"Not couriers or gambling": Fedorov on booking for FAVBET Tech and Glovo
Kyiv • UNN
Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov defended the booking of employees of tech companies such as FAVBET Tech and Glovo, saying they are not couriers or "players" but high-level professionals who are crucial to the economy, as the IT sector contributed nearly 5% to Ukraine's GDP and paid more than UAH 20 billion in taxes last year.
Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reacted to the scandal over the booking of FAVBET Tech and Glovo employees, noting that these are not couriers or "gamblers," but top-level specialists, UNN reports .
Specialists in technology and innovation businesses, enterprises important to the economy, must be booked so that companies continue to fill the budget of our country. There are 700 thousand booked people in Ukraine, and only 4 thousand are from IT companies
According to him, the share of IT in the country's GDP is almost 5%.
Last year, the state budget received UAH 20.8 billion in taxes from the sector. This is UAH 3.1 billion more than in 2022. One employed IT specialist creates and saves almost three jobs in the economy. In total, the IT sector employs more than 300 thousand people, and only 1.5% of them are booked."
Fedorov said that the companies applying for the reservation, according to the Cabinet of Ministers' resolution, have been granted the status of critical to the economy because they meet at least three of the criteria:
- the average salary at the enterprise is not less than the average salary in the region for the fourth quarter of 2021;
- no unified social tax arrears;
- over EUR 1.5 million of taxes paid to the state and local budgets during the year, excluding customs duties;
- over EUR 32 million in revenue over the past year, excluding loans and borrowings;
- Diya.City resident status;
- importance for the national economy - the so-called industry criterion. For IT companies, it is: belonging to the IT industry + the average salary of employees for the last quarter is not less than the equivalent of €1200 at the NBU exchange rate + the average number of employees for the last quarter is not less than 9 people.
According to the order, a total of 54 IT specialists were booked. These are not couriers or "gig workers," they are top-level specialists: architects, developers, devops. Engineers are the backbone of Diia.City, and engineers are our strategic resource
According to him, we are talking about:
- KORT LLC - 6 people;
- Viza Ukraine LLC - 15 people;
- Glovoapp Ukraine LLC (Glovo) - 11 people;
- Subsidiary "SSM" - 6 people;
- Agri Cheyne LLC - 1 person;
- FABBET TEK LLC - 15 people;
Last year, Viza alone paid 146 million hryvnias in taxes. Diia.City includes not only IT companies but also defense-tech developers. The space has about 150 residents who develop defense innovations. This is the basis of our defense capability and economy. Every business that saves jobs and helps to ensure normal life is important
Addendum
The Ministry of Economy has issued an order allowing employees of such companies as GlovoApi Ukraine, Favbet Tech, SSM, Visa Ukraine, AgriCheyne and Kort to receive a 6-month deferral from military service during the mobilization period.
Subsequently, in response to public outrage and public response, the Ministry of Economy announced the cancellation of the order on booking employees of tech companies and promised a thorough review of the situation with each company individually.
