Some entrepreneurs, businesses and investors say the war in Ukraine has encouraged women to take on leadership roles in the growing high-tech sector, giving them access to experience and connections abroad. The project is said to have the potential to be useful for economic reconstruction after the conflict ends.
While most men are unable to leave Ukraine, female tech entrepreneurs like Anna Lisova, 30, who runs the mental health startup Preso Therapy, are struggling to raise funds, find new customers abroad, and do other things. plays an important role.
Before the war, she focused on recruiting therapists in Ukraine. She currently travels abroad to promote the company at conferences and lead product launches in Poland and Romania.
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“I suddenly had to change roles and take over the public representation of the company. The war led to women holding more senior positions and power in start-up companies,” she said. .
Martial law prohibits most men of military age from leaving the country, creating a need and space for female technology entrepreneurs at home and abroad. Ukraine can build on stronger representation of women in leadership positions than in the European Union or the world at large.
But some say they still face bias in the traditionally male-dominated tech industry, and as they adjust to life as refugees and have to support their families alone with their fathers still in Ukraine. Some say they are struggling to run their businesses.
For the past decade, Ukraine has boasted one of the fastest-growing technology hubs in Eastern Europe, with startups attracting funding and customers from the large domestic market.
However, research by the United Nations Development Program shows that women are underrepresented, accounting for only about 30% of professional, scientific, and technical management positions, but that women will be expected to lead the entire Ukraine from 2017 to 2022. Women held 40% of the positions.
The study found that Ukraine has a higher proportion of female leaders than the European Union (35%) and the world’s total (29%).
Pictured above is Anastasiia Smyk, CEO of aviation software solutions company Input Soft, at Kyiv’s Boryspryl International Airport. Despite the war between Russia and Ukraine, women are taking on more leadership roles in technology. Ukrainian women are founding startups abroad and positively impacting Ukraine’s technology sector. (Data via Valentyn Zavadskyi/Anastasiia Smyk/Reuters)
Separate figures from Eurostat show that around 17% of key technology jobs in the European Union are held by women.
Reuters interviewed nearly a dozen venture capitalists, high-tech founders and industry insiders to uncover the important and often new role women have played in advancing an area seen as key to Ukraine’s post-war economic prospects. Documented roles.
“After the full-scale invasion, women’s leadership in the high-tech sector became even more pronounced,” said Pavlo Kartashov, director of the Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF), a government-backed start-up incubation organization.
“We have seen a surge in the number of women entrepreneurs leading companies and driving growth.”
This is especially true for ambitious startups looking to grow abroad, he added, and many of the companies that stayed in Ukraine focused on military and war-related technologies, such as drones.
Technology resilience
The technology sector has proven resilient. According to state statistics compiled by the Lviv Tech Cluster, Ukraine’s GDP plunged by nearly 30% in 2022, but the technology sector’s revenue rose by nearly 1% to $7.97 billion and is expected to rise by 80% in 2023. It is expected to increase to $1 billion.
The industry also accounts for nearly 5% of Ukraine’s GDP, and the number of technology professionals in Ukraine and abroad will increase from 285,000 in 2022 to 307,000 in 2023. These figures also include the founder of Lisbon-based digital currency payments platform GeekPay. Veronika Korsh, who founded the startup three months after leaving Ukraine in February 2022, is looking forward to increased access to investors outside Ukraine, as well as funding from the EU, international organizations and high-tech multinationals. We are witnessing a rapid increase in the number of female founders, partly due to the influence of accelerator programs aimed at women who want to do business.
A report by World Economics magazine found that many international organizations are increasing their focus on technology, as research shows that companies with a higher proportion of women are more profitable, spend more on research and development, and are more environmentally friendly. We are working to increase the representation of women across the board in the field. forum.
Men who claim to be “non-binary” attend a women’s technology conference, drawing amused responses such as “I love this.”
“After the war, we saw more women start companies and take on bigger positions because they could talk to investors and help develop brands to new customers.” said Kosh.
“This will also help keep the spotlight on Ukraine and spread the word about the potential of its technology sector.”
For many high-tech workers, Poland is the first destination, as it borders Ukraine and the two countries have long-standing business and cultural ties.
“Women are driving new funding rounds, creating new companies and attracting international talent,” said Mykhailo Kaletsky of Poland-Ukraine Startup Bridge, an organization that provides grants, co-working space and other support. He is expected to have experience that will be useful in attracting investment and funding.”
Aviation engineer Anastasia Smik, 27, started InputSoft, an aviation management software company outside Ukraine in Warsaw, where she tapped into the burgeoning refugee technology community. Her products are currently used in the United States, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
“When I was talking to male investors, they asked me questions like, ‘Why did you become the CEO of this company?’ ‘Tell me if you had a male business partner,'” she said. But she fought against prejudice.
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“My job was to find investment, gain recognition on the global market and find international customers who would become early adopters, which was not easy for an unknown Ukrainian startup.” Smik said.
Looking at the start-up companies founded by Ukrainian refugees, she predicts that many will return to Ukraine once the war ends, giving them a big boost.
“I want to return to Ukraine and take part in the rebuilding and revitalization of the country… We are also willing to work for free just to see the first civilian aircraft in the skies of Ukraine as soon as possible.” she said.
