The Rise of Ukrainian EdTech: 10 Companies Shaping the Future of Education Amid the War

By the end of 2022, almost a year after a Russian full-scale invasion, 85% of Ukrainian tech firms kept their activities at the pre-war level, while export of tech services grew by 5.8% to $7.3 billion. The tech sector keeps being crucial for the country and comprises almost half of services exported. It also provides the army with communications and cybersecurity technologies, and city infrastructure with fintech, ID solutions, and missile alerts.

Ukraine was always proud of its tech-talent pool with over 200k people. The country has always had a strong computer science school -- the first computer in Europe was created in Kyiv, in 1951. Using the best practices of its ‘founding fathers’, Ukrainian IT education successfully went online. IT courses have been joined by other disciplines, tutors marketplaces and ‘educational Tik-Toks’. Today, we can watch very promising EdTech startups which prepare strong professionals and help them to get a job in Ukraine and worldwide.

Meet 10 of them:

Preply

One of the largest and most lucrative EdTechs in Europe. The company raised $50M in 2022 despite the war in Ukraine and the global crisis, and can join the unicorns ranks soon.

An online tutoring platform that connects students with qualified tutors in a variety of subjects, including languages, music, and academic subjects. The platform offers personalized, one-on-one tutoring sessions that allow students to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule.

GoIT.global

The company offers 3-10 months online courses in full-stack, frontend, QA, IT recruitment, etc.

Before the war, CEO Anton Chorny bet on expansion, and 2022 didn’t stop him: the company’s sales grew by 2.5x times. Today, GoIT.global operates in LATAM, Poland, Ukraine and Romania, with plans to continue expanding geographically.

Recently, it supported an education program for more than 60 Ukrainian women - refugees to develop IT skills and get a job abroad. GoIT’s founders are very proud of its LMS, a Product Hunt winner.  With more than 13k students worldwide, the company is developing GoIteens, to popularise tech among teenagers.

ClassTag

A platform for parent-teacher communication, classroom management, and fundraising. It aims to simplify the communication between teachers and parents by providing a single dashboard for all school-related communication, such as announcements, event reminders, and permission slips.

ClassTag offers tools for teachers to manage their classroom, such as scheduling, behavior tracking, and grading. Additionally, the platform allows teachers to create fundraising campaigns for their classroom needs, such as supplies or field trips. In the past several years, the company raised almost $9M from international VC and conducts its own community engagement grant to improve equality and inclusion in schools.

Buki

A marketplace for private teachers and tutors with over 110K educators, a team of 130 employees, and more than 1.2M processed orders from students. The Kyiv-based startup has evolved into one of the biggest EdTech platforms for private tutoring in Europe. The company was founded by Vadym Synzheretskyi in 2016, when he was a second-year physics student. In 2023 he made it in Forbes Europe's 30 under 30 social impact list.

Step Academy

An IT school that offers a wide range of courses in IT, including programming, web development, and cybersecurity. Their courses are designed for both beginners and advanced learners and are taught by experienced IT professionals. ITStep's curriculum is constantly updated to keep up with the latest industry trends and technologies. Step Academy works in 21 countries with 75k students. Since last year, it allows children of Ukrainian soldiers to get free education.

GIOS

An innovative online education platform that offers an interactive TikTok-style Math learning experience for K12 students and teachers. It provides an all-in-one solution with features such as progress tracking for parents, an e-library, a flexible course-builder, and a marketplace for proven STEM tutors. With over 110K+ users and almost 10K paying customers, GIOS has established itself as a leading EdTech startup in Europe. In 2023, the platform was recently recognized by HolonIQ, a global education intelligence firm, as one of the top 200 most promising EdTech startups in Europe.

Hillel IT School

Named after the author of the saying ‘If not me who, if not now when’, Hillel It School provides education and training in IT and software development. It was founded in 1999 and has since become one of the largest and most respected IT schools in Ukraine. The project offers a wide range of courses in various IT areas, including coding, software and web development, data science, and cybersecurity.

Main Academy

The academy offers a wide range of courses in software development, quality assurance, data analytics, and other IT-related fields. Main Academy's courses are designed for both beginners and experienced professionals. They provide a comprehensive curriculum that covers both theoretical and practical aspects of the subject matter, with a focus on hands-on learning.

SoftServe University

The educational arm of SoftServe, a leading Ukrainian IT services company. It provides a range of educational programs in IT, including software development, data science, design, and quality assurance. The university was founded in 2003 with the goal of supporting IT talent in Ukraine. The project is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in IT. They offer scholarships to underrepresented groups in the industry, such as women and people from minority backgrounds.

Choizy

A career guidance AI - based platform, helping school students to choose their future profession, and university students to determine their first job, as well as assists young professionals in changing their field. In 2021, the startup was valuated at $1M, and in 2022, it received a special grant for development from Google.

So, why do VCs invest in Ukrainian EdTech startups today? It’s becoming an attractive prospect, particularly with the EU committing to invest €13.5 billion in research and innovation for 2023-2024, including targeted support for Ukraine. Despite the ongoing conflict with Russia, the country's tech sector has shown resilience and growth potential, with many Ukrainian startups already gaining international recognition and investment. Overall, investing in the Ukrainian tech sector can provide high potential returns and contribute to the country's economic growth and integration with the EU.