Present At The World Technology Summit, Web Summit, Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Are Stronger Due To War

The Web Summit in Lisbon was also attended by businessmen from Ukraine. (photo: Twitter @WebSummit)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian entrepreneurs brought messages and hope to this week's Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, which will be the largest technology gathering in Europe. This meeting ends on Friday, November 4th. The message is simple: war has made us stronger than ever.

Standing beside her company's booth, Olga Shapovalova, who works at educational technology company Headway, said the Russian invasion on February 24 had changed everything. Working from a bomb shelter became normal. Even some startup employees have run away.

But when Russian missiles rained down, Headway continued to grow its business. He employed dozens of workers, opened offices in neighboring Poland, and used his learning apps to fight colonial propaganda.

"This is our way of showing that Ukraine is strong and we can get the business done," the 31-year-old said. "We are trying to grow - that's how we fight, in our own way, to help Ukraine and our economy."

Alexander Sobolenko, chief executive of Releaf Paper, which is headquartered in Kyiv and converts biowaste into sustainable paper, is also experiencing the same thing.

"More Ukrainians are coming to the Web Summit this time," he added, standing in front of the Ukraine pavilion.

The head of the Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave, told Reuters last week that 59 Ukrainian startups were present at the 2022 event. Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, and digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov were also in attendance.

"This is a good sign that Ukraine's tech and startup ecosystem is thriving even during wartime," Sobolenko said.

With more than 2,000 startups, Ukraine's tech scene was booming before the war. Now, nine out of ten need financial assistance, according to a survey by TechUkraine. They also found that most of the startups were still running and maintaining at least some operations or staff in Ukraine despite the conflict.

"Our main strength is our people," said Olesya Malevanaya, of Hub Ukraine, an organization that supports entrepreneurs. "They are strong and creative, we have everything to continue to develop our innovation sector."