Rakuten Group announced that it has inaugurated its new office in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has revealed plans to join Ukraine’s 'Diia City' initiative aimed at growing the country’s IT sector. The new Rakuten office opened its doors for the first time yesterday. Rakuten Group owns Rakuten Viber, Ukraine’s most widely adopted messaging and communications app.
Rakuten Viber, Rakuten Advertising and Rakuten Rewards currently have software development and digital marketing operations concentrated in Kyiv and Odesa. The new Kyiv office will enable local contributors to work together to bring valuable technology products and services to users around the world, further cementing Ukraine’s reputation as an IT innovation hub.
Rakuten’s commitment comes after Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani recently accompanied Japanese government officials on a diplomatic mission to Ukraine in September 2023. Serving as a representative of Japan’s private sector, Mikitani met with Ukraine leaders including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation.
Rakuten's plans for its Kyiv location include additional hiring in the technology sector and appointment of a country manager to oversee local operations. One of these is expected to be the launch in Ukraine of Rakuten Viber’s digital wallet service, following its successful introduction in several European countries. This service will provide Viber users in Ukraine, where its app is installed on 98% of mobile phones, with enhanced financial accessibility, including the ability to send money in and out of the country through secure instant messaging transactions.
