Belarusian tech companies are reluctant to work in a country engulfed in mass protests and violence, so they opt to relocate.
Nearly 1,200 Belarusian techies have already moved to Ukraine since the rallies against the regime of self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began up on Aug. 9, according to Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov.
Many more Belarusian companies are expected to come to the country as the anti-government protests in Belarus keep escalating, Bornyakov said in his interview with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Oct. 14.
The brain drain of qualified tech specialists will likely be bad news for the Belarusian economy, which heavily relies on its information technology sector — it accounts for 22% of the country’s exports and secures 6% of its gross domestic product.
However, the investment climate in the country is getting worse and tech companies are losing clients abroad, causing their income to dwindle. Over the last two months, Belarusian startups have lost nearly $15 million, according to a survey by Belarusian startup hub Imaguru. Local tech businesses are losing money on relocation and risk their equipment being illegally arrested and employees detained because of their political views.
Belarusian tech specialists feel discouraged and don’t expect a quick resolution to the political turbulence: Nearly 45% of startups are gearing up to move from Belarus to a more peaceful country and, for now, Ukraine is their most popular choice, according to the same survey.
For many Belarusians, Ukraine may seem like a good choice for relocation because the two countries have a visa-free regime and similar languages and cultures.
On Oct. 4, the Ukrainian government also adopted a decree to help Belarusians move to Ukraine by simplifying their entry to the country and the process of receiving a work permit and registering as private entrepreneurs. The Belarusian government has criticized the decree, calling it “unfriendly,” but Ukraine proceeded with the new regulations. It also introduced immigration quotas in August, which allow 5,000 tech specialists to apply for permanent residence permits and work in Ukraine for 10 years after receiving them.
The country wants to attract more tech specialists to reinforce the economy and increase the pool of techies, who are in high demand, Ukrainian legal tech expert Dmytro Ovcharenko told the Kyiv Post earlier in September.
Among the companies that have already opened their offices in Ukraine are popular app developer Gismart and Belarus-founded tech company PandaDoc, whose assets in Belarus were arrested and some employees detained after they publicly supported the protests. PandaDoc opened offices in Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv.
According to the company’s chief executive, Mikita Mikado, it was easy to move to Ukraine because of the similar language and culture and because the taxes in the country are favorable for tech companies. For example, they can register as private entrepreneurs and pay a 5% revenue tax and a social tax of $360 per year, instead of 9% of personal income tax like in Belarus.
Another popular company, video game developer Wargaming, has reportedly relocated nearly 300 of its employees from Minsk to Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian tech media outlet Ain.ua. The company didn’t reveal for how long its employees would stay in Ukraine.
Businesses and nonprofits that help Belarusian tech specialists to move to Ukraine have also appeared. They offer affordable accommodations and office spaces or write invitation letters for Belarusians. But problems still remain, according to Vladyslav Savchenko, the president of the European Association of Software Engineering that helps relocate specialists to other countries.
Ukraine doesn’t have proper legislation for freelancers who work in foreign companies but want to move to Ukraine, he says. Registered as private entrepreneurs abroad, foreign specialists cannot receive a residence permit because they are not officially employed in Ukraine.
Regardless of that, since the protest began, his association has helped nearly 60 Belarusian tech companies and 500 freelancers move to the country — some are in Ukraine temporally, while others are considering permanent residence, Savchenko says.
