The IT industry boom in Belarus
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 h...