To make the Ukrainian IT industry more effective, representatives of Ukrainian tech companies have established the Diia.City United. This was announced by Sergey Tokarev, an IT investor and entrepreneur, co-founder and general partner of the technology company Roosh. Roosh is among the founding companies of Diia.City United.
“IT accounts for five percent of the country’s GDP, an $8 billion turnover, and over 40 percent of exports. But we know how to make the industry even more efficient. The Union will be an effective tool for addressing the current needs of the Ukrainian IT sector in collaboration with the government. These include legal transparency, work predictability, a favorable business climate, and the protection and refinement of the legal regime,” emphasized the businessman on Facebook.
The Union’s goal is to shape clear and transparent business rules, establish a dialogue between the IT sector and the government, and make Ukraine a favorable environment for the technology business. In addition to Roosh, among the founder companies of Diia.City United, there are such Ukrainian businesses as Monobank, Genesis, Ajax Systems, MacPaw, and Netpeak Group.
For the first time, the Union was presented in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 6. The presentation revealed the strategic priorities of the organization. These priorities include protecting and refining the Diia.City regime, forming fair interaction rules between the government and the tech sector, resolving urgent issues in the IT industry, providing education development, accelerating the integration of the Ukrainian technology sector into the European and global markets, and establishing a space for fair rules of diversity, equality, and inclusion.
Oleksandr Kosovan, the founder and CEO of MacPaw and President of Diia.City United, mentioned during his speech: “Ukraine already has enough talent, technology, and innovative ideas to be among the leaders in technological markets. But to realize this potential, the country needs to create transparent and predictable rules of the game. Therefore, our goal is to establish a productive two-way dialogue, where the state and business consider each other’s needs.”
At the Diia.City United presentation, the founders emphasized that for Ukraine to become a leader in the tech industry, it must create more convenient and transparent conditions for conducting technological business. This, in turn, will enable Ukrainian companies to demonstrate maximum development and attract significantly more international investments.
Speakers also repeatedly noted that Ukrainian businesses have become stronger by going through numerous crises. This also resulted in consolidating experts to act cohesively and find creative solutions to problems.
MPs, representatives of EU and G7 embassies, investors, and influencers joined the discussion along with members of the Union, Diia.City residents, and representatives of the tech sector.
Addressing the audience, Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, stated, “IT community representatives have united to influence the rules of the game and help us improve the rules. I am confident that the Diia.City United will become a powerful case of collaboration between the technological business and the state. Thanks to everyone who incorporates into Diia.City, who believes in this project, and continues to actively develop it.”
According to the Executive Director of the Union, Natalia Mykolska, the goal of Diia.City United is not only to convey the needs of Ukrainian businesses to the government but also to demonstrate how tech companies can assist Ukraine.