Against the backdrop of the difficult economic situation in Ukraine, the authorities presented another “innovative” platform – “Pulse” (pulse.gov.ua), which is supposed to improve the interaction between business and the state. However, critics are already calling this project another unnecessary IT project, created more for reporting than for the real benefit of entrepreneurs.
The fact is that Ukraine already has dozens of similar platforms and services, created earlier with great fanfare, but most of them do not have any real impact on the conditions for doing business. For example, entrepreneurs already have an Electronic Taxpayer's Cabinet, various business portals and hotlines for complaints. But corruption, bureaucracy and pressure from regulatory authorities are not going away.
Therefore, a logical question arises: how does Pulse fundamentally differ from its predecessors? Will government agencies, already bogged down in reporting, now also pay attention to entrepreneurs' comments on the new website?
Waste of money or an important tool?
As usual, the authorities talk about “strategic partnership” and “improving dialogue.” In particular, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Viktor Mykyta, who presented this project, stated that it is about “a fundamentally new approach to solving issues and expanding the economic potential of each enterprise.” But in practice, such projects usually end with regular “round tables” and conferences with the participation of officials and entrepreneurs, at which no one is responsible for the promises.
In addition, it is unknown how many millions of hryvnias have been allocated for the development and support of "Pulse"? After all, in conditions of war and a huge budget deficit, such expenses look at least dubious...
By the way, among the official sponsoring partners of this project is USAID. And here it becomes obvious why the Trump administration has effectively cut off USAID funding worldwide. The agency has poured money into Ukrainian reforms, business projects, and IT initiatives for years, and the end result has been close to zero.
As experience shows, a few months after the launch of such platforms, interest in them disappears, the statistics of applications decreases, and the officials themselves forget about the loud promises. Therefore, unfortunately, at best, "Pulse" can become another tool for simulating work and reporting, but not for real improvement of the business environment in the country.
