Unlike Ukraine’s manufacturing plants, warehouses and stores, many of which lie in ruins, its IT sector has had much better luck.
- The Ukrainian tech industry reacted with lightning speed to the new reality dictated by Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine.
- Early in the invasion and even before it, companies started to relocate whole teams into safer western Ukrainian regions. Other IT specialists continued to work remotely even in dangerous areas close to the front line.
- The results surprised many. In the first quarter of 2022, the industry’s export revenue hit a record $2 billion despite martial law and mobilization, up 25% year-over-year.
- Since they need access to only two things – a laptop and a stable Internet connection – Ukrainian techies turned out to be as efficient at work as they were before the war, according to Natalia Koliadko, head of human resources at EPAM, the largest tech company in Ukraine by the number of employees, 14,000 people.
“We were astonished at how timely our employees completed their projects for clients, sitting in Kharkiv basements and other horrible places,” said Koliadko.
Read more via The Kyiv Independent
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Support Ukraine!
Come Back Alive is one of the largest charitable foundations that supports Ukrainian soldiers, founded by the IT specialist Vitaliy Deynega. The organization collected more than 210 million UAH (more than $7M) in 2014. According to Na chasi, the Patreon page Come Back Alive is in the top ten projects by the number of financial donations.
There are several other organizations to support:
- MacPaw Development Fund
- Army SOS, which develops drones;
- Everybody Can, an organization that supports internally displaced people;
- Help on the Ministry of Defense website.
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