Exports of IT Services in Ukraine Have Grown by 35% in Three Quarters

The exports of IT services for nine months of 2021 have grown by 35% compared to the same period last year. Business revenue from IT exports for this period equals USD 4.84 billion—almost as much as for the whole last year.

Among the total export of services in Ukraine, the share of IT has already reached 38%. For comparison, it was 24% in early 2020.

The fact that the IT sector in Ukraine continues developing is confirmed by the number of new PEs specializing in computer and information technology services—their number has increased by 40% in 2020–2021. The number of IT companies has grown as well: by 22%—companies providing computer services, and by 10%—companies providing information services.

The growth in figures is a result of the activities of outsourcing companies hiring Ukrainian programmers to work on foreign IT projects.

«Is it good that IT services exports are developing? When revenue from the industry grows, it’s always good. However, outsourcing per se—selling time and hired labor—is a low-margin business. We should give credit to the outsourcing companies that form a resource at the initial stage—they gather people, teach them teamwork, design approaches and new technologies, and upgrade their skills.

However, the state must be extremely interested in having home IT products registered and developed within the country because IT startups can yield tremendous profits in a form of future taxes and investments. That requires a maximum protected legal environment to be established, simplifying and reducing taxation for product IT companies or possibly the complete tax exemption at the initial stages», 

— Artur Mikhno, CEO of Work.ua, commented.