Ministers, the Ambassador and Kosovo’s exporters, around one table at the UK and Kosovo Tech Hub
Only weeks after its launch, the UK – Kosovo Tech Hub today brought two Kosovo government ministers, the British Ambassador and representatives of companies already exporting to the UK market around a single table. The meeting, held at the Hub’s roundtable at Tech Park Prishtina, was attended by the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation, Mimoza Kusari, the Minister of Digitalisation and Public Administration, Lulzon Jagxhiu, and the British Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves.
From the sector, representatives of Arcus, Kosbit, Imbus Peja, Tenton and Gen Z Digital took part, companies that know the UK market closely because they work with it every day.
The purpose of the meeting was clear. Both ministers were introduced to the concept of the Hub, a structure designed as an instrument to boost trade between Kosovo and the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on the ICT sector.
The numbers explain why this market in particular. Kosovo’s ICT exports to the UK have more than tripled in recent years, from around 4 to nearly 14 million euro. And yet the United Kingdom remains only the fourth largest market for Kosovo’s companies, far behind Germany, the United States and Switzerland. This is not a market Kosovo cannot reach. It is a market it has not yet used.
The Hub’s coordinator, Aldo Baxhaku, briefed those present on the structure’s first concrete steps. Two B2B trade missions, one in London and one in Prishtina, will take place this autumn, with a single aim, to put Kosovo companies directly in front of UK buyers.
Then the floor went to those who know the terrain. The company representatives shared their experience of the UK market and the obstacles that, in their view, must be cleared for ICT service exports to grow faster. Three issues came up strongly. First, the need for Kosovo to be integrated into global financial systems, because without full access to them every international transaction becomes harder than it should be. Second, the absence of specific insurance instruments for companies entering international contracts, a gap that leaves firms exposed exactly where they should feel protected. Third, the need for far greater promotion of Kosovo as a destination for companies seeking digital solutions, because quality without visibility does not win contracts. The conversation ranged wider too, across the growth of the ICT market in Kosovo and the UK, generating clients abroad, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, talent development and education.
Both the Hub and the companies expressed a clear readiness to work with public institutions, so that boosting service exports to the United Kingdom becomes easier and Kosovo turns into one of the leading destinations for companies looking for digital solutions.
Today’s meeting shows what this Hub is meant to be. Not one more office, but the place where the state and the sector sit down together and work toward the same goal. The sector is not asking to be held by the hand. It is asking the state to remove the barriers only the state can remove, and then to stay out of the way. This autumn’s missions will be the first test of whether today’s spirit turns into real contracts.
The UK – Kosovo Tech Hub is an initiative of STIKK, supported by the British Embassy in Pristina and ProCredit Bank Kosovo, and delivered in partnership with the British Kosovar Chamber of Commerce (BKCC).
