Flamboyant Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has come to Ukraine to praise its “intelligent” people, young government and willingness to change. It is Ma’s first visit to Ukraine. Ma, a co-founder of tech behemoth Alibaba and one of the world’s wealthiest people, came to Kyiv on Nov. 8 to give a pep talk to the business community. Talking …
Alibaba founder Jack Ma praises Ukraine in Kyiv event Read More
Elected to parliament from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, Mykhailo Fedorov was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation on Aug. 29 during the new parliament’s first session. Now 28-year-old, this former digital marketer from the southeastern city of Zaporizhia now aims to make it possible for Ukrainians to vote, run a …
New deputy prime minister aims to digitize Ukraine, slay corruption Read More
Paper pushers could face extinction in Ukraine very soon, thanks to a July 29 decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky to make all government services electronic and online. The decree specifies 11 steps for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to roll out such e-services for Ukrainians. It includes auditing all the country’s registers, making them …
Zelensky issues decree to boost e-government services Read More
Almost every Ukrainian is using something Japanese — at least, almost every Ukrainian with a smartphone. That’s because 97% of smartphone owners here, or about 40 million people, use the messaging app Viber, which is owned by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten. Since Ratuken purchased Viber from its Israeli founder in 2014, the app’s popularity in …
From messaging to outsourcing to innovation, Japan and Ukraine envision growing tech ties Read More
Imagine one of those computer games about farms where one can have a virtual land plot to grow crops, harvest and sell them. So Ukrainian high-tech company Studio of Agricultural Systems, or SAS, has created something very similar. In the company’s case, however, when one grows crops online, they appear in reality, and so does …
Ukrainian tech firm makes farming look like a video game Read More
Waiting for his flight at the airport in Frankfurt, Estonian Ragnar Saas decided it was high time to start a business. He took his laptop out, filled out several forms, signed them, and paid a fee — all online. It took him 15 minutes to become a businessman. Saas could do that because his native …
Battling red tape: Estonia’s e-government success to help Ukraine fight ‘spravka culture’ Read More
Ukrainian politicians and tech people seem to barely understand each other, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 23 during a 20-minute speech at Kyiv’s annual tech conference iForum. “Innovation and politics are two different worlds in Ukraine,” the president said. Local politicians know nothing about information technologies and talk about them only when …
Zelenskiy: “Innovation and politics are two different worlds in Ukraine” Read More
They’re an iconic feature of Ukrainian public transport: “marshrutkas,” the sometimes rickety, oft maligned, and almost always overcrowded private buses zipping down city streets. They also form an important part of Kyiv’s overburdened public transport sector. Now they have a fierce rival: on May 14, global ride-sharing giant Uber launched its bus service, Uber Shuttle, …
Uber launches bus service to rival Kyiv’s iconic, maligned ‘marshrutkas’ Read More
A Ukrainian startup has filed a complaint to the European Union’s competition office against U.S. tech giant Apple, a move that has attracted a lot of media scrutiny over the past two weeks. Tech startup Kidslox accuses Apple of abusing its monopoly and “killing the industry” of the parental-control mobile applications, the bread and butter of …
Ukrainian startup sues Apple over unfair competition Read More
A Ukrainian model-making startup, Time 4 Machine, has raised more than $430,000 on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to produce its metal, mechanical models. Far above the initial $15,000 target, the money was pledged by 2,800 backers from all over the world. The company has created a range of functioning, mechanical models that are made almost entirely from …
Ukrainian startup Time 4 Machine crowdfunds $430,000 Read More
For three years, US startup Uber and its Ukrainian counterpart Uklon ruled the local taxi industry with their mobile apps. But recently a strong challenger has appeared: Estonian startup Bolt. In fact, it has re-appeared. Bolt worked in Ukraine in 2016 under a different brand name: Taxify. But it couldn’t withstand the competition and left …
Estonian tech startup Bolt rivals taxi apps Uber, Uklon in Ukraine Read More
Israeli internet company Perion is to pay $3.7 million as it acquires a Ukrainian startup which develops AI-supported ad campaign managing tools. Septa Communications, or also known as Captain Growth, consists of only eight people. The startup produces artificial intelligence that helps companies to advertise on Facebook and through Adwords. It analyzes marketing data and suggests how to …
Israeli adtech company Perion acquires Ukrainian startup Read More
