Fedorov: There are more than 500 companies producing drones in Ukraine

On 3-4 October 2024, the first international investment summit Defence Tech Valley dedicated to Ukrainian defence innovations took place.

The event gathered 1300+ participants, including 100+ Ukrainian and foreign investors, 250+ domestic and international development teams, 28 teams pitched their projects to investors, 25 leading speakers, etc.

One of the keynote speakers at the event was Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation.

According to him, there are more than 500 companies in Ukraine involved in the production of combat drones. These companies are scaling up and reinvesting in new developments, as reported by Forbes. Some companies are already using drones that are made up of 70-80% components developed by them.

Before russia’s invasion in February 2022, drone production in Ukraine was virtually nonexistent.

Fedorov stated that the average margin for companies involved in technology in NATO countries is about 17%, and in European Union countries, it’s 15%.

“We have created a 25% margin in Ukraine. This is the highest figure in the world, and it allows Ukrainian companies to earn more and reinvest in development. I’ll tell you a secret: this year we started providing grants for missile development, and next year we plan to support the production of powder factories. So, I invite investors and businesses to consider these opportunities,” says Mykhailo Fedorov.

He explained that the high margin allows for breakthroughs in the localization of domestic products. According to him, Ukraine has managed to eliminate many unnecessary regulations, and today, the country probably has “the best regulatory environment for launching defense tech startups”.

Defense Tech Valley was organized by the Brave1 cluster in partnership with C5 Capital, IP3, PUMB, Defence Builder, MyDefence, DefSecIntel, Demand Signal, IDEA Travel Solutions, Uklon, and with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.