Fintech Job Market Amid War: New Turn for Digital Nomads?
Two years ago, Eurasia, North America, and Australia together with New Zealand were the parts of the world where starting business was the most affordable. Little has changed on the scale of a continent, but many events reshaped the job market since, the pandemic of COVID-19 causing a lion share of disruption and enhancing outsourcing as a trend.
Now, we see another crisis changing the game for companies that assemble international teams—the war in Ukraine.
With its thriving tech ecosystem, Ukraine itself was a major IT hub, for Fintech in particular, and an important outsourcing pool. It also ranked tenth on the list of the best destinations for a growing number of digital nomads. However, we already see Russian invasion challenging the hiring rails globally. That’s why we decided to speculate on what further reverberations could be—and what’s in it for the Fintech industry.
The evolution of digital nomad phenomenon
Ditching offices, switching to remote, and working while traveling—that’s the idea of being a digital nomad, or a techpat. While many prefer working from the comfort of a hotel or Airbnb stay, others put on their travel footwear and hit the road on a van, becoming VanLifers. Apart from seeing the world, the benefits of being a digital nomad include high productivity and a substantial creativity boost. A big plus for employers looking for outstanding employees.
First viewed as an unattainable luxury and a daring adventure, digital nomad lifestyle has become quite popular. While COVID-19 has caged many at home, a great number of employees have discovered an unparalleled freedom to choose where to nine-to-five their duties. A wider adoption of flexible working hours lessened their collar too.
Now countries worldwide compete in offering the best conditions to lure digital nomads. Debt crises in Greece resulted in a mass exodus of professionals, so the country is trying to turn a brain drain into a brain gain. Spain has other motives in mind: its struggling village communities need replenishment to stay alive.
All in all, a higher mobility is evident, with the number of digital nomads growing worldwide. So, if there are any employers who cherish a dream for their staff to return to offices in full strength, they might never see that happen.
Being digital nomad not by choice: the war context
According to FintechUA, there were about 150 fintech companies in Ukraine in 2021, with the most popular operating segments being technology and infrastructure, payments and money transfer, mobile wallets, personal and consumer lending. Just three years into operation, about 52% of surveyed companies have already expanded to foreign markets, as did the first Ukrainian mobile bank monobank by successfully launching the Koto banking app in the UK.
Now, as the war has deprived many Ukrainian tech specialists of their job, companies worldwide are eager to get them on their teams. No wonder: it’s not only an urge to help that’s driving these efforts, but also a desire to get talented employees competing with Indians for “the best outsourced tech power” laurel.
