Switzerland Allocates 15 Million Francs to Boost Digitalization in Ukraine — Memorandum Signed

Ukraine and Switzerland are expanding cooperation in digitalization. The Swiss government will allocate 15 million Swiss francs for development of new digital services for Ukraine during the Russian war.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation signed a digital transformation Memorandum on Cooperation following the Ukrainian Recovery Conference 2022, held in Lugano, Switzerland in July.

“Since our Ministry of Digital Development has been created, we feel the strong support of Switzerland,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Digital Transformation. “The Swiss government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation believed in our idea of digital transformation and provided resources to implement goals and projects. We created Diia and launched dozens of digital services for Ukrainians, hence, now we have e-Maliatko, digital COVID vaccination certificates, automatic business registration, paying taxes in a few clicks and important social services. Diia is coming to the international level and has every chance of becoming a new digital product for export. We are thankful to our partners for their support. I am sure that we have more new digital victories ahead of us.”

Diia (which translates to “Action” in the Ukrainian language) is a mobile app, a web portal and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine. Launched in 2020, the Diia app allows Ukrainian citizens to access digital documents in their smartphones. The Diia portal allows access to over 50 government services and, eventually, the Ukrainian Government plans to make all government interactions available through Diia.

Signing of the Memorandum provides for expansion of the Swiss-financed program, Electronic Governance for Accountability and Participation, or EGAP in Ukraine which is administered by East Europe Foundation and the Innovabridge Foundation.

This year, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, the EGAP Program budget was increased by 1.5 million francs. Allocation of an additional 15 million francs is an opportunity to maintain the pace of digitalization that has been achieved to date and accounts for a reduction in support from the Ukrainian state budget.

The EGAP program helped create the Diia portal and application, the Diia platform, a Digital Education system and business registration automation in Ukraine. EGAP also helped launch the most popular services and documents in the country: e-Maliatko (e-Baby), electronic passports, COVID-certificates and tax payments by sole proprietors.

“Ukraine strikes with the pace of digital transformation,” said Patricia Danzi, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. “Despite the full-scale war, the country continues to introduce new digital services. Therefore, we plan to continue to support the ideas and projects of the Ministry of Digital Development. After all, the experience of Ukraine is becoming interesting and useful for the whole world. I am sure that we will strengthen our partnership and follow the common path of digital development both during the war and during the reconstruction of the country.”

Thanks to the Memorandum, Ukraine will strengthen its partnership with Switzerland in digital transformation. Digitalization ensures sustainability of Ukrainian Government activities and allows Ukrainians to receive public services online without a personal presence.