Government initiates launch of IT Creative Fund

Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk stated this at a meeting of the government with the Export IT Industry, the Government portal reported.

“Our Government is committed to creating the most comfortable environment for the IT industry to grow even faster. One of the problems holding back the development of the tech industry is the lack of human capacity. The industry is growing by 25,000 - 30,000 specialists per annum, with only 16,000 graduates from universities. That is why we are initiating the establishment of the IT Creative Fund. The Human Capital Development Foundation that will train new qualified specialists for the industry,” said Honcharuk.

According to the prime minister, money from this Fund will be directed to finance three directions: the creation of new campuses and courses for IT specialists, financing of scholarships for students of Ukrainian universities and grants for young scientists.

He also added that the IT Creative Fund would be established with participation of international organizations, representatives of the IT industry and state.

According to Honcharuk, the IT Creative Fund will be funded through a special duty that will grow from 1% in 2020 to 5% in 2024. As expected, the Fund will be launched in 2020; with the funding amounting to UAH 0.5 billion with a further budget increase. The Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) has been working with stakeholders for a long time regarding the establishment of the Fund and the development of its model.

The prime minister also added that a relevant bill had already been developed and would be submitted for parliament’s consideration.

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