Lviv IT Cluster Met with a Delegation of European Ambassadors from State Agencies and Business Associations

On August 27th, the Lviv IT Cluster team met with leading experts from international clusters. The event took place as part of the Professionals4Ukraine program, organized by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA). During the meeting, participants discussed the current state of the Ukrainian tech market, the post-war economic recovery in Ukraine, and our community’s key achievements.

The Professionals4Ukraine program brings together professionals from 17 countries who assist Ukrainian clusters and their members in facing wartime challenges and preparing jointly for Ukraine’s recovery. The foreign ambassadors who visited the Lviv Cluster office were representatives from Germany, France, Poland, and Romania.

The Lviv IT Cluster team presented our approaches to building a strong community for foreign guests and gave them a detailed overview of the association’s key projects and services. We discussed strategies for developing cluster associations in different countries and ways to ensure their stability.

Another discussion topic was the tech industry’s role in the economy and exports. The delegation was interested in the state of the Ukrainian tech market in the third year of the full-scale invasion and its prospects. Our team shared data from IT Research Ukraine, the most extensive nationwide study of the tech industry, with foreign visitors.

Despite the challenges of war, the tech industry remains a vital part of the Ukrainian economy. In the first half of 2024, the export volume of computer services reached $3.2 billion, which is 5.3% less than in the same period in 2023. According to our forecasts, under an optimistic scenario, the changes in IT service export volumes in 2024 will range from -3.2% to -5%, amounting to $6.3 – $6.5 billion. Our team also presented the dynamics of exports to the countries represented by the delegation.

“Despite great war and economic challenges, Ukraine’s tech industry still demonstrates impressive resilience and adaptability. Lviv IT Cluster, Ukraine’s largest tech association, fully supports the development of the tech industry and creates favorable conditions for business by improving the quality of education, providing diverse support for tech companies, and advocating for the industry’s interests. We are committed to ensuring Ukrainian tech businesses operate steadily, even under the most challenging conditions. Our ambitious goal is to become one of the top tech hubs in Europe and the world. Therefore, we highly value the opportunity to deepen our ties with representatives of international organizations. We are grateful to all the ambassadors of foreign clusters for a productive meeting. We look forward to further cooperation,” said Stepan Veselovskyi, CEO of Lviv IT Cluster.

The Lviv IT Cluster team also shared with the delegation the community’s achievements in the field of education. For over nine years, we have been working on updating bachelor’s programs at leading universities in Ukraine. The number of applicants choosing these programs has significantly increased for the third consecutive year. Currently, every second applicant opts for the Lviv IT Cluster’s programs. Our team is also working on creating a powerful Research Center for engineering students in Lviv to stimulate the development of new products, including in such complex niches as deep tech.

Moreover, to develop the startup ecosystem and improve international cooperation, the Lviv IT Cluster has been organizing IT Arena for 11 years. This is the largest English-language tech conference in Eastern Europe, bringing together leading experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs worldwide. This year, the event will take place from September 27th to 29th at various locations in Lviv and will host speakers from over ten countries. Over the past ten years, more than 1,000 startups have had the opportunity to participate in the Startup Competition. IT Arena will create the best conditions for Ukrainian products to receive the most significant investments in the competition’s history — we expect at least $1 million.

Since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Lviv IT Cluster community has been assisting Ukraine’s Defense Forces. In March 2022, we initiated Victory Projects, a range of initiatives to support military, critical, and civilian infrastructure and strengthen regional security. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the community has directed approximately UAH 130 million to Victory Projects, equivalent to over $3,645,100.

Lviv IT Cluster is actively working to ensure that the tech business in Ukraine operates steadily, even under the most challenging conditions. One of the priority areas of our activity is deepening international partnerships and exchanging experiences with successful associations. Today, our community already includes over 300 member companies and more than 100,000 specialists, and it continues to grow.