Global Support for Ukraine through Technology and Innovation

On June 8, 2022, the Born Global Community, in partnership with Born Global Ventures, Honeycomb Software, Impact Hub, and other organizations, hosted an online event on “Global Support for Ukraine through Technology and Innovation” to highlight how the tech industries all over the world are deploying their resources, capabilities, and expertise to assist the people of Ukraine.

We would like to give special thanks to our moderator Oleg Lysiak, VP of Sales and Partnerships at Honeycomb Software and City Leader at Founders Live, and our host Dr. Sunny Zhang, General Partner of Born Global Ventures.

A big shout out to our guest artist Alina Uddin for gracing us with her beautiful performance of Melody A-minor (Мелодия ля-минор) by Myroslav Skoryk (link to video).

Thanks to all the panelists for sharing their valuable insights and making such a meaningful and important conversation:

• Grace Rodriguez, CEO and Executive Director of Impact Hub Houston
• Mick Safron, CEO & CoFounder of UnicornLab & Biohacking Congress and CoFounder of Ukrainian Hub
• Alina Kravchenko, CEO and Founder of SwipenSnap
• Oksana Mindyuk Malyshera, Managing Partner and CEO at SputnikATX
• Diana Rakus, Head of Expert Group on Attracting Investments in IT at Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

We are grateful to our special guests, Alina Yurenko, Principle Developer Advocate at Oracle, Iryna Petrovska Marchiano, CoFounder/Spokesperson at HTX4Ukraine and Business Intelligence Developer at ExxonMobil, Ben Ghazi, CoFounder of Codia, and Zuzanna Kobrzynski, Houston Bureau Chief at Polish Investment and Trade Agency, for sharing their experience and resources on how people from anywhere around the world can support Ukraine.

Here is the list of resources shared by our speakers and partners if you’d like to learn more about how you can help Ukrainians and the organizations providing direct support to both refugees and those still in the country.

• The team at Impact Hub Odessa has set up a warehouse in Poland, on the Ukrainian border, which is open and ready to receive medicines, humanitarian aid, dry rations, and more. Find all details on this website and donate here to the emergency fund to support the Impact Hub community in Odesa and help them get more food and supplies for the refugees they’re hosting.
• Please reach out to Grace Rodriguez and Michelle Avalos at Impact Hub Houston (houston@impacthub.net) if you need any help to connect with Impact Hub in Europe which is directly helping Ukrainian refugees, startups, and talents.
• The Ukrainian Social Venture Fund aims to support social enterprises that want to transition their production to serve the needs of those affected by the war and those who are struggling to continue their operations during wartime. It wants to help them build their resilience, and enable them to be ready for reconstruction when the time comes. Over 150 social enterprises have applied for funding and those selected will soon be announced.
• HTX4Ukraine is a team of passionate Houston-based Ukrainians and Americans with Ukrainian roots. Their mission is to *SAVE LIVES IN UKRAINE* by coordinating efforts to provide medical as well as non-lethal military aid for Ukraine. Connect to Iryna Petrovska Marchiano for more details.
• Help Ukraine 22 is an organization with a team of American and Ukranian experts aiming to provide humanitarian aid to all those who need immediate assistance in Ukraine.
• The Ukrainian Hub is an organization for supporting Ukrainian entrepreneurs through training, consulting, mentoring, and liaison with international startup ecosystems. Connect with Mick Safron to learn more. Ukrainian Hub (Portugal) aims to support the Ukrainian tech companies and startups that are based in Portugal.
• Sputnik ATX is making big plans on rebuilding Ukraine. Contact Oksana Mindyuk Malyshera (oksana@sputnikatx.com) to learn more.
• Learn about how the Polish Investment and Trade Agency is helping Ukrainian entrepreneurs in Poland. Connect with Zuzanna Kobrzynski (Zuzanna.Kobrzynski@paih.gov.pl) for more details.
• Foster LLP Chairman Charles Foster and Partner José Pérez cover immigration options for Ukrainian citizens entering the United States. Read about Uniting for Ukraine Humanitarian Parole Program and find out more on developments impacting the availability of immigration benefits on their website at www.fosterglobal.com.
• Google Developer Groups in Ukraine is organizing “DevFest for Ukraine” — a global online tech conference to share the passion for technology with international communities and raise funds for Ukraine–on June 14–15, 2022.
• Promprylad.Renovation is currently very actively supporting businesses that are forced to move their production facilities to Ivano-Frankivsk and the region during the war.
• Devs for Ukraine was a free, online engineering conference with the goal to raise funds and provide support to Ukraine. It raised over $100,000 to support NGOs and humanitarian funds! Watch the talks on YouTube.
• Here’s an opportunity for Ukrainian artists and activists: The State of the ART(ist) Call is looking for works, actions, projects and communal activities that locate themselves at the intersection of human rights and the arts.
• Grace Rodriguez also suggested, “there’s another way to help: Provide jobs, gigs, and contracts to talent and agencies in and from Ukraine, like Honeycomb Software is doing! Giving their talent and businesses work and wages also means that they can afford to house and feed their families and communities.” Here’s a hiring post for Ukraine backend developers. SoftServe and 10 Clouds are good starting platforms for developers and designers in Ukraine.
• Diana Rakus provided the following useful links:
  https://u24.gov.ua
  https://donate.thedigital.gov.ua
  https://putina.net
  https://metahistory.gallery

Thanks again to all of our event partners for cultivating the galaxy of global innovation with us:

Born Global Ventures

Born Global Studio

Born Global Community

Impact Hub Houston

Honeycomb Software

Founders Live Houston

Ukrainian Hub

SputnikATX

HTX4Ukraine

Help Ukraine 22-Operation Palyanytsya

Polish Trade Agency

Here’s the replay for those who missed the live session.

Born Global Ventures backs early-stage tech startups led by resilient immigrant entrepreneurs by providing intellectual capital, human capital, social capital, and financial capital through the combination of the Born Global Fund (VC fund), the Born Global Studio (venture builder), and the Born Global Community (global network).

The Born Global Community is committed to *Bridging Gaps. Closing Divides. Cultivating the Galaxy of Global Innovation. Our mission is to onboard foreign-born and native-born entrepreneurs and investors and to interconnect local and international ecosystems. We are focused on startup development, venture investing, digital media, and network expansion through thought leadership, education programs, and community building.

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