Last week, the Kyiv-Manila Strategic Dialogue forum and the Ukraine-Philippines Business Forum took place in the Philippine capital. Within these events Ukraine’s digitalization experience was presented by Viсtor Liakh, President of East Europe Foundation. 

“Geographically, Kyiv and Manila are approximately 9,000-10,000 kilometers apart. But in today’s digital world, we operate in the same field,” Viktor noted during his speech.

Ukraine’s Digitalization as a Global Benchmark 

Today, Ukraine is of interest to the Global South and SEAN countries notp only in the context of agriculture and food security, but also as a country that rapidly implements effective innovations in GovTech and DefTech.

Thanks to cooperation among the government, civil society, and international partners, Ukraine has become one of the global leaders in digital governance and e-participation.

More than 70% of new businesses in the country are now registered entirely online. The process of opening a sole proprietorship (FOP) takes only a few seconds and occurs without the involvement of government officials. Automation of services within the Diia ecosystem removes the human factor, generating an anti-corruption effect estimated at approximately $185 million annually.  

These results enabled Ukraine to rank 1st in the world in the E-Participation Index and 30th in the UN’s global EGDI ranking (with a high Online Service Index score of 0.985) in 2024.

Diia.City and the Export of Innovation 

Particular attention from the international audience was drawn to the Diia.City legal framework, which continues to grow rapidly even during wartime. From 410 residents in 2022, it expanded to more than 4,500 companies in 2026. The number of engaged IT professionals increased from 33,000 to more than 187,000 people. Tax revenues from resident companies grew from UAH 4.1 billion in 2022 to more than UAH 34 billion in 2025 (approximately $814 million).  

This growth has been supported by favorable investment conditions: a 9% tax on withdrawn capital, the introduction of flexible gig contracts, and guarantees under English law.

The market is also undergoing structural transformation: one IT specialist creates 2.29 jobs in related industries, while 39% of Ukrainian companies are already developing their own products, advancing the transition to a knowledge-based economy.

Strategic Synergy with the Philippines 

The experience of rapidly launching digital services and reducing bureaucracy is highly relevant for the Philippines. The country’s IT-BPM (Information Technology and Business Process Management) industry is enormous in scale, employing more than 1.9 million professionals and generating export revenues exceeding $40 billion.

For the Philippines, which has a large-scale IT industry, our solutions for developing digital services are highly relevant. At the same time, for Ukraine this is an opportunity to expand partnerships and enter the dynamic Southeast Asian market.

The dissemination of Ukrainian expertise and the development of international partnerships are an important part of East Europe Foundation’s mission, contributing to innovation-driven development and strengthening Ukraine’s position in the world.

We expresses our gratitude to the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” and CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, for organizing  and facilitating the visit.