The implementation of the IT Export Alliance initiative, promoted on international markets under the Union brand, continues. Trade missions to Finland and Norway will be held during the 2nd stage, in 2022 we are planning to complete a trade mission to Germany.

IT Ukraine Association continues to implement the IT Export Alliance initiative, launched in 2020, helping IT companies enter new export markets. Within the second stage of the project, trade missions to Finland and Norway are planned to be held. The initiative is promoted under the Union brand on international markets.

The official IT Export Alliance website was launched in September, where you can find up-to-date news about the progress of the initiative and business successes of its member companies. You are also able to join the IT Export Alliance as a partner. Profiles of 17 Ukrainian IT-companies — participants of the project can be found with a single click on “members” on the site.

"The USAID’s Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine has launched pilot export alliances in several industries, but it is primarily from the IT Export Alliance that we expect the formation of a sustainable group of companies that can consistently pursue new markets and work on complex projects. Companies may compete in some aspects of business or technology solutions, but joining together they will be able to offer much more extensive expertise, diverse experience and a more sophisticated value proposition to customers from developed markets. We hope that this pilot will grow from a few dozen companies as it is at the beginning, to a stable union of Ukrainian IT companies, which will establish a systematic cooperation with the Nordic countries, Germany and other markets" — said Valeriy Dobrovolski, IT Sector Initiatives Lead at the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine.

Participants of the initiative are Ukrainian IT companies that are working in IT outsourcing or developing their own products. By the end of 2021, they are going to take part in trade missions to Finland and Norway within the second stage of the initiative, and next year, to Germany during the third stage of the project. These countries were identified as top priority after conducting research on a number of export markets. The research was made during the first stage of the IT Export Alliance initiative, the results of which were previously reported by the IT Ukraine Association.

“IT Export Alliance is an international initiative that helps Ukrainian IT companies obtain professional support when entering new markets, simultaneously serving to be a source of reliable and highly qualified developers for foreign companies. The essence of the initiative is that we offer individual solutions by studying the needs of the parties and assessing the opportunities and risks.

Union is a bridge between Ukrainian technology companies and international partners. The initiative helps to determine the export market entry strategy, optimize expenses and regulate investments in the development", — says Natalia Mitrofanova, Vice President on International Cooperation.

TRADE MISSIONS OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE INITIATIVE

The initiative's partners, together with foreign consultants, analyzed 13 European export markets and selected the top three with the highest potential. A marketing strategy was then developed to promote Ukrainian IT services in the selected markets. Why were these countries chosen for the first trade missions?

Advantages of our cooperation with Finland:

1. During the last few years, export of Ukrainian IT services to Finland has been growing rapidly - by more than 100% annually. Additionally, more than 92% of the population are potential consumers of digital services. These two factors, combined with the Ukraine-Finland Association Agreement (DCFTA), significantly strengthen our competitiveness;
2. Finland outsources the following types of services: web development, business applications, and information security services. So Ukrainian IT-businesses can focus exactly on these activities in cooperation with partners.

Advantages of our cooperation with Norway:

1. Norway is one of the most stable and developed countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $92,556 that is one of the highest worldwide;
2. The Norwegian IT market shows steady growth, in 2019 it amounted to 29,4 billion euros. The IT sector accounts for more than 38% of all Ukrainian export to Norway, which indicates a high present demand;
3. Norwegian companies tend to use IT outsourcing services and import of IT services from Ukraine to Norway shows a constant increase.

Advantages of our cooperation with Germany:

1. For the last 5 years Germany has been closely cooperating with Ukraine in the IT area, with import of IT services is about twice as the amount of exports: $6.48 billion versus $2.99 billion;
2. Ukraine's export of IT services to Germany accounts for 18% of the total volume of exported services. That indicates a strong growth potential;
3. The German market as a whole shows a moderate stable growth of 1.7% during 2010-1019, driven by activities in areas such as telecom, IT services and IT hardware.