Stand for Ukraine: How the European Commission, UAFIC and EDFA worked together to find the best fintech solution for Ukraine
Every day for Ukraine is a new victory on the European front. Ukraine received the status of a candidate for EU membership only a week ago, and yesterday the final of the pan-European hackathon to help Ukraine took place!
On June 29, 2022, the European Commission in cooperation with the Ukrainian Association of Fintech for Innovation Companies (UAFIC) and the European Association of Digital Finance (EDFA) held a ceremony to award a project to develop technological solutions that will help Ukrainians — pan-European hackathon “Coding Challenge for Ukraine”. The event’s partner was the international payment system LEO.
The award ceremony took place this week in Brussels, attended by: Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union; Eva Kaili, Vice-President, European Parliament; Oleksii Shaban, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine; Kostiantyn Koshelenko, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization; Petr Očko, Deputy Minister for New Technologies, Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade; Rostyslav Dyuk, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies; Maria Staszkiewicz, the President of the European Digital Finance Association; and Mariam Matiashvili, CBDO sponsor of the event — the international payment system LEO.
About 30 teams from different countries participated in the hackathon, among which 5 finalists were selected with the best IT solutions to help refugees, internally displaced persons, war victims, and small and medium-sized businesses, who should significantly contribute to rebuilding a strong and modern Ukraine. The final of the hackathon included 6 teams:
- ATERMON
- AtomicLab
- CodeDefenders
- OffZmi
- Sigma Software
- SOS Civil Defense Headquarters
“I think the very idea and the reason we’re here today is is manifold, but really to support Ukraine. I think this is a fantastic initiative.” — opened the event by European Commissioner, Mairead McGuinness. — “Since 2014, Ukraine has made immense progress and last week’s announcement from the Council about candidate status is really a recognition of that progress. But of course everybody needs to do more, and we’re here to help.”
“We are acting in a positive manner, creating positive disruption and supporting startups and trying to find hope inside this situation of having a war in Ukraine and at the European borders. So for me it’s an honor to be here,” Eva Kaili stated, Vice-President of European Parliament.
The winner among the finalists was the team “AtomicLab”, which received the main prize of the hackathon — 10 thousand euro!
The team’s solution aims to restore Ukraine’s cultural monuments that were destroyed during the war. The platform will bring together investors who can finance the reconstruction of the building / monument / cultural heritage and contractors who can fulfill the restoration order. NFT-funded investor attraction, NFT-gallery with filters, and artist rating — all on one platform.
“Coding challenge for Ukraine is a vital initiative, intelligent people, and dozens of comprehensive ideas. International payment system LEO supported this hackathon because it is a priority for Ukraine to integrate fast into the European economy, show our capabilities, and help the vulnerable social groups. We made the way to find the solution that perfectly meets the upper-mentioned goals, and we have a list of other promising teams. It is a fantastic experience for us!” said Alyona Shevtsova, CEO of the international payment system LEO.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the organizers and participants of the pan-European hackathon for actively searching for new solutions and ways to help Ukraine. The Coding Challenge for Ukraine has become an incredible opportunity for many European teams to show themselves internationally, to draw more attention to the war and the brave struggle of the Ukrainian people against russian aggression.
