From a Small Team to a Ministry: How Kosovo Is Putting Citizens at the Center of Digital Government

In 2022, a small expert team within Kosovo's Prime Minister's Office set out to do something ambitious: transform how citizens experience their own government. No more navigating a maze of offices for a single service. No more paperwork duplicated across ministries. The vision was simple, even if the work was not, a government that works for people, not the other way around. Four years later, that small team has become the Ministry of Digitalization and Public Administration, launched in February 2026. What happened in between is a story about the power of sustained partnerships, shared knowledge, and a determined commitment to getting digital governance right.

A Control Tower for Reform

Digital transformation rarely fails for lack of ideas. It fails in the gaps between good intentions. With support from the World Bank and the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Partnership, funded through the Government of Japan, Kosovo established a Digital Transformation Unit designed to function as a national "control tower": a central coordination hub ensuring that e-government reforms across ministries moved together, rather than in parallel silos that never quite met. Building such an institution goes beyond technical expertise. It requires political will, institutional trust, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from experience. That is where Japan's decades in digital governance made all the difference.

Learning from Japan

In May 2023, Prishtina hosted a milestone knowledge-sharing workshop. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and PwC Japan brought together approximately 30 senior Kosovo government officials to share Japan's lessons in digital governance: how to coordinate across ministries, how to redesign services around the citizen rather than the bureaucracy, and how to use digital tools without leaving people behind. The session was not a lecture. It was a conversation between practitioners, people who had navigated the messy, real-world work of institutional reform sharing what they had learned with people preparing to do the same. This spirit of partnership extended to the highest levels of government. In December 2024, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti formally recognized Japan's enduring commitment to Kosovo's development at an official ceremony, a reflection of how deeply the collaboration had taken root.

From Prishtina to Tokyo

By May 2026, the momentum had built to the point where Kosovo's Minister of Digitalization and Public Administration, Mr. Lulezon Jagxhiu, traveled to Japan to deepen the partnership. He met with government institutions, development partners, and private sector leaders, not as a visitor, but as a peer in a shared endeavor. The visit left a mark.

"Inclusivity is at the core of our governance, ensuring that no one is left behind," Minister Jagxhiu reflected. "We extend our sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan for its generous support in the design of e-Kosova 2.0, our Whole-of-Government platform, as well as the integrated service centers. This assistance has been a catalyst for our latest reforms."

The reforms he described are concrete and citizen-centered: "We are now rolling out integrated and proactive digital services focused on key life events that matter most to our citizens, such as the birth of a child, starting a business, or relocating. To ensure digital inclusion for everyone, we will also　establish Integrated Service Centers, starting in Prishtina. These centers will enable citizens to access multiple services seamlessly, all in one location, with dedicated support from on-site staff. This approach prioritizes our citizens and places people at the center of our digital government initiatives."

A Model Worth Replicating

What Kosovo has built, with support from the World Bank, the QII Partnership, and the Government of Japan, is more than a ministry or a platform. It is a demonstration that digital transformation, done well, is fundamentally about governance: the institutions, the coordination, and above all the values that determine whether technology actually reaches the people it is meant to serve. For countries at earlier stages of similar journeys, Kosovo's path offers a replicable model grounded not in abstract principles, but in real decisions made by real people working to build something better for their citizens.

For any inquiries related to this work, please contact:

Ana Bellver

Lead Public Sector Specialist

[email protected]

Asami Okahashi

Senior Digital Specialist

[email protected]