On April 26 the Ukrainian authorities launched an online platform to streamline and support innovation in defense technologies.
Dubbed ‘Brave1,’ the platform aims to unite industry and government stakeholders, providing the latter with “organizational, informational, and financial support for defense tech projects in Ukraine.”
The covered fields include, in particular, weapon systems, drones, robots, demining systems, protection and security, logistics, cybersecurity, intelligence, navigation and medical support.
“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, was quoted as saying by Associated Press.
“It is important for us to create conditions for the development of Ukrainian manufacturers,” Emerging Europe quoted Serhiy Demedyuk, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, as saying.
“We are talking not only about large and experienced companies but also about small start-ups and growing companies, Demedyuk added, touting Brave1 as “a state-level start-up for large and small innovative companies.”
Foreign participants are welcome, too. They will benefit from a dedicated “soft-landing procedure” and gain access to various networking, funding, development and testing opportunities.
Brave1 invites international professionals and experts to become “ambassadors” of the project around the world, alongside “officers, investors, businessmen, and diplomats from Europe and the United States.”
The government is ready to put “more than 100 million hryvnias (about $2.7 million) to fund projects that have the potential to help Ukraine,” AP reported.
Read here Emerging Europe’s detailed report on Brave1.
