Hello Sifted reader,

Over the last year, founders from Ukraine’s startup ecosystem have had to learn how to run their businesses in previously unimaginable circumstances.

They’ve worked from bomb shelters and metro stations, sometimes with no electricity or water, all while their lives remain under a constant threat.

And despite all that, Ukraine’s IT sector actually grew in 2022. What’s more, 75% of founders say they’re positive about the future of the Ukrainian startup market, according to a report by the Polish-Ukraine Startup Bridge.

But behind those statistics lie hundreds of individual stories: businesses that lost clients and investors overnight; founders operating under enormous financial and mental pressure; people forced to leave their hometowns and families and who have lost loved ones.

Over the past few months, Sifted has been in touch with dozens of Ukrainian founders to hear how they’ve managed to keep their startups afloat amid the war.

Today, almost one year after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, we’re bringing you their stories.

Read about their experiences here — and listen to them tell their stories in their own words in our special podcast.

— Zosia Wanat, senior CEE correspondent

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR DELOITTE

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