Belarus mulls IT loans

After meeting the head of state, IT businessman Viktar Prakapenya said that Belarusian authorities consider the initiative of giving out IT loans with deferred payment. These are interest-free loans for education in the field of information technology. 

According to him, every Belarusian will be able to get such a loan from the High Technology Park for 5 years. The amount is up to 6,000 BYN. At the same time, the payment will be delayed for two years, then the loan can be repaid within three years in equal installments. 

"IT loans are a simple solution. It will change the mood of the people in the country," said Prakapenya. "The decree on HTP 2.0 was not just a signed document. Look how the mood of the Belarusian IT specialists has changed. How the mood of those who come to us from Russia and Ukraine has changed. We give good relocation packages and salaries in the field are beginning to exceed the Ukrainian and Russian ones -- a serious challenge for these markets".

The entrepreneur is sure that now we need the next step -- to make IT profitable not only for IT specialists, but also for everyone else. He said that a group will be created to develop a project on IT loans.

"It can be joined by anyone who, like us, is eager to promote the idea, believes in it and sees how it can be improved. Write in the comments to this post if you would like to enter it".

Alyaksandr Lukashenka also supported the idea of creating an IT university. It is to launch already in the next academic year.

"This proposal is not only from the IT community, but also from our leading universities: BSU and BSUIR," said First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Turchin. According to him, in the near future Lukashenko will receive a draft regulatory legal act, which will regulate the activities of the new educational institution.