Now, on the basis of the 1991 Mariupol Startup Development Center, an online forum on the development of a startup ecosystem in the East of Ukraine is being held - “EAST COAST: IT Investment Forum”. The program includes panel discussions on the technological vision of regional development and the new startup ecosystem. Deputy Mayor Serhii Orlov noted the importance of the event.
“Over the past five years, Mariupol has made a breakthrough in its development. The city approved the Development Strategy and is now forming a new one. We were able to attract EUR 160 million of investment. This suggests that international financial institutions trust us. This is important for the development of the ecosystem for the development of the IT sector. It is important to develop three components: culture is education, the culture of creating start-ups, activators are infrastructure items, free spaces and support mechanisms are programs, trainings, grants, ” the deputy mayor emphasized.
Serhii Orlov added that within the framework of this systematic work, special attention is paid to youth. So, next year it is planned to launch the first IT-school on the basis of school №7.
Director of the Department for Economics Yevgen Bodyagin said that Mariupol is at the start of drawing on the IT-map of Ukraine and Europe. Now the city is in 11th place for the development of the IT sector in Ukraine.
“Our main task is to form the city's community. To do this, we focus on educational projects that will create a critical mass of active people. We are also working on the creation of start-up funds,”he stressed.
Michael Pillsbury, USAID Project Director for Economic Support to Eastern Ukraine, noted that attracting investments plays an important role in the development of enterprises in the IT sector: “USAID supports the idea of creating new startups in Mariupol and is ready to cooperate with all partners. In addition, we hope that today's forum will help IT companies build relationships with investors and other technology companies outside of Eastern Ukraine. "
Executive Director of NGO Social Boost Viktor Gursky gave a historical insight into the history of the region. According to him, at the beginning of the twentieth century, English and Belgian capital "came" to Mariupol. This, according to him, is the first time in the history of Eastern Ukraine when foreign investments came here.
“Today we have to rebuild the sector from scratch. We would like to re-attract investment and foreign capital. In modern conditions, we will not be able to develop industry, medicine, education without the IT sector. In just a year, startups, demo days, and first investments appeared in Mariupol. This is the beginning of the economic transformation of the region,” he stressed.
The Forum is held at the initiative of the 1991 Mariupol Startup Development Center and Social Boost with the assistance of the USAID Economic Support to Eastern Ukraine Project.
