Why Europe Needs Ukraine’s Technological Expertise – Serhiy Tokarev Shared Insights from The Ukraine Tech Summit in London

On June 12, 2024, London hosted the Ukraine Tech Summit, an international event that brought together representatives of top tech companies, government officials, and investors from Ukraine and the UK. The event united influential global tech players and included panel discussions and the announcement of $100,000 grants.

The Ukraine Tech Summit was sponsored by Google for Startups and Roosh, a Ukrainian investment group that develops and scales technology businesses. Serhiy Tokarev, a tech investor and co-founder of the investment group Roosh, shared the results of the event on Facebook.

Goals of the Summit

The main goal of the summit was to stimulate the recovery of Ukraine’s technology sector, facilitate its entry into international markets, and encourage international cooperation. The event featured panel discussions on the development and management of Ukraine’s tech ecosystem and investments in Ukrainian innovations. Participants also took part in startup pitch sessions.

Ukraine’s Role in the UK Tech Market

According to the organizers of The Ukraine Tech Summit, 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.

Panel Discussions on the Global Tech Ecosystem

During the panel discussion on the global tech ecosystem, participants discussed its development, the interaction of tech market players, and opportunities for their growth. The speakers noted that the total value of Ukraine’s startup ecosystem has grown to €28 billion.

Mike Butcher, editor-at-large of TechCrunch, a leading global media covering technology and startup news, was impressed by the quality of Ukrainian startups. At the same time, the speaker noted that Ukraine—as well as Europe in general—lacks one thing: a product vision and the ability to enter the market with it.

“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 of Cooperation During War

Serhiy Tokarev noted 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,” emphasized Tokarev.

Advantages of Technology Implementation in Ukraine

Ukraine has an advantage over European countries when it comes to technology implementation, emphasized Michal Kramarz, Head of Google for Startups in CCE.

“The European market is regulated. Of course, this has its pros and cons. And Ukraine has a unique opportunity: before it joins the EU, it has the opportunity to test many technological solutions,” the speaker explained. He also announced nine Ukrainian startups that have become new members of the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund.

Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund

The $10 million fund was created in partnership with 1991, Ukraine’s largest accelerator. This way, Ukrainian technology companies can receive grants of $100,000 and expert assistance from Google.

Among the program participants:

• Ailand Systems, a developer of smart autonomous drones that detect mines;
• BazaIT, an IT recruiting platform;
• Carbominer, a startup that has developed a technology for capturing carbon dioxide from the air;
• Clearly, a platform for finding psychotherapists;
• Eddy, a digital space for educational institutions;
• Eventmate, a multiservice for organizing events;
• Narratively, a service that allows one to turn a website into an application;
• Spendbase, a one-stop shop for optimizing costs for software and cloud services;
• Uspacy, is a platform for internal communications between employees.

Conclusion

During the panel discussions, the speakers repeatedly emphasized that Ukraine is already part of the European tech ecosystem despite the challenges of a full-scale invasion. 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.