Mikita Mikado is a well-known Belarusian information technology (IT) businessman, the founder of the new company “PandaDoc”, he is considering Latvia as one of the options to move employees and business from Minsk. Tax conditions for start-ups here are not worse than in Minsk High Technology Park, said Mikita Mikado in a conversation with Rus.lsm.lv. –
Mikita became well known after it came out Yuri Dudja film on Silicon Valley. Belarus, in 2011, founded a new company “PandaDoc”, which has attracted more than 20 million dollars from investors. He lives in San Francisco, where the company has its head office, and in addition, the Minsk office employed about 270 people. Immediately after the elections in Belarus, when the OMON began beating peaceful protesters and simply passers-by, a project to raise money for members of the force who have “gone for the better”.
At the end of August, many Belarusian IT companies considered ways to relocate their business and employees to another, safer country. Among them was Mikado, but among the variants he also mentioned Latvia.
On Wednesday, September 2, a search of PandaDoc’s Minsk office took place, and several executives were taken for questioning. On the same evening, Rus.lsm.lv had a conversation with Mikita about his future plans.
Did you not expect that your position would have consequences (for employees)?
No, we did not expect such persecution.
You talked about relocating businesses and employees to another country at the end of August. Will shaking speed up this process?
I think it will accelerate for the whole Belarusian IT industry. Specifically for us – will activate our work on all possible “plans B”. In addition, we still believe that there will be positive changes in Belarus. The people of Belarus have never been so united and have not given such repression to any regime. That is why we are optimistic. Although we are now intimidated.
Have you closed your office in Minsk High Technology Park?
It exists, but it was not possible to enter it today (Wednesday). What we did – gave everyone (employees) the opportunity to leave the country and planned the funds, the budget… We conducted a survey and 83% of employees want to leave the country for a while or not at all.
One of interviews you said that you were considering options for relocating workers and businesses to Ukraine, Latvia, Cyprus and Portugal.
In principle, the entire Belarusian information technology industry is working on a document called “Plan В”, which creates a “roadmap” for all possible options that companies and their employees can choose. Our “road map” is still being developed, it is not ready. However, it is already clear that there are options that are comparable to Belarus in terms of economic conditions for business and significantly outperform Belarus in terms of security and confidence for tomorrow.
Will you end up choosing one country for your employees, or will all the options be available: who wants to go to Latvia – who goes here, who goes to Cyprus – well?
I cannot talk in detail about relocation now, because now the whole focus is on helping our people who are detained do not know what and why. We’d better do that – let’s call again on Friday (see below). There will be more information about what has happened to our people, and what is new about relocation, with our plans.
Minsk New Technology Park has many different benefits for residents. It turns out that the option of moving employees abroad means either an increase in tax expenses for your company, or will the employees receive less money?
You see, in fact, the conditions for technological start-ups in Latvia are not worse for you. Not worse. You have a regime for start-ups – now I can’t say in detail, but there are interesting conditions. Fully comparable in terms of taxes (with Belarus).
The Latvian Investment and Development Agency is currently working with ten Belarusian IT companies wishing to transfer their business to Latvia. Is PandaDoc on this list?
I do not know. The person responsible for this is currently unavailable. In addition, I have heard about these conditions, and in that sense everything is fine. That is, tax conditions in Latvia are interesting. I do not yet know what will happen to other conditions – migration and so on. Let’s find out all this.
As for the surrounding countries, the cost of living in Ukraine is the same as in Belarus, and taxes are lower. So in principle, as if there are opportunities, but… (pause) does not want to leave… (pause). Why do we have to leave our country? Why?!
So that people don’t get hurt and don’t sit down for anything.
That is true. When such things happen, start thinking differently. Everything you say is perfectly reasonable, of course… However, we are still hoping for the best, but we are developing plans for the worst-case scenarios. I also do not want to talk too much about relocation, because protests are taking place in Belarus and…
Don’t want to look like a deserter?
Escape really does not motivate.
Do you hope that people who leave temporarily will not stay abroad at all?
I do not know. I hope not. I think that one way or another, the forces of this regime are coming to an end.
P.S. The planned continuation of the interview on the evening of Friday, September 4, was postponed indefinitely. That evening, it became known that four detainees from the PandaDoc Minsk office had been detained. They have been charged with looting budget funds. Mikita Mikado announced on the cessation of work in Belarus and the evacuation of workers from the country.
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