UVCA In Davos
No Turning Back On Free Market Reforms, — President Poroshenko at the Ukrainian House in Davos
Ukraine seeks to build a modern, market economy of small and medium-sized businesses and will never return to a Soviet-style command economy. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko last week in Davos.
The official statement of the President capped a busy week at the Ukrainian House in Davos, where the Ukrainian private sector demonstrated the viability of the country's business environment — in panel discussions, cultural events and communication with the world business elite.
We will adhere to the course of reforms, and I, as President, will do everything possible to ensure that this progress is irreversible. We want to build a healthy Western-style economy, based on small and medium-sized enterprises. We do not want to return to a Soviet-style economy.
Petro Poroshenko
President of Ukraine
During the week, the Ukrainian House in Davos held a closed meeting of the National Investment Council of Ukraine under the leadership of the President and with the participation of heads of international organizations, which together represented over $1 trillion in capital.
During the meeting, international investors approved the government's reform program and confirmed their intention to continue investing in Ukraine, as well as announced further investment in Ukraine, as well as announced investment agreements worth over $370 million.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Norwegian company NBT signed a memorandum of financing in the amount of €350 million, and NBT also announced plans to invest $1.5 billion over the next five years in the construction of 250 MW wind power plants in southern Ukraine.
After that, Horizon Capital announced its new fund of $200 million, raised with the participation of blue-chip investors (the largest, most reliable and liquid companies with stable income and dividend indicators - ed.). The final amount of funds significantly exceeds the target of $150 million. The funds will be invested in Ukrainian projects.
This is a strong signal to the market, indicating the attractiveness of Ukraine for investment.
Olena Kosharna
Founding Partner and CEO of Horizon Capital
We hope what we are doing will open the eyes of other private investors to Ukraine.
Joar Viken
CEO of NBT (an Oslo-based company working in the renewable energy sector)
Ukraine is leaving the oligarchic post-Soviet space and playing by global rules.
Roman Vashchuk
Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine
One of the participants in the panel discussion “Growing Markets: Grow Faster or Tighten Your Belts” at the Ukraine House was Michael Collins, Executive Director of Invest Europe (EVCA), an umbrella organization of VC & PE funds and national private equity associations from around the world.
During the discussion, Mr. Collins highlighted several key points that are hard to disagree with:
The Ukrainian market is too big to ignore;
The investment attractiveness of Ukraine is constantly growing: openness and readiness for development encourage investors to enter the market;
Success stories are the best advertising for investors.
One of the big steps taken in the EU (with the active support of Invest Europe) to strengthen the position of the region (especially compared to the USA) was the creation of a pan-European fund of funds. For Ukraine, we at UVCA see the creation of a fund of funds as the most important tool for the development of the venture capital market, so I personally invited Michael Collins to share his experience and help “inspire” our state bodies to further support the fund of funds project.
Olga Afanasyeva
Executive Director of UVCA
The government agency for attracting and supporting investments, UkraineInvest, held a series of panel discussions to discuss global business issues. The moderator was Daniel Bilak, head of UkraineInvest.
The discussion “Making the Planet Great Again: Recharging Renewables”, held with the support of TIU Canada, addressed the topic of energy transition and a significant increase in investments in green energy.
The panel “Whose Identity Is This: Privacy in the Digital Age”, sponsored by the IT Association of Ukraine, proposed to discuss the ethics of the use of personal data by governments and corporations from around the world.
In the discussion “Seeds of Wisdom: Managing the Global Economy of the 21st Century”, held with the support of UFuture Investment Group, participants analyzed the factors of economic development, including technology, entrepreneurship and creative industries.
The day of UkraineInvest events ended with a conversation with the participation of the mayor of Kyiv, world heavyweight boxing champion, co-founder of the Klitschko Brothers Foundation Vitali Klitschko, as well as his brother Wladimir Klitschko, world heavyweight boxing champion and co-founder of the Klitschko Brothers Foundation.
Vitaliy Klitschko
Mayor of Kyiv, world heavyweight boxing champion, co-founder of the Klitschko Brothers Foundation
The Ukrainian House in Davos also hosted a fashion show by designer Yulia Magdych, after which guests were invited to a party featuring singer Alina Pash and Lviv ethno-jazz band Shockolad. The event was sponsored by super-premium vodka brand Zirkova.
The founders of the world-famous yoga project Boho Beautiful, which has Ukrainian origins, held a one-hour wellness class on Friday morning.
This is a huge project for Ukraine, because we have an international presence, and the world is learning more and more about Ukraine.
Daria Shapovalova
Leader of Ukrainian fashion business, founder of the More Dash project
Stakeholders called the Ukrainian House in Davos an unprecedented success: on some days it had over 1,500 visitors, and the total number of guests exceeded 9,000, which is significantly more than last year’s result of 5,000 guests.
About Ukrainian House in Davos
The Ukrainian House in Davos is co-organized by the Ukrainian Venture and Private Equity Association (UVCA), Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and Horizon Capital. Ukrainian House in Davos is proud of its all-female organizing committee, which includes: Svitlana Hrytsenko (Victor Pinchuk Foundation), Yaroslava Johnson (WNISEF), Olena Kosharna (Horizon Capital), Olga Afanasyeva (UVCA), and Alexa Chopivska (Ukrainian House in Davos).
In addition to the generous support of the co-organizers and gold sponsor Temerty Foundation, panel sponsors of Ukrainian House in Davos include the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Charitable Foundation, Business 100, EBS, Effective Investments LLC, First Generation Capital, Hillmont Partners, ICU, IT Ukraine Association, TA Ventures, TIU Canada, and UFUTURE Investment Group.
Ukrainian House in Davos is supported by UkraineInvest, the National Investment Council, The Ukrainian World Congress, Aspen Institute, Aspen Institute Kyiv and the Atlantic Council of the United States.
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