07/09/2026
Everyone agrees that in Ukraine has huge potential. So why are there still so few HealthTech startups?
This was one of the questions discussed at ReHealth Ukraine , where our Deputy GR Director Oksana Myron'ko joined the panel “Investing in HealthTech in Ukraine: potential, ecosystem, and investor confidence.” Moderated by Inna Maslenchuk, MedTech & BioTech Lead at WINWIN – Ukraine’s Global Innovation Strategy 2030, the discussion brought together Edem Adamanov, State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine; Inna Shymkiv, Doctor Eleks; Serhiy Bryzhytskyy, MBA, Farmak; Kyrylo Honcharuk, CheckEye; Stepan Krulko, MD, MBA, National Cancer Institute.
One thing became clear during the conversation: there is no single missing piece. A functioning HealthTech ecosystem needs several things to happen at the same time.
- The state needs to create both the rules and the demand. Clear regulation matters, but so does the willingness of the healthcare system to adopt new technologies. Ukraine’s defense sector showed how powerful this combination can be: when there is real demand for technology, companies and startups have a reason to build, test, improve, and scale.
- Startups need to emerge and experiment. Today, the pipeline itself is still small. Building it requires teams willing to enter a difficult field, test ideas, look for funding, learn the market, and keep going. The defense ecosystem offers another useful parallel: many teams that started in 2022 knew little about fundraising or building companies, but learned by doing.
- Investors need something to invest in, but also the willingness to look. Capital alone will not create an ecosystem if there are too few projects entering the pipeline. At the same time, young companies need investors and established businesses willing to consider HealthTech seriously and support promising solutions. And organizations need a way to experience innovation before they can demand it.
So, one of the biggest takeaways from the panel: there is no point waiting for someone else to make the first move. Government, investors, technology companies, startups, researchers, and healthcare institutions all have different roles, and the ecosystem starts moving when each begins doing its part.
For Sigma Software, contributing to this ecosystem means delivering innovative digital solutions, but also investing in startups through SID Venture Partners and Sigma Software Labs, working with public institutions and donors on digitalization, supporting education through Sigma Software University Global, and helping create the technology and expertise on which new products can grow.