For starters, it has a big and highly-skilled talent pool: 402 educational establishments produce around 36,000 graduates with technical skills each year, while its tech industry creates between 3-5 percent of the country’s GDP.
2020 was a record year for Ukraine’s startups, according to the country’s dealbook. The total venture capital and private equity invested into the Ukrainian start up scene was $571m, a record level of investment. And that confidence in startup investment has led to hopes that new ventures will follow in the footsteps of two of the Ukraine’s biggest exports: Grammarly and educational technology company Preply, both born on the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. They’ve taken the world by storm, with users spanning the globe from the United States and Australia.
Innovation across the country continues at pace, with startups and entrepreneurs enjoying the freedom and openness Ukraine provides which, in turn, helps technology firms boom. One company that has grasped Ukraine’s innovative startup environment by the horns is Biosphere Corporation, a leading manufacturer and distributor of household and hygiene products in Ukraine, and a significant player in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The company’s presence extends over 30 markets worldwide, featuring an impressive product portfolio of about 2000 items. Biosphere Corporation unites the whole family of famous brands: Freken BOK, Vortex, Smile, Smile baby, Novita, GoWipes, Superfresh, Bambik and many others. The corporation was founded in 1997 by the affable Andriy Zdesenko.
Biosphere Corporation is a Ukrainian manufacturer and distributor of household and hygiene products (Credit: Biosphere Corporation)When I founded Biosphere, Zdesenko says, we put a lot of time into our aesthetic and understanding the customer, learning who our key market was and what they wanted. That set us apart from our competitors 24 years ago, and has helped us grow. “Today, we use top producers of equipment, from Germany, Italy, the U.S., but we still have a local knowledge of every market, and a deep understanding of what they need from us.”
As well as the strategic location between key markets, including Russia, the Middle East, North Africa and eastern Europe, Zdesenko credits Ukraine’s workforce as hugely important to Biosphere’s success.
“Human talent is so important. We have great people in Ukraine: smart, switched on, nice.
“For me, it’s about giving people an opportunity to get really involved in something in their lives and be involved in the big-picture story. Our goal at Biosphere is to support passion, skill development, and make sure senior leaders are a waterfall of knowledge and energy to pass that down.”
In addition to creating a nurturing environment for their workforce, Biosphere invest heavily in product innovation too. “We understand the challenges facing the planet. So, we’re working to create a new type of biodegradable biopolymer - a material that we can use for our trash bags, wet wipes – that biodegrades. We’ve brought in two external experts to see us through the process.”
The process Zdesenko refers to is the creation of the Biosphere biodegradable plastic additive, which helps plastics decompose far quicker than they would naturally. If that sounds cool and futuristic, that’s because it is. It’s a product that could change the future of plastics. “I’m so excited about this,” says Zdesenko. “It’s launching next May. This will also help us to scale much faster too.”
Another company driving innovation in Ukraine is Depositphotos. It was founded in 2009 by Dmitry Sergeev , and quickly became the fastest growing microstock agency in the world - bringing artists and photographers together with willing buyers.
Depositphotos Offices / Photo credit: DepositphotosSergeev was exploring options in digital business, and came up with the idea to create an image bank that was based in Ukraine, but operated worldwide. “I chose the stock content niche, but aimed to simplify and speed everything up. We quickly became one of the fastest-growing photobanks globally that reached 200 million files in 2021. Today, although we have offices in New York, Barcelona, and Limassol, most of our employees are still based in Ukraine.”
Depositphotos grew into a company with millions of paying customers who trusted their advanced technology. Sergeev explains: “The best photographers from Ukraine and around the world work with us, and we were proud that we were able to attract their attention. We get the warmest feedback from the majority of users. We work with the world's biggest brands: we successfully compete, and this shows us what we’ve achieved.”
Depositphotos' studio, founded in 2009, has quickly become one of the fastest-growing photobanks globally / Credit: DepositphotosSergeev notes there is solid desire in Ukraine to support medium business and the IT industry today, helping to develop a climate of innovation for the future, through dialogue with entrepreneurs and [to] make our industry and economy grow even faster.”
Innovation is also made easier by the availability of great engineers and IT professionals. For Depositphotos, they’ve grown their workforce from a team of 12, to over 500 people split over five companies. “Ukraine is a country of talent. Thanks to the development of our educational ecosystem, Ukrainian engineers have the same professional level as the US or Western European. Moreover, the IT industry has comparatively strong salaries, especially for engineers, which significantly drives the market.”
Ukraine has an inclusive system, and is supporting businesses not selectively, but systematically. Sergeev says: “They are making these attempts and it is noticeable”.
