Ukraine is gradually conquering the Tech stage by becoming more and more relevant, professional, and experienced player in the global tech arena.
There could be no better time for the country with historically strong tech skills to realize its potential.
By 2025, the high-tech industry of Ukraine is projected to generate 10 billion USD. An inventive and hyper-talented nation, Ukrainians are known for their creativity and ability to come up with simple, yet ingenious solutions to everyday challenges.
Our intellectually competitive and inherently innovative nation has its sleeves rolled up and is working hard. Come join us in uncovering and coining your potential!
Ukraine continues its journey to becoming a better platform for successful startups, giving you all these advantages:
Ukraine has always been known for its high-quality engineering education. New generations of graduates are becoming tech experts in software development, design, QA fields. The number of talented technical personnel is reaching 252,000 specialists, and that figure only stands to grow. Experts forecast that this figure will double in the next 5 years.
Ukraine in various years was ranked #8 in the Skill Value rating, #4 AI Globally in tech skills proficiency by Courseras’s second edition of the Global Skills Index, #6 Programmers Activity by TopCoder. The country has a quickly growing percentage of talented developers. The cherry on top is the country is in the IAOP list as one of the world’s top outsourcing providers.
It has 181 Universities with tech faculties, 133 colleges, 38 courses, 34 tech schools. With the population over 42,5M there are 240К tech talents working in IT sector now, with the forecast of 450K tech talents for 2024.We are #1 among European countries for the number of tech graduates with 23 000+ qualified IT graduates and 130 000 general engineering professionals annually.
We are world’s R&D lab
Ukrainians built first helicopters, the world’s biggest cargo planes, rockets. They were the ones who first used X-rays for medical purposes, conducted pioneering research in immunology, created underwater welding and so much more.
Inspired and supported by such a national background, contemporary engineers keep pushing the boundaries. Petcube, Grammarly and GitLab are just a few start-ups to mention, created by Ukrainians in the last few years.
Max Levchin and Alexander Galitsky, PayPal Co-founders come from Ukraine; the world-renowned founder of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, is a Ukrainian as well.
Working with Ukrainians “From our very first day, we experienced openness to new impressions, a willingness to do better, an eagerness to adopt, adapt and improve the way things work or more correctly should work. I am impressed with the professionalism and competencies that I see in the developers working at our development center in Lviv. Whenever I talk to our clients, they say the same. They see people that are openly discussing how to best to solve problems; people that are suggesting changes if needed rather than letting projects go south because of the poor decisions of peers, clients or managers.” says Dane Castern Hansen, CEO of Conscensia.
Ukraine boasts thousands of designers, brand managers, PR experts, and video directors. A few examples of what Ukrainian companies have recently achieved:
- International bands and artists are visiting Kyiv for inspiration and world-class production of their video content. Did you know that music videos for Coldplay, Tame Impala, Twenty One Pilots, etc., a commercial for Apple Watch 3, and a feature film The Death of Stalin – all have recently been shot in Kyiv? Producer of this content, Radioactive Film had been named Production Service Company of the Year at Shot Awards in 2018.
- The design company Banda has recently been recognized as “The Agency of the Year by Red Dot,” a prestigious international design award. Among the biggest projects of Banda – Eurovision 2017 brand, Ukraine Now brand, and the most recent one – a redesign of National Art Museum of Ukraine.
- A great number of green-house coworking spaces has been launched in Kyiv and Lviv, hosting creative and technical masterminds all under the same common roof.
Ecosystem Highlights
IT/ICT reports
DOU: Salaries of UA developers
2023
UKRAINIAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM: Facing the challenges, seizing the opportunities
2022
Atomico: State of European Tech
2022
IT Ukraine: relocation report
2022
Lviv IT Cluster: IT Research Resilience
2022
IT Association: Do IT like Ukraine
2022
The voice of Ukrainian Start-ups
2022
Ukraine IT report
2021
UKRAINIAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
2021
Software Development in CEE
2021
The Ukrainian IT Export 2020
2021
The Ukrainian IT Sector Report
2020
Ukraine: Country that Codes
2019
The State of the Ukrainian Tech Ecosystem
2019
Tech Ecosystem Guide to Ukraine
2018
Ukraine: The Rise of a Technology Nation
2016
Digital agenda for Ukraine
2015
Exploring Ukraine – IT Resourcing Industry
2012
Ecosystem insights
Investors Book 2021
2021
M&A Ukraine 2021
2021
M&A Radar H1 2021
2021
Overview of Top Ukraine’s ICOs
2021
Ukraine: the Home of Great Devs 2021 Tech Market Report
2021
Aventures CEE M&A report 2020
2021
The Ukrainian IT sector report: available data & gaps
2020
AVentures DealBook 2020
2020
IT opportunities in Ukraine
2020
Invest in Ukraine: IT sector
2018
Startup Investment & Innovation in Emerging Europe
2018
The DealBook of Ukraine
2017-2018
The Dealbook of Ukraine
2016
Industry reports
UKRAINIAN FINTECH CATALOG 2023
2023
UKRAINIAN Gamedev report
2022
Creative industries in Ukraine report 2021
2021
UKRAINIAN FINTECH CATALOG 2020
2020
MarTech & AdTech in Ukraine 2019: industry guide
2019
SaaS in Ukraine 2019: industry guide
2019
Overview of the Blockchain Industry in Ukraine
2019
The first market map of FinTech Industry in Ukraine
2018
AGRITECH in Ukraine: Industry guide and Market map
2018
Game Development in Ukraine: Industry Guide
2018
The first market map of VR/AR Industry in Ukraine
2018
Doing Business
You can find a detailed guide about starting a business in Ukraine, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency labour market regulation here.
You can find a detailed guide about conducting business in Ukraine here.
Learn more about the time and money requirements for doing business in Ukraine here.
You can find a Q&A guide to doing business in Ukraine here.
You can find many articles about the Ukrainian business world here.
Settling in Ukraine
There are many attractions for expats who wish to move to Ukraine. As well as various work opportunities. There is also a wealth of culture and a stunning landscape. Moving to Ukraine can undoubtedly become one of the most exciting and challenging happenings of your life.
This aspect can make a difference, since those who come to do business in Ukraine often also live in Ukraine. Kyiv is the most expensive place to live in the country, but for most people coming from abroad, it is incredibly reasonable in terms of the cost of living.
In addition to the reasonable cost of living, the quality of life – particularly in the major cities of Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa – is a draw for many expats as well. These different cities each offer a unique feel and flair of their own, providing visitors and residents thriving, dynamic cultural and social scenes with quality of life that easily matches that of other European cities.
You can find more about the cost of living in Ukraine here.
Visiting Ukraine to understand better the country should be part of the decision-making process for any investor considering starting a business.
Visas are not required for citizens of many countries for stays of up to 90 days within 180 days (for a total of 180 days per year).
A complete list of updated visa requirements and the specifics for citizens of different countries can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read how to extend your short-stay visa here.
When hiring a foreign citizen in Ukraine, a company may need to apply for and secure a work permit for foreign citizens. Specific categories of foreign citizens (such as permanent residents of Ukraine, employees of representative offices and permanent establishments of international companies, representatives of foreign mass media, professional athletes, artists and some others) do not need to apply for a work permit when working in Ukraine. However, in most other cases, a valid work permit is required before commencing work. Read more here.
In Ukraine, a company can hire people either under labour agreement (i.e. as a salaried employee) or under civil services agreement (i.e. as freelancers).
Ukrainian law allows to conclude employment agreement in oral or in writing; however, in some instances, the written form is obligatory. The written form of an employment agreement is mandatory for the Employment of non-residents of Ukraine, persons under 18 if an employee requires so if the employer is an individual and some other cases as defined by law.
Main types of labour agreements in Ukraine include:
Labour Agreement for Indefinite term. This type of contract is the most common in Ukraine, and by default, employees are hired for an indefinite term. The indefinite term labour agreement is regulated by the labour law of Ukraine, internal rules of a Company and a collective agreement.
Fixed-term Labor Agreement. The main difference between fix-term labour agreement and the first one is that the Parties limit employment term to a specific period. Note that Ukrainian law provides certain limits regarding repeated concluding fixed-term labour agreements (in some instances, if a person is employed again for a short term – less than two months – by the same employer, he will be considered as used for an indefinite duration)
Seasonal work. If you need to hire people on seasonal base for the specific scope of work, Ukrainian law allows concluding a particular type of agreement for this purpose with an indication of nature and scope of work as well as the term of Employment.
An employee has a right to an annual minimum of 24 calendar days vacation.
Standard working week length is 40 hours, with five working days per week and eight working hours per day.
The most common employee’s benefits include: financial bonuses, professional training, language courses, the option to work from home, extra days off, discounts on company’s products, flexible working hours, company phone, rent of accommodation, company car, medical insurance, gym membership.
Check Employment and employee benefits in Ukraine here.
Invest in Ukraine
Ukraine now provides unique opportunities for companies whose activities are primarily focused on exports to the EU to open production facilities.
Ukraine is becoming an essential part of the production and sales chain for global brands. A striking example is the creation of the automotive cluster in the west of Ukraine, where production is oriented towards the EU market.
Since 2013, Ukrainian IT companies have received a total of $1 billion investments. This interest makes the country one of the most attractive locations from the perspective of investment activities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
In 2018, IT companies and startups raised $323 million (excluding NDA deals). This is 22% more than last year. These are mainly investments in companies’ growth and development following B series. However, compared to the previous year, investment at the stage of seed-Series B increased by $6 million ($73 million in 2017 to $79 million in 2018).
UKRAINE’S IT INDUSTRY Overview
2020
Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Overview
2020
Invest in Ukraine Now
2019
Dealbook 2019: all public deals
2019
UVCA Investor Book
2017
Videos about Ukraine
Change Your Perspective — Start Up With Ukraine NOW
What is Ukraine?
Ukraine NOW: Innovation and Opportunity
Invest In People – Invest In Ukraine!
Ukraine. Open for U.
Experience Ukraine! We are open for Tourism
Ukraine is changing
Travel and Enjoy Ukraine Now