Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation will need to find a new donor to replace the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is halting funding for projects in Ukraine for at least three months. It provided funding for different initiatives starting from the development of the “Diia” state app to AI regulation strategies, according to Forbes Ukraine.
On 3 February, US billionaire Elon Musk said Trump’s team was working on shutting down USAID, claiming that the agency was beyond repair. The next day, the US president appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as head of the organization.
According to two former ministry employees who spoke anonymously with Forbes, USAID was one of the largest donors to the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The ministry received at least $40.5 million from USAID, compared to nearly four times less from the EU, which contributed $11.5 million across four programs.
In 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation’s most active donors were USAID, the EU, Germany’s BMZ, and Sweden’s SIDA. In total, the ministry received $63.3 million from these sources for 9 out of 18 projects.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation declined to specify what percent of its projects were funded by USAID until negotiations with the agency are concluded. However, the journalists estimate that in 2023, the organization’s contribution to the ministry’s 9 projects accounted for 64%.
They also found at least 30 services, platforms, and products launched by the Ministry of Digital Transformation with USAID’s support, including services like “eExcise,” “eBooking,” “eRecovery,” and the AI regulation project.
The reports also mention projects like “Supporting Leading Organizations in Combating Corruption in Ukraine (VzaemoDiia)” and “Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure in Ukraine,” but the funding amounts are not listed in the documents.
The ministry will search for a new donor to replace USAID, a ministry official told the journalists, adding that the aid halt will be no catastrophe. However, it is unclear where Ukraine would find another resource of essential funding amid wartime crisis time.
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