With support from the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), Mariupol IT Cluster (MRPL IT Cluster) is helping relocated IT companies restore their businesses, improve staff skills, and engage local businesses in the IT community. In 2023, ERA supported the cluster to train more than 100 people in project management and IT sales, providing them with professional skills to broaden their career opportunities.
Seven displaced IT companies participated in MRPL IT Cluster’s mentoring support program, which offered consultations and courses to 77 employees of different IT companies, helping to enhance their opportunities for employment and professional growth.
“The processes we have set up work very effectively and are easily scalable,” explained Andriy Hadashevych, Head of MRPL IT Cluster. “This allows us to work on even more ambitious projects and have a significant impact on the Ukrainian economy through the implementation of similar initiatives. We have also gained a better understanding of the market and the needs of IT companies, identifying the importance of sales, marketing, and budgeting directions for growth.”
Based on the mentoring program, participants have implemented new business ideas, which led to improved sales, new clients, and scale up.
“After re-starting our business, our team grew by more than 20%. We acquired new clients and increased sales. We continue to implement scaling strategies and will keep working on optimizing processes for seamless growth. The insights gained from these consultations will enable us to achieve more impressive results than we could have achieved independently,” said Heorhiy Petrushyn, Director General of MixDigital Company.
Currently, the MRPL IT Cluster is implementing a consulting program in which U.S. experts from Silicon Valley coach Ukrainian IT businesses and provide them with strategies to enter the US market. Four out of 21 applicants were selected for the first group of participants, who are already in consultation with the program experts. Selected companies will also have access to consultations with experts in human resources, negotiation management, and strategy development.