Ukraine: Invest in Our Booming Tech Sector to Help Us Rebuild

Ukraine continues to be a vibrant IT market despite the ongoing war, speakers said Thursday during the Ukraine Recovery Conference, held Wednesday and Thursday in London. Ukraine led the world in digitization even before Russia invaded and continues to do so, being an example for other countries on e-government, they said. It's now the best place for the world's public and private sectors to test digital products, services and hypotheses, said Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov.

Ukraine's government must be agile to help rebuild the country, Federov said: "My message is clear: We are ready to fight, and we are ready to change." The e-government app Diia completely transformed the relationship between government and users, said Deputy Minister-Digital Transformation Valeriya Ionan. There are "no officials, no endless lines" to do business with the administration. Diia has more than 19 million users, and Ukraine is the first country in the world where digital passports are equivalent to paper ones, she said.

AI tools are helping identify Russian rapists and murderers, assisting the armed forces and operating drones, Ionan said. Russia has destroyed telecom infrastructure, but the state and mobile operators are working to restore it. Ukraine is planning to develop Diia soon into a "state super app" to assist veterans, education and other sectors.

Diia shows how nations could do a better job in government services, said Estonian Chief Information Officer Lucas Ilves. The digital transformation in Europe, the U.S., the U.K. and the West in general could get a boost from studying what Ukraine is doing, he added: The question is whether other countries can be as agile.

Ukrainian resistance is bolstered by assistance from big tech companies and the country's own digital enterprises, which are attracting investment, said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister. She noted a memorandum of understanding between industry group techUK and the IT Ukraine Association, and Wednesday's U.K.-Ukraine TechBridge agreement.

U.K. tech companies have already helped Ukraine by maintaining and repairing critical infrastructure, the MOU said, and the sector plans to continue its support. The TechBridge will bring the U.K. and Ukrainian tech sectors into a permanent space in London "to harness opportunities for innovation and collaboration." It will focus on digital and business skills.

Ukraine's decision to allow data to migrate outside the country is one reason its tech sector has been so resilient, said Microsoft Europe Regional Vice President Jeff Bullwinkel. The government leads by example on digitization, and where it leads business will follow, he said.

Separately, digital operator Veon said it will invest $600 million through subsidiary Kyivstar, the country's largest telecom company, in infrastructure projects. "The past 16 months have shown the world that communications are indeed the lifeline of Ukraine," said Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov. The new investment will fund "LTE everywhere" and fiber, eventually leading to 5G.

To enable connectivity, the operator said it has carried out around 150,000 repairs, upgraded and deployed nearly 10,000 4G base stations, and installed 32,000 new batteries to ensure continuous communication during blackouts.