Ecosystem Advantages
Reasons to become a part of the Belarusian startup ecosystem
1
Strong education with emphasis on STEM
Belarus ranks #16 worldwide in Education and #7 in Higher education according to the Global Innovation Index 2021. Nowadays there are 10 universities with specialized STEM faculties, 70+ IT specialties, and around 19,000 STEM graduates each year.
2
Open-minded people and skilled personnel
Belarus ranks #2 in the world in technological skills according to the 2021 Global Skills Report by Coursera. Belarus holds #7 position in the world by software development skills according to Top Coder ranking.
3
Competitive labor expenses
Belarus is a competitive outsourcing location for ICT services, considered to be among the lowest costing in Eastern Europe. Belarus is #2 best offshore software development country in Eastern Europe with average rates per hour around $33–$48 according to Daxx.
4
Birthplace for world-renowned companies
Many world-renowned innovative companies have Belarusian roots, among which are EPAM Systems, the world’s largest software development service provider; Flo women’s health app; Viber messenger; PandaDoc, a unicorn document automation SaaS, etc.
5
Low tax burden for innovators
Under a special legal regime, the residents of Belarusian Hi-Tech Park (HTP) are exempt from income tax, VAT on sales turnover, customs duties and VAT on goods imported for IT business, and other privileges.
6
Large IT sector oriented on global markets
Nowadays, there are 3000+ IT companies in Belarus with 70+ thousand employees. The share of the IT sector in Belarus GDP was 7.5% in 2021. 91% of computer and information services produced in Belarus are exported, which accounts for more than 30% of total Belarusian services exports.
