StartupBlink, a research centre that provides ecosystem development services and customised analysis of the global innovation economy, has announced the updated Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024, where Ukraine has been ranked 46th out of 100 countries.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Map shows a sample of more than 150,000 startups in more than 1,000 cities and 100 countries, updated annually since 2017. The project team ranks startups on a quarterly basis based on engagement, funding, and number of employees. The SB score shows where each entity ranks globally, as well as in their ecosystem, region, and industry.
The map for Ukraine includes a sample of 633 tech companies, 2 of which have exceeded the USD 1 billion valuation and have been named unicorns.
After a sharp decline of 16 points in 2022, the positive trend continues for the second year in a row with an increase of 3 points to reach 46th place. In Eastern Europe, Ukraine has entered the top 10 in the regional ranking, moving up three positions and overtaking Latvia (10th) and Croatia (11th).
This year, 6 Ukrainian cities entered the top 1000: Kyiv’s score of 75 is 11 times higher than Lviv’s, the second best ecosystem in the country.
“The main source of Ukraine’s success in the startup industry is the talent of developers, which many global companies are eager to have in their teams. And the main challenge, paradoxically, is the extraordinary support of other European countries, which allows Ukrainians to leave the country and live abroad. Of course, this assistance is extremely important during a full-scale war, but it is still impossible to predict what percentage of IT talent will return home after the war is over,” – says StartupBlink in its report.
The war has also affected the growth of security-related industries, and the Ukrainian Startup Fund supports projects that can be used during the war and for post-war modernisation, in particular in the Rebuilding Ukraine programme as part of the Seeds of Bravery project.
It is also impressive to see the international business community unite to show support for Ukrainian startups: Google has launched the Ukraine Support Fund, the EU has included targeted support for Ukraine in its Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme for the first time, and Network VC (USA) has created a dedicated Venture Fund and a Support Programme for Ukrainian startups.
