Ukraine has been a crucial European technological partner in the UK tech market despite the challenges of a full-scale invasion. This fact was noticed at the Ukraine Tech Summit hosted in London on June 12, 2024. The international event brought together representatives of top tech companies, government officials, and investors from Ukraine and the UK. Sergey Tokarev, a tech investor and co-founder of the investment group Roosh, commented on the main inputs discussed at the event.
The Ukraine Tech Summit’s Outcomes
The main purpose of The Ukraine Tech Summit was the following: to stimulate the recovery of Ukraine’s technology sector, facilitate its entry into international markets, and encourage international cooperation.
The Summit was sponsored by Google for Startups and Roosh, an investment group that develops and scales technology businesses. In addition, the $10 million fund was created in partnership with 1991, Ukraine’s largest accelerator. Sergey Tokarev adds that this way, Ukrainian technology companies can receive grants of $100,000 and expert assistance from Google.
The event organizers conducted panel discussions on Ukraine’s tech ecosystem development and management, as well as on investments in Ukrainian innovations. Also, they brought up the importance of tech market players’ interaction and discussed the opportunities for their growth.
The event speakers noted that the total value of Ukraine’s startup ecosystem has grown to €28 billion. According to Sergey Tokarev, Mike Butcher, editor-at-large of TechCrunch, was impressed by the quality of Ukrainian startups.
“For a very long time, UK entrepreneurs have collaborated with Ukraine’s amazing tech talent. Now, the UK is benefitting from Ukraine’s startup ecosystem, from SaaS to climate tech to defense tech. Ukraine’s resilience at both personal and startup levels is a key reason to partner with Ukraine’s tech ecosystem,” Butcher added.
Challenges to be Revised
Despite the war, Ukraine has long been an important player in the UK tech market, and more and more Ukrainian specialists are working in British tech companies.
“It is very important to focus on investing in Ukraine now to ensure economic stability and growth of the tech sector during the full-scale invasion,” said Vladyslav Bazikalov, founder of Ukraine Tech Summit.
However, Sergey Tokarev noticed that international tech businesses have policies that do not allow them to cooperate with companies in the war zone. In his opinion, this should be revised.
“For more than two years, Ukrainian specialists have been adapting to working in a big war. Our specialists are giving 100%, creating startups and developing them despite the shelling and blackouts. After all, Ukrainians have no margin for error: if we make a mistake, investors and partners will simply leave our market. We need to spread the stories of successful cooperation with Ukraine,” commented Tokarev.
Sergey Tokarev believes that the big war became a catalyst for the development of many tech areas, and today Ukrainian companies have unique experience that makes them important partners.