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International IT company Itera and national retailer Epicenter K have entered into a partnership to develop Blaho for Communities, a digital platform designed to support the recovery of small towns and local communities in Ukraine. The platform will ensure transparent, targeted, and accountable assistance from international donors. The official launch is scheduled for October 2025.
The platform’s mission is to provide communities with an effective tool for attracting aid while giving donors the ability to directly support specific initiatives and clearly see the results of their contributions.
First and foremost, this initiative is about supporting Ukraine and its local communities — not only major cities, but also all the people who have suffered greatly from the consequences of the war
said Jon Erik Høgberg, COO of Itera Group.
How Blaho for Communities works Blaho for Communities functions as an ecosystem. The platform allows local governments to submit recovery projects, ranging from school and hospital renovations to infrastructure and agricultural initiatives. Each approved project is converted into digital Blaho support certificates, which can be purchased by Ukrainian and international donors — including individuals, businesses, and international organizations or foundations.
Through Blaho, we enable everyone to contribute — whether individuals, companies, organizations, or foundations. Projects can vary in scale, and contributions don’t have to be large. This gives everyone a chance to take part in rebuilding Ukraine and to become part of the process
said Viktoriya Savytska, Head of Global Affairs at Epicenter.
This model guarantees targeted use of funds and transparency at every stage of financing.
Social impact and trust The idea for the platform originated at Epicenter, whose team noticed that while large-scale projects often attract international attention, small towns and villages rarely gain access to global aid. Yet their needs are no less urgent, often less costly, and the impact on local communities can be transformative.
Contributions to Blaho for Communities are made via digital vouchers issued by Epicenter. Beneficiaries can redeem these vouchers at the nearest store on the network to purchase goods on favourable terms, aligned with the voucher’s value.
We are fundamentally changing how aid is organized. This will be an excellent complement to large humanitarian organizations. Thanks to digitalization, donations will reach those in need faster and more directly. We are creating super-aid at super-speed
added Jon Erik Høgberg.
Technological solution developed by Itera The Itera team has deep expertise in creating digital solutions for the public and corporate sectors, particularly in process automation, data validation, and building complex analytical systems.
During the development of the platform, the team actively used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to optimize and accelerate the development process. AI helped automate routine tasks, accelerate code generation, and enhance product quality by assisting the team in designing intuitive interfaces and well-structured solutions from the outset. In addition, the use of AI enabled the team to quickly adapt the platform to new requirements, improve the user experience, and focus on strategic and creative tasks.
Thanks to a reliable architecture and intelligent tools, the platform provides effective control at every stage—from application submission to project implementation.
We are creating a high-quality product to help Ukrainian communities rebuild the country. It is important for us that the platform is not only convenient and reliable, but also truly contributes to transparency, efficiency, and community engagement in the recovery process. We want every community to quickly receive support for their projects and see the real results of our joint efforts
concludes Oleksandra Starykova, product owner of the Blaho platform.
