The Ministry of Digital Transformation has selected 15 technology startups that will represent Ukraine at Startup Grind Global 2020, the tenth global conference of entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley. According to the organizers, the results of the competition have demonstrated great potential for the development of Ukraine as a technological IT center.
“The competition made it possible to select the most interesting and promising Ukrainian startups. The experience of the Competitive Economy of Ukraine [CEU] program in supporting Ukrainian startups in global technological events testifies to the interest of foreign investors in the products of Ukrainian startups,”, USAID CEU Program Deputy Chief Olesya Zaluska told reporters during a pitch in Kyiv last week.
Following the results of the competition, a list of startups-finalists who will be included in the Ukrainian delegation was compiled:
1. Let`s Enhance – Improving Image Quality with Machine Learning;
2. Replay.io – A multi-channel sales platform that automates contacts using emails, calls and tasks;
3. Legal Nodes – A global marketplace for the technology business, with the help of which the founder or legal adviser of a technology company can contact a lawyer that is most relevant to legal needs and financial capabilities;
4. Poptop – The leading marketplace for booking performers of various kinds and locations for events in real time;
5. Delfast – Electric bicycles;
6. Animal ID – Service for the identification of animals;
7. Kray Technology – A drone that helps to increase crop yields and reduce the amount of fertilizer in the agricultural sector;
8. Costless – A personal shopping assistant who helps to make smart decisions, saving money, time and energy. It provides agencies, brands and retailers with real-time analytics, forecasts of changes in prices and volumes of consumption, information on consumer behavior;
9. AxDraft – Helps to draw up legal documents 10 times faster, avoiding mistakes and increasing the efficiency of the legal department by 25%, delegating part of the legal work to “non-lawyers” without risks;
10. Effa – An environment-friendly toothbrush made of paper and environmentally friendly materials as a “green” alternative to disposable plastic brushes;
11. Pix – A backpack with support for animation;
12. Nuka – Creates a convenient way to record. The first product is a waterproof perpetual notebook with the ability to clean sheets. It can be fully synchronized with the nuka mobile application. The second product is an eternal pencil;
13. CamTouch – A complex that allows you to turn any flat surface into an interactive one and control it using a laser pointer or a special stylus;
14. ActiveChat – A service for creating virtual assistants;
15. ADAM – 3D bioprinting of organic bone structures.
Startups-winners will receive the right to participate in the conference in the United States, own exhibition booth, promos, PR support from the organizers and reimbursement of financial costs for logistics.
More than 160 Ukrainian startups fought for the right to participate in the conference, of which 25 applicants were selected who presented their products to the jury during the Open Call Pitch Event in Kyiv in the evening on December 19.
“Of the 160 applications received, more than 50 startups are ready to attract foreign investment and bring their products to new markets,” Startup Grind Kyiv Chapter Director Kateryna Dehtyar said.
According to Startup Grind Kyiv Chapter Co-Director Hannah Zenn, Ukrainian startups that are on the delegate list have great potential to attract Seed and A-round investments, find customers among U.S. companies such as Facebook, Deloitte, Target, BMW, CISCO, as well as partners for further growth.
The competition was held jointly with Startup Grind Kyiv (the official representative of the Startup Grind international startup ecosystem) with the support of the USAID CEU Program.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is interested in participation in the regulation of the crypto assets market, a representative of the ministry Oleksandr Borniakov said at the Blockchain Society and the State of Ukraine open-door meeting in Kyiv.
“The ministry’s plans are to ensure that mining is launched legally after determining its status. That is, those involved in mining could do this without fear that they are in some kind of “gray zone,” he said.
Borniakov said that the Ministry of Digital Transformation also considers its task to ensure all conditions for international cryptocurrency exchanges to work in the country.
According to a message in the Facebook social network that, in accordance with the resolution published last week, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is responsible for the formation and implementation of the government policy in the field of the IT industry, therefore the issue of introducing blockchain technology, its application in public administration and the development of virtual assets is extremely urgent.
According to the ministry, the state plans for the next two to three years the following: legislatively define terminology; work out a compromise version of taxation in this area; by the summer of 2020, implement the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering; introduce blockchain technology into public registers; legalize mining and attract international cryptocurrency exchanges to the country.
In this regard, in the near future, the Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to sign a memorandum with the Blockchain4Ukraine inter-faction parliamentary group of the Verkhovna Rada, including more than 50 deputies, the Blockchain Association of Ukraine (BAU), the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) and other institutions.
“A concept that is understandable for all players should be developed in Ukraine – definitions, information exchange, who regulates and how, issuing licenses, limits, and other things. It will be great if the Ministry of Digital Transformation assumes this… A regulator of market behavior in this area should be defined, as without this, the rights of consumers and investors may be infringed,” acting Director of the Department of Strategy and Reform of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Mykhailo Vidiakin said, commenting on this issue in the Facebook social network.
He also called for the prompt adoption of the required legislation and the development of a strategy with specifying the place of crypto assets in the development of the financial market of Ukraine.
“Now we are developing a strategy for the development of the financial sector until 2025, in which regulators accept proposals from the market. Documents and a form for submitting e-proposals are available on the NBU’s website in the Comprehensive Program for the Development of the Financial Sector section,” Vidiakin said.
