ABOUT BELARUS

Belarus’ Goal: Become Europe’s Silicon Valley

• Minsk is meant to be the hub of this strategic plan
  
• Belarusian government actively supports IT based organizations and has established two key state-run projects:
  • Belarus Hi-Tech Park (www.park.by). 
    

Belarusian “Silicon Valley” government association/institution, membership of which provides attractive tax incentives + government lobby + PR at a country level

• IT Strana (www.it-strana.by).
  

State-run educational program to build a large pool of IT specialists
By 2015 the goal is to have 300,000 IT specialists

Belarus' Information Technology Climate

• One of the most technically advanced republics in former Soviet Union – was focused on USSR’s civil and military software development needs. As a result, an excellent technical education system has developed in Minsk.

• Till present Belarus develops software for the military: mobile robots, artificial intellect, neuron nets, heuristic data analysis, self-learning systems, distributed computing nets, and other hi-tech solutions.

• Belarus has preserved their unique technical education which is strongly supported by the government, making Belarus one of the world’s leading providers of highly qualified IT specialists year on year.
  

• Belarus provides IT specialists with qualification and experience levels superior to its international competitors with significant international awards and recognition.
  

Politics & Economics of Belarus

• Small, centralized country with 9.6 m population
• Capital: Minsk with 1.9 m people
• Major languages: Belarusian & Russian 
• Monetary unit: Belarusian ruble (BYR)
• Soviet-style, state-controlled economy with GDP (PPP) per capita double that of Ukraine but 2.6 times less of the European Union
• Soft-authoritarian presidential republic (no political buzz, no political forces competing at high level) with Alexander Lukashenko being the president since 1994 (constantly elected by the majority of the population)
• Very stable with low country risks
  

Top names outsourcing to Belarus:

• SAP
• Microsoft
• Oracle
• IBM
• Siemens
• Alcatel
• Coca-Cola
• Colgate
• T-Mobile
• Philips

Country’s official website: www.belarus.by/en/

Want to see how Minsk looks like? Watch the video below!