Who could have thought 20 years ago that Belarus would become the Silicon Valley of Europe? Jon Purizhansky says that there are currently close to 60,000 software developers in Minsk.
Amazingly, the Belarusian software services sector has been developing at a very rapid pace. Belarus’s reputation for scientific excellence, high level of education and great work ethics complemented by competitive labor rates market have caused a lot of Western companies to either establish subsidiary operations in Belarus or to outsource development project there. Epam (https://www.epam.com/) alone employs over 10,000 developers in Belarus. Jon Purizhansky says that this is a trend that is going to continue to grow.
In 2015, the revenues of the Belarusian IT industry amounted to USD 1,120 million.
There are many historical reasons for this development. During the times of the Soviet Union Belarus supplied 60% of the USSR’s computer production. Belarus’ capital Minsk was always home to major R&D and production facilities in Eastern Europe. Consequently, Jon Purizhansky says that Belarus inherited one of the highest standards of scientific and technical potential in the FSU. As a result, Belarus’s exports of IT services continue to grow. In 2017 they amounted to More than 1B USD, an incredible development.
Another factor that is contributing to this success is the fact that 54 Belorussian universities produce 4,000 software engineers annually. Jon Purizhansky says that Belarus has well–established higher educational institutions and old traditions of science and engineering education that are sufficient to train qualified programmers and software engineers. Additionally, Belarus established a High Tech Park. IT companies headquartered there are subject to lower and simplified taxation. T
There are close to 1,000 IT companies in Minsk. Almost 200 are members of the Belarusian High–Tech Park. 90 percent of the Belarusian IT companies are involved in custom software development and IT consulting for a wide range of foreign clients. Naturally, the Belarusian IT industry is generally engaged in custom development and high–end software services for clients that require low cost but highly skilled technical resources. Belarusian companies offer the same core development languages, platforms, and technologies as their counterparts in other countries. Jon Purizhansky predicts that Belarusian IT industry will continue to grow, thereby contributing to the natural growth of Belarusian middle class and economic prosperity in that country.
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