These two Singapore startups lending a helping hand to Ukrainians displaced by Russian invasion

With the Russia-Ukraine still going in full swing, roughly 4.6 million fled Ukraine. The war has predictably destroyed Ukraine’s economy as the government revenues have shrunken and goods trade has been severely disrupted. Many businesses have either closed or are running only in a minimal capacity. The World Bank has forecast that the Eastern European country’s economy will collapse by 45.1 per cent this year.

Although diplomatic and international-level talks are on, there seems to be no end to the conflict.

As Ukrainians continue to flee their war-torn country, many startups and multinational corporations came forward to lend a helping hand. Among them are two Singapore-based companies — Ahrefs and Xctuality.

Ahrefs, an SEO service startup founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Dmitry Gerasimenko, has managed to raise US$1.3 million for humanitarian organisations in the country.

The firm, whose nearly 20 members have family and friends in Ukraine, raised the money by offering to extend customers’ subscriptions to the Ahref platform by twice the amount of their donation. It means for every US$100 donated, the customer will receive US$200 of subscription value in return.

The funds will be spent on food and medicine delivery, transportation, and temporary refugee homes.

Also Read: How Singaporean startup Xctuality helps creators, brands accelerate into metaverse

Xctuality, which helps creators, and brands accelerate into the metaverse, took a different route to help the displaced Ukrainians. The startup wrote a post on LinkedIn inviting applications for various tech jobs. The priority is given to war-affected Ukrainians, many of whom have fled to safety in neighbouring countries. However, the majority are still within Ukraine and doing their best to seek protection in less affected parts.

According to its Co-founder and CEO Warren Woon, the response to the posting has been good. Many of his friends and their contacts have shared the message, and Xctuality has been receiving inquiries and conducting interviews.

“I have many Ukrainian friends both within and outside of Ukraine. They are wonderful people with a long history and rich culture. Seeing war tearing their lives apart overnight was shocking and sad,” said Woon. “I knew immediately that I had to help somehow.”

“Xctuality is a fully remote company, comprising 25 members across six Asian countries. Hence, working with anyone anywhere in the world is fine as long as there is reliable internet. We look at the technical competency of our potential hires and their complementary fit into our company culture. We welcome all who are interested,” he shared.

He also mentioned that while some people’s bank accounts have been affected, the majority can still use their bank cards and receive deposits. “Alternatively, we can look at either crypto or paying out via more traditional remittance services,” Woon said on being asked about how to pay their salaries.

Warren added this initiative is more of a personal mission for him. “Prior to this war, Ukraine was home to many highly-skilled and experienced tech talents, and we should do what we can to help keep alive and nurture this talent pool.”

“We’ve learned about the history of World War II and seen movies about such plights in war movies. This is happening now in the 21st century, and we are living this historic event. How we react tothis and what we do about it may have an immeasurable impact for generations to come,” Woon concluded.

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