On November 15, the Second International Economic Forum “Dnipro Economic Forum 2018” started in Dnipro. Within two days, about one and a half thousand entrepreneurs, bankers, investors and economists from almost 30 countries of the world will share their experience, find new business contacts and discuss the most important problems of our country’s economy. The first day of the forum was devoted to the search for recipes for national success for Ukraine, the prospects for the economy from a business point of view, as well as the interaction of business and government.
“This is the second such economic forum, which takes place in the Dnieper. By the way, this is the largest economic event in the country. And I hope that such meetings of businessmen from various countries will become traditional in our city, ”said Yurii Holik, adviser to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. – The development of the country is possible only through dialogue. Dialogue of all with all: authorities with business and the public. During such dialogues new ideas are born. The outcome of last year’s forum, among other things, was the construction of DTEK and a Chinese company in the Nikopol region, the country’s most powerful solar power plant. As well as a biogas station, which will work next year. We hope that following the results of this forum new investment projects will start ”.
“For the second time, Dnipro proves that it is not only an outpost that stopped the aggression in the east of the country, but also, having joined forces, has become the most economically developed region of the country. Today, the region provides 11% of Ukraine’s GDP. Enterprises of the Dnipropetrovsk region have concluded contracts with many enterprises of the European Union and other countries of the world. All this has become possible due to the fact that we have a strong common motivation here – to make our citizens’ living standards better. And the main thing here is the development of the economy. I wish all the forum participants fruitful work, new business contacts and future mutually beneficial contracts, ” said Hlib Pryhunov, Chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, at the opening of the forum.
A group of major Czech businessmen also came to this forum.
“The Czech Republic considers Ukraine its traditional trade and economic partner. Today, trade between our countries is about 2 billion euros per year. 220 representative offices of our companies constantly work in your country, which speaks of close business cooperation between Ukraine and the Czech Republic, which we plan to develop further, with an emphasis on developing business relations with your regions.
“Dnipropetrovsk region is the industrial heart of Ukraine, and here our mutually beneficial cooperation in industry, construction, energy and environmental issues is developing. That is why our delegation is in Dnipropetrovsk region today. We came to establish new business contacts, first of all, in the construction of new solar power plants, since your steppe and solar region is very suitable for the development of this type of clean energy, ”said Jiří Havlíček, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
“Only four years ago, only 25% of Ukrainian exports went to the markets of the European Union, today – already 42%. A significant share of this export is accounted for by enterprises of the Dnipropetrovsk region. There are programs in which your and European companies work together. I believe that this is the best way to integrate into the EU market. I am sure that the forum will have a fruitful discussion with representatives of government, business and the public. And further, thanks to the joint work, Dnipropetrovsk will soon become a prosperous region, ”said Hugues Mingarelli, Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine.
WHAT HINDERS BUSINESS
Experts and economists, and in particular, Hennadiy Chyzhykov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, believe that the recipe for a successfully developing economy lies in finding its unique “ingredient” in a common set of success factors for the country’s economic development. Many countries have gone this way, including our neighbors Poland and the Czech Republic. So what prevents Ukrainian businessmen from finding this unique “ingredient”?
According to Kateryna Hlazkova, executive director of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, this is a high tax burden — 43.8% of businessmen in this Union interviewed before the forum noted this factor. The business is also hampered by the corruption of the controlling and inspection authorities (this was noted by 37.5% of respondents), the lack of qualified personnel (31.3% of respondents noted) and pressure from law enforcement agencies (13.1% of respondents reported this problem). These are problems that must be solved jointly by the authorities, business and society in a legislative manner.
HISTORY OF SUCCESS
But there are already examples of how even in such conditions you can successfully develop a business and make investments in it. The owner of the Alef group of companies Vadym Iermolaiev spoke about his “recipe” at the forum.
“Recently, we have earned a fairly successful investment project to create and launch the country’s first dental implant plant. They have already completed all levels of certification and are not inferior in quality to their foreign counterparts. While we are winning the Ukrainian market, but we hope to go further.
Ukrainian business is ready to invest in innovative projects even in the current environment. There is a shortage of qualified personnel – adjusters, technologists. They must be found and taught abroad the most advanced technologies and methods of work. It takes more time and increases the amount of investment. But then they create quite competitive products, even compared to the world’s leading manufacturers, ”Vadym Iermolaiev shared his“ recipe ”.