On October 7-8, the Kiev International Economic Forum (KIEF) took place at the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center. The event, during which 25 panel discussions took place, was attended by over 1,500 participants. More than 120 speakers from leading international organizations and private companies, in particular the European Investment Bank, BlackRock Investment Institute, WTO, EBRD, OECD, Club of Rome, World Economic Forum, McKinsey & Company, and others, shared their vision of the future of the global economy.
The Forum was initiated by the UFuture holding company, headed by the entrepreneur Vasily Khmelnitsky. KIEF is a platform for the formation of a strategy for the economic development of Ukraine. The Forum is focused on organizing a dialogue between experts, business and government, borrowing the best world experience, creating a roadmap for development and facilitating the conversion of ideas into real actions.
The main issue of the forum in 2021 is peace in an era of radical changes. From business cases to visionary ideas, KIEF speakers spoke about the changes in the economy under the influence of the pandemic. Entrepreneurs, top managers, representatives of international organizations, analysts and company strategists during the Forum presented their views on the key problems of the world and Ukrainian economies and ways to solve them, on climate change and their impact on business and society.
The forum was opened by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal, who, during his speech on assessing the prospects of Ukraine, shared the government's vision for the development of key rules of the national economy.
The initiator of the Forum and the chairman of the holding company UFuture Vasily Khmelnitsky shared his vision of the prospects for the national economy, the launch of innovative industries and the development of an entrepreneurial culture.
In his opinion, Ukraine has significant prospects in the world market. A powerful agricultural sector creates prospects for the development of modern production in the field of foodtech. At the same time, the government and business must invest more in the processing of raw materials and the creation of finished products, which creates additional jobs and contributes to overall economic growth.
According to the founder of KIEF, now in Ukraine there is a problem with the development of the infrastructure of startups. Despite the availability of high-quality technical education, university graduates do not have a proper business education. For this, the state must create an ecosystem for the development of startups.
Vasily Khmelnitsky noted positive changes in the state's approach to the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. A positive example is the 5-7-9 lending program, which made it easier for entrepreneurs to access capital. However, according to the entrepreneur, the state has a lot to do. Thus, the share of SMEs in the structure of the Ukrainian economy is 1.5%, while in the world it is 3-4% on average. For the development of entrepreneurship, the state must conduct educational work, in particular, starting from school.
General Director of the Forum Yuri Pivovarov noted that the country's reputation is important for leaders, business and the country itself. The world should understand that it is comfortable to live, work, invest, develop business here. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a long-term strategy for the development of Ukraine's image, and KIEF has been making a great contribution to the development of this reputation for the eighth year.
“There are three main trends to be an economically successful country. First, money goes into innovations and ideas. Here we have a chance. It is necessary to develop the infrastructure of incubators, start-ups, and the state to support promising projects. The second trend is climate. There is a lot of money going there, new, more environmentally friendly production facilities are being built. The third trend is the development of production. The pandemic has shown that there are logistical difficulties in transporting from China to Europe. There is a window of opportunity in Ukraine, but it is small. Work is underway to develop production, in particular, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill on the development of industrial parks. But this requires more effort, ”said Pivovarov.
During the forum, the issue of investment in developing countries, their risk and profitability was raised. If earlier it was more profitable than investing in developed countries, in the last decade the trend has reversed. And we need to understand whether Ukraine in such conditions can be attractive for foreign and domestic investors. Among the advantages of Ukraine, the speakers named low competition, which creates the preconditions for a quick return on investment and obtaining large profits. Another plus is that Ukraine is striving to join the European Union. This choice means harmonization of legislation and regulation with the European one, predictability, predictability and building a level playing field. Experts named IT, infrastructure, agricultural, banking, fintech, electronic
