It\u2019s impossible not to be horrified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As an onlooker, I cannot understand the incredible suffering faced by people fighting for their homeland or fleeing with their families, but I can appreciate their courage and offer help.<\/p>\n
Watching the shelling of Ukraine\u2019s beautiful cities and countryside is particularly upsetting\u00a0as I cherish the time I spent there as a teenager. Keen to travel and make a difference, I was involved in humanitarian efforts on the border of Hungary and present-day Ukraine, which at that time was part of the USSR. I was lucky enough to experience the warm hospitality of Ukrainians as well as the national pride we have seen in these times of terrible adversity.<\/p>\n
The trip was also particularly formative for me. In addition to experiencing life behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War in the 80\u2019s, it also influenced the path I would take for my life. Serving the Romani people of Hungary and other oppressed Ukrainian groups, I saw that economic poverty wasn\u2019t a lack of resources of the country, but rather short-sighted vision from those of influence. If those with influence could enable as many people as possible to prosper, not only will they not lose power and influence, but entire groups of people would rise up from poverty and the entire society would prosper. I believed that freedom was connected to economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and creative work.<\/p>\n
While those were idealistic dreams of a teenager, it has guided my career choices to this day. I wanted to be an influencer of influencers to impact the most people as possible through innovation and creative work. It\u2019s a cause that brings me a sense of fulfillment every day, and one that is shared by my team, and many startups in our program. So, it\u2019s not surprising to see startups rally to help in this humanitarian crisis. Here\u2019s how some of them are leveraging their skills and opening their hearts to make a difference to refugees, and combat misinformation.<\/p>\n
The moving images of families piling into trains with only a few precious possessions on their backs have saddened us all. To try and help, British procurement and sustainability startup\u00a0Circulor<\/a>\u00a0is actively looking to hire Ukrainian developers, engineers, data scientists or UX specialists to work in London, Dublin or Berlin. \u00a0I was heartened to see CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen\u2019s post on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>: \u201cIn addition to good salaries, we\u2019ll cover relocation costs including accommodation. Remote workers considered too.\u201d<\/p>\n While Circulor has graduated from Oracle for Startups, we still work together. Doug says he is currently interviewing several \u2018strong candidates\u2019 from Ukraine and expects to make offers to the first few very soon. The company has Polish team members and has raised \u2018a considerable amount of money\u2019 which thanks to its employees\u2019 connections, it is able to deploy directly to support local communities in Poland helping refugees.<\/p>\n Polish blockchain startup\u00a0Doxychain<\/a>\u00a0joined the\u00a0Tech To The Rescue<\/a>\u00a0foundation, which launched the\u00a0#TechForUkraine\u00a0<\/a>campaign and aims to support Ukrainian non-profit organisations in their technological needs. Its CEO, Gabriel Dymowski has thrown open the doors of the company\u2019s office, offering Ukrainians a secure and peaceful place to work in central Warsaw.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes we feel there is little we can do. However, facing such a powerful crisis, we believe that every, even the smallest activity has great power. Especially the support shown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s gestures like these that make me so proud of our tech community.<\/p>\n Eugen Gross, CEO of\u00a0aiconix<\/a>\u00a0has directed his startup\u2019s efforts to helping people in Russia access media content that is not controlled by the state.<\/p>\n The startup, which uses AI to transform videos into data, has\u00a0engineered a tool that automatically transcribes and translates livestreams into Russian. \u201cWe want to give newsrooms and TV stations the possibility to stream their programmes online with subtitles in an uncomplicated and fast way,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n The tool is designed to take only a few minutes to set up without much technical know-how, but it\u2019s hoped it will have a large impact. The feedback so far has been \u2018extremely positive\u2019 and Eugen is leveraging Oracle\u2019s connections to find more media partners.<\/p>\n Brime\u00a0<\/a>is a streaming startup helping people in Russia navigate censorship. One of its co-founders created\u00a0a website\u00a0<\/a>to help people understand what is happening on the ground in Ukraine by streaming news clips and commentary about the war. The clips are sourced from the Eye, which is an internet project archiving every video uploaded to Twitter that is Ukraine-related.<\/p>\n \u201cThe site –\u00a0https:\/\/ukraine.brime.tv<\/a>\u00a0– is currently unblocked and accessible in Russia and we have many Russian-based users in our community that have been utilizing it and appreciate it, as the majority of people on both sides do not want this war,\u201d said Zach Davis, CEO and cofounder of Brime.<\/p>\n I share Zach\u2019s belief that it\u2019s incredibly important during these times that people are given a clear and accurate view of what is happening.<\/p>\n I\u2019m so proud these startups are working to assist others. We all know the energy that goes in to running a successful company, so to go the extra mile and invest time and resources to reach out and help others is so commendable.<\/p>\n We are keen to help too. That\u2019s why we are working with Ukrainian startups in our program to make sure they get support that\u2019s helpful to them, including extending free technology resources and providing other business resources to address specific needs.<\/p>\n Last month Oracle suspended all operations in the Russian Federation. We stand with the people of Ukraine and against the unlawful attack on their country. Our operations in Ukraine\u00a0remain active<\/a>\u00a0and we\u2019re working hard to support our employees, customers, partners and employees.<\/p>\n If your startup is also working to help Ukraine, or if you need assistance,\u00a0please get in touch<\/a>. We would be glad to help.<\/p>\nSupporting freedoms<\/h2>\n