Prishtina, 29 January 2026
The Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, visited the Innovation Centre in Kosovo (ICK) on the occasion of the presentation of research data by Data4X on the technology and communications sector and the digital economy.
With a 386% increase in exports – nearly a fivefold rise in ICT services exports over the past four years – the digital economy and the technology sector are the fastest-growing sectors of the country’s economy and, at the same time, an indicator of their potential to become a key engine of further growth, Prime Minister Kurti stated in his address.
“The ICT sector, together with professional and support services, already contributes 6% to our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By comparison, agriculture contributes 7% and at the same time accounts for around 15% of the workforce in Kosovo. However, its importance goes beyond direct employment. Ongoing research shows that employment in technology has a multiplier effect, stimulating the creation of new jobs in other sectors of the economy as well,” said the Prime Minister. For this reason, he added that supporting the further growth of the ICT sector remains a clear priority of the Government.
Prime Minister Kurti mentioned a number of investments made in the innovation ecosystem, such as the Innovation and Training Park in Prizren and TechPark Prishtina, Kosovo’s membership in the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes, and the OctoberTech initiative, through which the most important events of Kosovo’s technology sector are supported – KOSICT, Doku.Tech, GrowthTank and Software Freedom Kosova – as well as training programmes from which more than 5,000 young people have benefited in various ICT fields, and STEM scholarships (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), of which 85% of recipients are girls, among others. Meanwhile, support for innovation in the next term will be increased through the Innovation Fund, as well as the ICT Tower, which will offer dedicated spaces for this sector.
He added that the Government’s commitment and progress have also been recognised by the World Bank, which, in the Government Technology Maturity Index (GTMI), has ranked Kosovo in Group A alongside leading countries in digital governance, while recalling that today the eKosova platform offers more than 320 electronic services for citizens and businesses.
“You all remember that two years ago we moved from Group C to Group B, while this year we moved from Group B to Group A. This assessment obliges us to continue and deepen the progress achieved, ensuring that digitalisation translates into tangible benefits for citizens and businesses. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but with everything we know and can do, we will move forward together as fast as possible. With a digitalised state and a strong innovation and ICT sector, together we will continue to build Kosovo’s economy, which we believe should be knowledge-based,” the Prime Minister said at the end.
Full Speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
Dear entrepreneurs and representatives of the ICT community,
Dear Shpend(s) from ICK and Data4X – this is not because I particularly like the letter s, but because we have two Shpends here, Shpend Lila and Shpend Ahmeti.
Honorable participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we are talking about the digital economy and the Information and Communications Technology sector, the fastest-growing sector in our country’s economy. In recent years, this sector has shown clear potential to become a key engine of further growth. The 386% increase in exports, or a nearly fivefold rise in ICT services exports over the past four years, is the clearest evidence of this.
The ICT sector, together with professional and support services, already contributes 6% to our country’s Gross Domestic Product, and by comparison, agriculture contributes 7% while employing around 15% of the workforce in Kosovo. However, its importance goes beyond direct employment. Ongoing research shows that employment in technology has a multiplier effect, stimulating the creation of new jobs in other sectors of the economy as well.
For this reason, supporting the further growth of the ICT sector remains a clear priority of our Government. National digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for the equitable distribution of this development across the entire country. Extending broadband internet to every village and settlement has been an important achievement for digital inclusion, while the 5G network already covers over 65% of the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. With the support of the European Union, we are also advancing towards building VHCN (Very High Capacity Networks), and as published by the European Commission, the goal is gigabit speed – that is, at least 1 GB per second, which also helps households.
A key pillar of this development is, as you all know, human resources. The ICT sector needs more qualified professionals. For this reason, we have trained over 5,000 young people in various ICT fields and have provided over 7,000 scholarships in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – 85% of which have gone to girls. Digital skills development programmes will continue in the years ahead as well.
Kosovo’s innovation ecosystem is strengthening. Our goal is for as much of the circulation of capital as possible to become capital accumulation within our country, and we have invested in the Innovation and Training Park in Prizren, as well as TechPark Prishtina, creating new platforms for cooperation between the Government, businesses and academia. Kosovo’s membership in the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes has opened the way for our universities and companies to gain direct access to European innovation funds and networks.
Through the OctoberTech initiative, we are supporting the most important events in Kosovo’s technology sector – KOSICT, Doku.Tech, GrowthTank and Software Freedom Kosova – which best reflect the talent and export potential of this sector. Support for the innovation ecosystem will be expanded further through the Innovation Fund, while the ICT Tower – also referred to as the Tech Tower or the TIK Tower – will provide additional dedicated spaces for your sector in Kosovo’s capital.
In parallel, we are also moving at a rapid pace with the digitalisation of the state. Today, more than 320 electronic services on the eKosova platform make life easier for citizens and businesses. With eKosova 2.0, we will also provide more than 400 additional new services, including AI-based functionalities, advancing from service digitalisation to a fundamental transformation of public administration through integrated services based on life events. This is extremely important for our country because numerous persuasive studies have shown that the speed of a state’s accession to the European Union depends – even more than on per capita economic growth or wage growth for employees – on the quality of public administration. The higher the quality of public administration, the faster the integration into the European Union.
Digital fiscalisation will be complemented by electronic invoicing between businesses – B2B, increasing transparency and the formalisation of the economy. Our aim is that whatever we do, everyone knows about it and, on the other hand, everyone is included. Inclusiveness is essential so that we have neither a black economy nor a grey economy in our state. Furthermore, the development of a blockchain-based digital currency is part of our vision for a modern payment system that reduces transaction and remittance costs, supports innovation and increases financial inclusion.
In the background, we are laying the foundations for our country’s sovereign cloud, because this is extremely important for cybersecurity, and we are also integrating state systems through the whole-of-government platform, through which we have created the Government’s centralised metadata platform as a basis for the use of artificial intelligence in administration.
There is no longer any government project in which there is not also an AI component at various stages of the process. The national centre of excellence in artificial intelligence will connect technology with the economy and with industry.
This progress has also been recognised by the World Bank, which has ranked Kosovo in Group A in the Government Technology Maturity Index (GTMI), alongside leading countries in digital governance. You all remember that two years ago we moved from Group C to Group B, while this year we moved from Group B to Group A. This assessment obliges us to continue and deepen the progress achieved, ensuring that digitalisation translates into tangible benefits for citizens and businesses. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but with everything we know and can do, we will move forward together as fast as possible.
With a digitalised state and a strong innovation and ICT sector, together we will continue to build Kosovo’s economy, which we believe should be knowledge-based.
Thank you very much for your participation, your attention and today’s invitation, and I wish you every success.
