Belarus ahead of India and USA in exporting computer services per capita
According to the World Trade Organisation, in 2013, Belarus’ export of computer services came close to $60 per capita: against $41 in India and $36 in the USA.
Belarusian IT companies are well-known not only in a narrow circle of professionals, but also among consumers
In total, last year, Belarus exported $552m of computer services. Although many countries boast much higher figures ($2,508bn in Russia and $2,151bn in Denmark), they demonstrate a deficit in the foreign trade of IT services (-$400m in Russia and -$225m in Denmark) because their software products are developed abroad or they vigorously buy and assimilate imported solutions.
In 2013, Belarus enjoyed a foreign trade surplus in computer services — exceeding $480m. Among Customs Union countries, only Belarus has such a surplus, with the country increasing the figure for the last five years.
The High-Tech Park is the largest supplier of computer services in Belarus. Director Valery Tsepkalo tells us, “In creating the High-Tech Park, Belarus has gained a fully-developed software development industry within a comparatively short period of time — about nine years. It has a reputation not only in Belarus but across the globe. In this period, we’ve managed to outpace many countries in the export of computer services per capita. According to Forbes, in 2009, Belarus was behind India in the export of computer services per capita; now, it’s ahead of both India and the USA.”
Mr. Tsepkalo stresses that Belarusian IT companies are popular not only as professional business to business (B2B) model developers. “We now sell a lot of copies directly to consumers (B2C) — such as the games Viber and World of Tanks. Apalon Company is our rising star, targeting a huge market of consumers. The B2B model is less recognised, while the B2C model heavily adds to the brand and the value of the company and its products. We’re rightly proud of this. India has not created a single internationally recognised B2C product, yet the country’s export of computer services was close to $50bn in 2013,” notes the Head of the HTP Administration.
He underlines that the Administration of the High-Tech Park aims to create an optimal environment for the development of companies involved in information and communication technologies. Mr. Tsepkalo stresses, “What’s special about Silicon Valley? It has created a certain environment with a high concentration of specialists in a certain field. If someone has an idea, they can always find a partner to help implement it. At our High-Tech Park, our environment is proceeding at rather a good pace. A certain explosion occurred when Viber and World of Tanks emerged on the market. Our HTP environment will inspire more companies and projects, becoming at least as internationally recognised as Silicon Valley.”
