Learning from Ukraine: Remaining operational with digital solutions despite war

Ukraine’s government app Diia has demonstrated how digital solutions can provide concrete support to people in times of crisis. Thanks to Diia, citizens can securely manage their ID cards, driving licenses, and certificates on their smartphones and access public services regardless of their location—from registering as internally displaced persons to reporting war damage. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is now supporting Ukraine in making this solution available to other countries. 

Through the project Scaling Diia Globally: Diia Showcase and Digital Wallet Proof of Concept, BMZ supports Ukraine in positioning Diia as an international reference for digital government solutions. Ukraine is bringing its experience in digital governance to the global stage by presenting the Diia Showcase—a model other countries can review and adapt to their own digital challenges.

Particular focus is placed on the Digital Wallet, a core feature of the app which enables citizens to carry and use official documents digitally, such as passports or certificates. In collaboration with Eurasia Foundation and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT), a dedicated version of the digital wallet is being developed in accordance with GovStack standards. The solution will be available for testing in the GovStack sandbox and can be reused by other countries as a an open-source software module for implementing digital wallets. 

This work is based on the GovStack initiative, which is funded by BMZ and jointly led by Germany, Estonia, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL). GovStack provides reusable digital components for public administration reform worldwide, supporting Ukraine in modularising key elements of Diia and shaping international standards for secure, citizen-centric digital government solutions. Since 2023, BMZ has been supporting the further development of Diia, thereby making a significant contribution to Ukraine’s digital sovereignty and resilience. 

For Ukraine, the global spread of Diia opens up considerable economic opportunities: Ukrainian companies can export their technological expertise, increase their international visibility, and tap into new markets. This establishes the country as Europe’s ‘digital tiger’ and an important partner in the development of modern, citizen-centred public administration systems worldwide.