosovo-native received his Master of Science in Investment & Wealth Management from the Imperial College of London and an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2023, he earned his Master of Public Administration in Financial Markets & Economic Quantitative Analysis from Harvard University. Prior to creating dua.com, he served as the CFO at MIK Group in Zurich, Switzerland, and in other roles as a financial strategic advisor and market intelligence analyst.
Despite his achievements, he knows none of it would be possible without TLU. Coming from a country where the median monthly salary was only $300, Ribari remembers a time when being the first in his family to graduate college was unimaginable.
“TLU is the reason I gained confidence,” he said. “My new friends embraced me, and my professors were amazing. I could really sense the feeling of family there. I’ve been fortunate to achieve several significant accomplishments throughout my career, including EU Forbes 30U30 (Finance), the Warren Buffett Award, and the UN Peace Ambassador Award in the APAC region. However, I’m just as proud of my Bulldog Investment Company championship and my TLU Alpha Chi national business competitions. My experience at TLU showed me I can make a difference.”
Ribari, who is Kosovo Albanian, says Dua.com aims to interconnect homogeneous communities and revolutionize the diaspora intelligence concept. What started with an idea and one employee, has grown to a 60-person team. Ribari says it all started from an idea that a business venture could help a community.
“I always dreamed of bringing back disrupted communities,” he said. “The Albanian community has 12 million people worldwide, but it’s hard to connect with each other. The ideology was to create a platform focused on dating, business and friends, but then beta users gave a suggestion to focus mainly on dating. Love was a need in the community.”
Initially started for the Albanian community, dua.com has now expanded to Poland, Turkey, Morocco, Germany, and Switzerland. His dream to connect Albanians is now a multi-national platform that focuses on serious relationships.
“We are not like Bumble or Tinder in that one unique feature we offer is Flight Mode,” he said. “For example, I can fly from here to Australia in the platform and find potential matches in that area. It's a company that's close to my heart, and I'm excited to see the impact it has on the world.”
As his app continues to see growth and success, Ribari also has his sights set on something pretty big; creating the first stock exchange in Kosovo. According to Ribari, Kosovo is a country that lacks foreign investments because it’s ranked so low in investor protection.
“There are many businesses that have lots of potential, but they lack access,” he said. “I want to create the first stock exchange in Kosovo. Of course, to do this there would have to be many legal changes. There’s no Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) there. Although, I have been in talks with the Kosovo government to initiate a venture that would also help the Albanian business community. My goal is to improve their economic and financial freedom. This is my dream."