Ukraine as a nation is distrustful of innovation, and is afraid of adapting modern technologies to its existing systems.
That was the stark conclusion reached by Evgeni Utkin, the CEO of hi-tech holding KM Core Ukraine, speaking at the Kyiv Post’s Tiger Conference on Dec. 5 during the panel on innovations.
This is reason why the country has outdated basic services and infrastructure such as railways, roads, and utilities, Utkin said.
“For 26 years (since independence), we have been trying to build a country with good railways, roads and government services. It is still not a reality, though,” he said.
All the same, tech entrepreneur Utkin thinks that many of the new technologies that already have been developed abroad could be easily adopted here – if Ukraine can overcome its fears.
Visa country manager for Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia Dmytro Krepak agreed. He said innovations could make financial operations for Ukrainians easier and speedy, and thus bring in more foreign investment.
“And when investment comes, a country moves further in terms of economic development,” Krepak said.
(Oleg Petrasiuk)
Kyivstar B2B Hub Leader Evgeniy Krazhan, in turn, described innovations as “successful inventions.” But while Kazhan believes Ukrainians are extremely talented inventors, they still lack the entrepreneurial spirit to become the world’s leading innovators.
Nevertheless, Valery Krasovsky, the CEO of IT consultancy firm Sigma Software, said he believes the Ukrainian information technology ecosystem is full of good products, and software companies that have achieved good results.
The problem with Ukrainian startups, however, is that the money they earn doesn’t come back to Ukraine, he said. Due to the country’s courts and law enforcement agencies being corrupt, young companies tend to register legal entities abroad.
Kyivstar B2B Hub Leader Evgeniy Krazhan talks to the audience at the Tiger Conference on Dec. 5. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Ivar Tallo, a former Estonian member of parliament who took part in writing laws to introduce e-governance in the Baltic country, said innovations could help change attitudes to government in Ukraine, as they did in his native Estonia.
“(New) technologies allowed us to change society – look at computers,” Tallo said. “Computers long ago changed people’s workplaces in the private sector. Governments, however, are still trying to use them properly.”
And while this is still happening worldwide, Tallo says, Ukraine has a chance to catch up.
However, Ukraine does not need to do everything for itself, he said.
“It should buy products from countries that create good products; bring in ideas from people abroad. That’s normal.”
The Kyiv Post’s IT coverage is sponsored by Ciklum. The content is independent of the donors.
