Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
The PowerUp Ukraine conference took place June 18, 2024 in Kyiv demonstrating that Ukraine’s tech ecosystem continues to thrive despite the war.
The event organised by Glovo, one of the largest European tech firms present in the country, and the Ukrainian Startup Fund had a simple message: Ukraine is open for business and international companies should invest to support innovation and growth in the country.
Ukraine’s blend of talent and startup culture has already garnered attention from international tech firms, recognizing Ukraine as a fertile ground for technological innovation and entrepreneurship and there is a lot more potential.
During the conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to welcoming foreign investors, supporting their presence, and advocating for reforms to enhance the business environment. “In the context of a full-scale war in Ukraine, it is crucial to develop the startup ecosystem and create conditions for the development of technology companies. We are systematically improving the work of the Diia.City space, which more than 1,000 companies have already joined. The Ukrainian Startup Fund has financed more than 750 startups with over $16 million, showcasing a technological and innovative Ukraine.”
Throughout the conference, leaders from Ukraine’s leading tech firms, venture capital funds, and industry experts, such as executives from MacPaw, Mate academy, Horizon Capital, Jooble, and Smok Ventures engaged in insightful discussions on scaling challenges and investment opportunities within Ukraine’s tech landscape amidst the war.
The conference panels addressed one of the industry’s biggest challenges of scaling Ukrainian companies beyond national borders into Europe, and the importance and profitability of investing in Ukrainian innovation projects to empower the Ukraine’s startup ecosystem and drive its economic recovery.
Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Glovo: “Ukraine is important for Glovo – both as a business, and to me personally – as many of our employees globally are Ukrainian. We operate in 37 Ukrainian cities with a team of 250 people, thousands of active daily customers, couriers, and more than 10,000 local shops and restaurants selling through our app. We view it as our responsibility to do our part to grow the local economy and foster innovation in the country by supporting Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Our objective is to help founders succeed and we want to be a catalyst for local startups to support the growth of a promising destination in the global tech ecosystem.”
The PowerUp Ukraine conference will become an annual event, as Glovo intends to actively raise awareness of Ukrainian talent among European companies and investors, attracting new partners to support the Ukrainian startup ecosystem.
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