Regional startup ecosystems of Ukraine

The startup ecosystem of each country contains separate elements and reflects the effectiveness of their interaction, which is also reflected in regional ecosystems. The aim of the research is to identify and rank the start-up ecosystems of the regions of Ukraine according to various indicators, distinguish the differences between the ecosystems and determine the main directions of their development, expansion within a separate region. In the research multifactorial comparative analysis in four stages has been used, such as: justification of the indicator system, normalization of the matrix of standardized coefficients, squaring of all elements of the matrix of standardized coefficients and placement of the obtained rating values by rank. The highest level is charac­terized by a sufficient number of supporting elements that help startups find financing options and accelerate market entry processes; the high level has a dynamic ecosystem that helps early-stage startups find support and funding programs; the medium level has a developing ecosystem, and the existing business structure contributes to the development of the startup movement in the region; the low level has the potential for further development and additional initiatives by local authorities and business structures. According to the rating, the highest level was determined in Kyiv region, the high level is found in Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions, the average level is found in Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. Other regions belong to the lower and the lowest levels, which emphasize the promising development of startup ecosystems in the regions. Regions with the highest level can focus on maintaining and expanding their existing ecosystem by providing additional support and funding for startups; with high indicators they can focus on the further development of its dynamic ecosystem, creating more clusters and events to attract startups and investors; medium level regions can consentrate on increasing the number of supporting elements to make it easier for startups to find funding and scale; with a low level regions can focus on conducting competitions, hackathons, involving the IT community for the development of the startup community.