Mergim Cahani is Founder and CEO of Gjirafa Inc, the fastest growing tech company in the Balkans, and a StartupYard 2014 Alum. Mergim studied computer science at St. John’s University and New York University, completing both a masters in CS and an MBA. He taught computer science at St. Johns as an adjunct professor, and served as Director of the Computer Science program at the University of Prizrem.

He founded Gjirafa, originally an Albanian language search engine, in 2013. Since then, Gjirafa has grown to nearly 100 employees, with offices in Albania and Kosovo, and is the top online ad network in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia, and it offers a wide range of services including search, business listings, video streaming, and even vacation home rentals. Gjirafa introduced the E-commerce platform Gjirafa50 in 2016, quickly becoming a major provider of e-commerce in the region.

Mergim is also President of the Board of Governors at the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo.