Erblin Ribari

Time at Imperial  

My experience at Imperial went beyond my expectations and left no stone unturned when it came to providing for its students. 

The curriculum challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and follow the path of self-discovery and exploration. Be it professors, staff or underclassmen, I learned that we all have something to offer, and Imperial makes it possible through its unmatched diversity in programmes and infrastructure. 

Imperial aims at linking theory, practice and research in its academic endeavor. As such, the Investment & Wealth Management (IWM) programme was highly practical in nature allowing me to explore various financial theories in order to find solutions to real-world investment challenges.  

Moreover, the IWM programme was unique in terms of location, highly quantitative curriculum, access to a world-renowned faculty of experts, weekly speakers from leading financial institutions and networking opportunities. There were also experienced career consultants who worked tirelessly with students to achieve their professional goals. 

Your career now  

Upon graduating from Imperial, I started working as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at dua.com – a groundbreaking platform that aims to change the way globally fragmented communities connect by providing matchmaking (Love, Biz, Friends) and payment services based on centralized and decentralized finance. Within a short period of time, we reached 1 million app installs, 2 billion user interactions and 50 million message exchanges targeting Albanian users worldwide, thus becoming the fastest growing matchmaking provider in Albanian speaking countries.  

Each day at dua is unique. In addition to working on the financial statements, modeling and/or projections, I spend a considerable amount of time managing the investor relations (updating the due diligence files, share registry, cap table), conducting market research and meeting with potential investors and clients. 

Being featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list  

I am highly honored to be featured by Forbes as one of the rising professionals in the field of finance. Getting to this point took a lot of hard work, failure, self-doubt, self-reflection, and perseverance. Indeed, this is an exciting checkpoint in my journey and a reaffirmation that my efforts so far have been headed in the right direction. 

The future  

Aspiring to further my contribution in the finance domain, I plan to continue my involvement at dua.com with the mission to change the life of others for the better by changing the way globally fragmented communities interact. In 5 to 10 years, I plan to establish the first national stock exchange in Kosovo to assist local businesses with liquidity and initiate an innovative hub where public and private interests intersect. 

A special “thank you” goes out to Imperial for setting me up for success and encouraging me to always go beyond my limits to alter the status quo.