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Sergey Tokarev: Ukrainian IT has more challenges once the war is over
The Ukrainian economy is suffering a lot these days, but the local businessmen do not doubt that once the war is over and Ukraine wins, there will be enough possibilities not only to restore the country but also to help it thrive. However, as Roosh Founding Partner Sergey Tokarev notices in a recent interview with a local Ukrainian media, businesses, and especially Ukrainian IT, try to avoid being over-positive and prefer to be realists to consider not only the further opportunities but challenges as well.
The businessman believes that whenever Ukraine wins, there will be many people willing to come back to the country. The tendency started already this summer when the situation in Kyiv was relatively calm and safe: people were coming back to homes, renewing their businesses, coming back to the labor market, tried to contribute to the country’s economy even despite the danger of possible missile attacks. Therefore, Sergey Tokarev believes that when the war is over, not only the people who had to flee after February 24 will come back to Ukraine, but also those who left the country 20-30 years ago. These people are now actively participating in helping the army and charity initiatives, and there is a big change that they will want to contribute to Ukraine’s economy as well.
Another positive tendency that one can observe already now, is that large multinationals are willing to be present in the Ukrainian IT market, whether by opening offices in Ukraine or hiring Ukrainian IT specialists as outsourcers. Either way, Ukraine will get specialists with new skills and experience, and that will positively influence the Ukrainian IT market.
According to Sergey Tokarev, another positive tendency in Ukraine is tighter cooperation between the state and the IT industry, especially regarding Artificial Intelligence and military tech. The importance of using IT when defending the country is undeniable, and in the future, this cooperation will definitely benefit both sides.
At the same time, Tokarev stresses considering challenges as well. When it comes to the IT industry, the biggest challenge now is that most IT companies have moved their core teams abroad to a safer place. And once the ban on crossing the country border for men is lifted, the specialists that keep on working in these companies might want to join the rest of the team and relocate.
And this is absolutely understandable since the current working conditions in Ukraine are, to say the least, not the best ones. The threat of being shelled and blackouts affects not only the productivity of employees but the well-being of the whole company.
Another challenge that Sergey Tokarev mentions is problems with attracting investments in the technological sphere. There can be no investments when your business can be destroyed in one day. Foreign investors push their key projects to relocate outside of Ukraine. So, unless the country is 100% safe, foreign investments remain a thing of the future.
