The bilateral Memorandum to launch the third phase of the EGAP Program signed on September 18, in Kyiv at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. 

The document stipulates that Switzerland, through the Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will allocate 58.7 million Swiss francs for the next four years – 2024-2028 – for the Swiss-Ukrainian program «E-Governance for Accountability and Participation» (EGAP Program), which is administered by East Europe Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Innovabridge Foundation.

The event was attended by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for Development of Innovations, Education, Science and Technology, and Minister of Digital Transformation, and Felix Baumann, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine.

This is the third phase of such support. The EGAP Program, funded by Switzerland, has implemented e-services, e-government, and e-democracy tools since 2015. The Swiss government has allocated more than 30 million francs since then. 

«With the support of Switzerland, we have already launched dozens of digital services in Diia and implemented revolutionary reforms», said Mykhailo Fedorov. «Together with our partners, we are moving towards common goals and building the most convenient digital state in the world. The new stage of cooperation is an opportunity to implement even more reforms and introduce important changes in the country. I am grateful to our partners for their shared vision and consistent support of Ukraine’s digital transformation».

The Memorandum envisages the implementation of reforms in healthcare, social policy, education, humanitarian demining, housing and communal services, state statistics, and public administration. Currently, the EGAP Program is implementing the reform of the State Statistics Service, digitalizing healthcare services, and launching the Mriia educational ecosystem. Recently, the world’s first online marriage service, Diia, was successfully launched. Hence, marriage, birth, and other vital records became available on a smartphone. Further cooperation with Switzerland will allow us to launch even more new services and implement changes that simplify and improve the lives of Ukrainians.

«Such a high level of financial support from Switzerland for implementing our joint EGAP Program is unprecedented» , said Felix Baumann, Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine. «This demonstrates the high appreciation of the results achieved and the effectiveness of our long-term cooperation. Indeed, thanks to digital transformation, Ukrainian citizens receive public services quickly, transparently, and securely. Digitalization has become an important catalyst for reforms essential for Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction, and sustainable development» .

 The Memorandum lays the groundwork for increasing community resilience and reducing the digital divide between large and small settlements. Within the framework of the Program, Switzerland will support local governments in nine regions of Ukraine – Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Luhansk, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia, and Volyn. The regions will receive digital tools and knowledge necessary to improve service delivery.

«The Swiss government was one of the first to believe in Ukraine’s digital potential and began to support us on this path systematically», said Victor Liakh, President of East Europe Foundation. «The EGAP program focuses not only on national initiatives such as Diia, eMalyatko services, the world’s fastest registration of sole proprietorships, and others but also on the digital development of regions—helping all citizens have access to convenient online services and e-participation tools, regardless of the size of their community. And I am grateful to Switzerland for this long-term cooperation and support» .

The Program aims to support Ukrainians affected by the full-scale invasion – IDPs, people with disabilities, and residents of the de-occupied territories. The Program is intended to restore digital infrastructure and create an accessible and energy-independent environment for the provision of public services.

This integrated approach is important for restoring and developing communities and ensuring inclusive digital access.

As a reminder, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2024), Switzerland officially announced CHF 58.7 million to support Ukraine in digitalization and e-governance. The funds will be implemented within the EGAP Program Phase III  framework from October 2024 to September 2028.