Ukrainian government steps up moves to attract Belarussian IT workers

Ukraine’s ministries of digital transformation,
economy and foreign affairs launched a web portal to attract IT companies and
their workers in Belarus, Vice-PM Mykhailo Federov announced on Sept. 4,
pravda.com.ua news site reported. Moreover, Belarussian Aleksandr Bornyakov has
been appointed Deputy Minister of IT Development. Bornyakov was the architect
of the IT park in Minsk. Federov also pointed out that of the more than 4,500
Belarussians who have come to Ukraine since the outbreak of protests in
Belarus, over 300 of them were IT workers.

James Hydzik: The fact that the Ukrainian government is taking advantage of the
sudden opportunity created by the unrest in Belarus not only in words but in
actions should be used as a marker for government engagement in any investment
plan. The duration of the unrest, the end and consequences of that end are
leading IT companies to ponder the degree to which the greatest part of their
value – the IP in their developers’ heads – is mobile. If the fallout from the
events in Belarus are unfavorable from a business standpoint, Ukraine will be
well-placed to benefit.