The Ukraine, Like Silicon Valley, is a Thriving Technology Startup Scene
What Makes A Tech Mecca?
Ever since Silicon Valley emerged as the center of the technology world in the seventies and eighties, others have tried to followed its lead. Most have failed, but a few, such as New York, Tel Aviv, and Austin have succeeded brilliantly.
If you examine today’s startup hubs further, it becomes clear that they all have some things in common. Each, for instance, has strong universities turning out capable technology talent. They also have the Creative Class—a tolerant environment that promotes an active subculture of art galleries, music scenes and avant garde cafes.
Anybody familiar with the technology industry in Ukraine knows that Kyiv has these things in spades. It is already a thriving outsourcing center. Elance, the leading online freelance site, ranks Ukraine as the third best place in the world to find people with advanced skills. Kyiv is a fun place, with a thriving culture and, above all, is tolerant and inviting.
A steadily growing market, the IT sector outperformed all other Central and Eastern European countries in 2007, growing some 40 percent. Now, Ukraine ranks fourth in the world in number of certified IT professionals after the United States, India and Russia. The capital, Kyiv, is already a thriving outsourcing centre because of this IT focus.
Record-breaking ICOs
Ukraine’s tech companies have conducted a record-breaking number of successful ICOs, which can be roughly described as public offerings traded for cryptocurrencies instead of fiat money.
There were 19 successful ICOs from Ukraine that resulted in companies raising $160 million. The three most successful at it were artificial intelligence developer Neuromation ($71 million), e-commerce companies DMarket ($19 million) and Propy ($15.5 million).
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
DEFINITION of 'Initial Coin Offering (ICO)'
For traditional companies, there are a few ways of going about raising funds necessary for and expansion. A company can start small and grow as its profits allow, remaining beholden only to company owners but having to wait for funds to build up. Alternately, companies can look to outside investors for early support, providing them a quick influx of cash but typically coming with the trade-off of giving away a portion of ownership stake. Another method sees companies go public, earning funds from individual investors by selling shares through an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
