Authored by Nicoleta Colomeeț, Director of E-Governance Agency Moldova

Moldova’s transformation shows how organising services around citizens’ life events and connecting public systems can reduce administrative burden, streamline service delivery, and support the country’s ambition to build a fully digital, citizen-first state.

Digital transformation unfolds in stages: first digitising existing data, and then digitalising the processes; only then can true transformation begin. Like many governments, the E-Governance Agency Moldova progressed through each of these stages, but soon recognised that digitalising bureaucracy alone would not create a proactive, citizen-centred state. Instead, after modernising existing administrative processes, the agency shifted towards an events-based approach, redesigning public services around citizens' needs rather than institutional procedures. 

While positioned alongside countries like Denmark, Estonia, Finland, and Ukraine, Moldova largely remained Europe’s digital underdog when it comes to digital transformation. This perception is shifting as the country marks 15 years of steady progress since the E-Governance Agency was established.  

Moldova continues its ambitious push towards a 100% digital society, making public services higher quality, more efficient, and effortlessly accessible. With nearly 50% of its 648 public services already fully digitalised, and more added continuously, the approach may help Moldova to shake off its status as Europe’s digital underdog.

Foundations of Moldova's Vision Towards 100% Digital Society

The year 2025 marked two major milestones for the country — 15 years since the E-Governance Agency Moldova was founded, and another turning point – the conclusion of a seven-year ‘Modernisation of Government Services Project for Moldova’ project, implemented by the Government of the Republic of Moldova with the support of the World Bank Group. Key achievements include:

• 110 digitalised public services;

• 7 new digital platforms (MDelivery, Semantic Catalog for MConnect, FOD, MPower, e-APL, e-Consulate, Mdocs);

• 15 updates to existing digital platforms (MPass, MSign, MConnect, MCloud, Public Services Portal, Semantic Catalog, Citizen Portal, Business Portal, MPay, MLog);

• 94 reengineered/redesigned services, optimizing time, and for some of these, the service delivery time was reduced by 40%;

• 105 unified service delivery centers (CUPS) became functional across the country (100 CUPS opened with financial support from the World Bank Group);

• 6 annual national surveys on citizen satisfaction with public service delivery (2019 – 2024);

• Savings of 30 billion lei for the state budget and 10 billion lei for citizens in the past 5 years.

All that thanks to the utilisation of the events-based approach and interoperability. These results are underpinned by two core architectural principles: the events-based approach and interoperability.

What is the Events-Based Approach?

Rather than requiring citizens to navigate multiple public institutions, an events-based approach organises services around major life events. From starting a business to having a child, government services are structured around citizens’ needs at each event, connecting the relevant institutions and guiding them through the necessary steps.

From a technical perspective, this approach relies on asynchronous, real-time notifications of state changes (events) to trigger actions across connected systems, rather than using direct, synchronous service calls. This allows systems to operate independently while securely exchanging information as events occur, improving scalability, flexibility and service delivery.

For example, the decision to start a business becomes the triggering event. Through the application, citizens receive a personalised roadmap, guiding them through every stage of the process, from meeting initial requirements to business registration, as well as information on available start-up grants.

Another example is the digitalisation of birth. Previously, the bureaucracy surrounding pregnancy, maternity leave, and birth in Moldova required citizens to visit multiple institutions, starting from the twentieth week of pregnancy. The events-based approach and digitalisation have streamlined this process, with a fully automated system enabling citizens to manage the entire journey—from registering the birth of a child and the rights of the pregnant mother to receiving the relevant benefits—essentially in one click. Doctors, employers, national insurance institutions, and banks can access the necessary pregnancy-related information directly from national registers available through the system.

Rather than repeatedly asking citizens to provide information the government already holds, authorised institutions securely exchange data through national registers. This "once-only" approach reduces the administrative burden and enables faster, more seamless service delivery.

These and other services are available through the EVO app, which brings digital documents and public services directly to citizens’ smartphones, making everyday processes simpler and more accessible while helping Moldovan citizens avoid many of the bureaucratic hurdles of the past.

The Role of Interoperability in Moldova’s Digital Transformation Journey

Since 2014, E-Governance Agency Moldova has been using the data exchange and interoperability platform mConnect, a technical solution that enables data exchange between information systems administered by ministries, central public authorities subordinated to the Government, and organisations from the same area of competence. Much like X-Road serves as the backbone of Estonia’s digital transformation and Tembita underpins Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, mConnect forms the backbone of Moldova’s digital state.

Together with other national digital platforms, it provides reusable digital infrastructure that enables new public services to be developed more quickly, without having to rebuild core capabilities each time. Initially, however, the platform operated on a request-based model, requiring institutions to request information from citizens or one another each time a service was delivered. 

Today, the events-based approach supports a different model. When a significant event occurs, such as the birth of a child, relevant systems are automatically notified and securely updated where appropriate. Instead of repeatedly requesting the same information, connected institutions can exchange data through interoperable systems, enabling more efficient service delivery.

This shift extends interoperability beyond simple data exchange, creating a coordinated ecosystem in which multiple public services can respond to a single life event.

What Is Next for Moldova as a Digital State? 

While drawing inspiration from the digital transformation journeys of Estonia and Denmark, Moldova has taken a somewhat different approach. It continues to work with third-party providers and external development services, while keeping the core development of its digital state in-house. In other words, while certain expertise is outsourced,  the main work is carried out by the local in-house team—an approach likely to continue through the next stages of the country's digital transformation. In 2026, Moldova is launching a comprehensive digital identity ecosystem, centred on the EVO platform and the adoption of a European-aligned digital wallet, with key elements including:

• Digital Wallet & ID: Launching a digital wallet for citizens and entrepreneurs, allowing remote identification and secure storage of digital documents.

• EVO Platform Enhancements: Banks will be able to verify ID cards online via the EVO app by summer 2026.

• Full Digitalisation: The “Economy Without Barriers” concept will see the digitalisation of administrative procedures, including eNotary and eKYC tools, aiming to reduce bureaucracy.

• EU Integration: The system is designed to support cross-border digital transactions with the EU, following Moldova's participation in European digital initiatives.

• New ID Cards: Continued issuance of new, secure, European-standard ID cards.

By the second half of 2026, the system is expected to enable secure, paperless bank verification, digital signatures and cross-border identification, further advancing Moldova's ambition to build a citizen-centred digital state aligned with European standards. More broadly, the country's experience demonstrates that digital transformation is not only about expanding the number of services available online, but also about building interoperable digital foundations that allow governments to continuously improve how public services are delivered.

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