On April 25, members of Diia.City United talked to Valeriia Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration. We’re sharing the key takeaways from the dialogue about Ukraine’s ambitious plans for digital leadership and integration into the European digital space.

The WINWIN Strategy: Setting Course for Ukraine’s Innovative Development

The conversation centered on the WINWIN Strategy for Digital Development and Innovation. This strategy promotes mutually beneficial cooperation between the government and businesses to boost the growth of technological sectors.

How does it work? Creating favorable conditions and opening markets for innovative products will help address current state challenges in security, medicine, and reconstruction areas. At the same time, this will push Ukrainian tech companies to scale up, attract investment, and transform Ukraine into a global innovation hub.

Priority Sectors

The WINWIN Strategy identifies key areas where Ukraine has the potential to become a leader:

  • Defense Tech: A logical priority already showing good results.
  • MedTech & BioTech: Focusing on restoring human potential, developing bionic prostheses, regeneration tools, mental health solutions, and longevity technologies.
  • EdTech: Simplifying licensing and rethinking the educational process through technology.
  • AgroTech & GreenTech: Transforming Ukraine into a high-tech agricultural country, with a focus on decarbonization and energy efficiency.
  • Semiconductors: A strategic direction with high potential and European integration commitments. A sectoral strategy and draft law are currently being prepared.
  • AUV / Unmanned Technologies and Autonomous Systems: Development for the agricultural sector and cargo transport, creating R&D hubs, and stimulating Smart Cities.
  • AR/VR: The goal is to become the first country where immersive technologies are a social norm.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Plans include creating a Ukrainian LLM (Large Language Model) and applying AI in the public sector. Ukraine aims to be among the top 3 countries globally in developing and implementing AI solutions.
  • GovTech: The goal is to remain a leader in digital government services and attract international market support for the sector.
  • Digital Space Security
  • SpaceTech
  • Fluid Economy

Sectoral strategies outlining the vision, goals, and first strategy steps are being developed or have already been published for each of the listed above. 

What Does WINWIN Mean for Tech Business?

  • Deregulation and Fast-Track: The Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to simplify procedures for testing, certifying, and launching innovative products on the market.
  • Centers of Excellence: Establishing centers of expertise to attract funding, expertise, and pilot solutions in key areas. Such centers are already working with GovTech and AI.

European Integration Track: Digital Transformation and Media

By the end of this year, the Ministry of Digital Transformation plans to approve the National Digital Agenda until 2030. The National Digital Agenda 2030 will cover 12 directions of Ukraine’s digital strategy, demonstrate their compliance with EU requirements, and define the next steps.

The Ministry’s team is also working on integrating Ukraine into the DESI Index (Digital Economy and Society Index) to objectively measure Ukraine’s digital transformation progress and compare it with EU countries.

  • Trust Services: Ukraine aims to achieve recognition of certain Ukrainian qualified trust services in the EU by the beginning of next year. Full mutual recognition is planned by 2027. Currently, the EU already recognizes Ukrainian digital signatures.
  • Roaming: Active work is underway to join the EU’s “Roam Like at Home” policy. All EU operators will switch to common roaming rules next year.
  • AI Law: Planned for adoption by the end of 2026, but implementation will continue until 2030. Dialogue with the EU regarding timeline alignment is ongoing.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation is interested in business expertise and invites entrepreneurs to take part in the process of European reforms impact evaluation.

We agreed to hold joint sectoral sessions for Diia.City United members with the Ministry of Digital Transformation team. The goal is to discuss specific areas of interest — such as AI, MedTech, Defense Tech, and more — in detail. Announcements are coming soon!

We are preparing comments and proposals to the digital reforms’ implementation plan. Members of our business community will receive brief overviews of the sectoral strategies and can participate in providing feedback.

We thank Valeriia and the team for joining the online meeting and for their openness to cooperation!

Ukraine has every chance to become a leading innovative state — and tech businesses including Diia.City United members are the driving forces behind these changes. So, follow our news and join the discussions!