Last week in Kyiv, the roundtable “Competitiveness in an Era of Turbulence” took place within the framework of the project “Support for Business Leadership in Strengthening Economic Resilience and the Reconstruction of Ukraine (BLR II)” which SUP implements in partnership with CASE Ukraine with the support of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). The event brought together business representatives, economists, analysts, and state institutions around a question that today effectively determines the country’s future — how Ukraine can preserve and strengthen its competitiveness in a world of war, technological revolution, and global instability.
The Era of Turbulence: Why Resilience Is Becoming More Important Than Efficiency
Senior Economist at CASE Ukraine Volodymyr Dubrovskiy presented a vision of how the very nature of global competitiveness is changing and why the traditional industrial development model no longer works.
Dubrovskiy paid special attention to the new reality of the global economy, where the key competitive advantage becomes resilience — the ability of an economy to withstand turbulence, adapt quickly, and recover.
Among Ukraine’s strengths, he highlighted: a high level of engineering and STEM education; the ability to quickly adapt business models; a strong entrepreneurial culture; developed IT and defence-tech ecosystems; and experience working in conditions of constant crisis. The expert especially emphasized human capital and innovative ecosystems as important factors of competitiveness.
“If a country wants to compete through intellect and technology, it must guarantee the protection of intellectual property and security for entrepreneurs and investors,” the expert emphasized.
Between a Liberal Economy and Industrial Policy
During the roundtable, Member of Parliament of Ukraine Ihor Marchuk outlined his vision of what Ukraine’s economic model should look like under conditions of global competition, war, and rapid technological change. In his opinion, an exclusively liberal economic model is not capable of ensuring a rapid breakthrough for Ukraine.
“For market mechanisms to work fully, as in the United States, hundreds of years of institutional development are needed. We do not have these 200–250 years. Today, just to stay in place, Ukraine needs to move twice as fast,” Ihor emphasized.
He noted that history does not know examples of countries that became economically successful in a short time exclusively thanks to “pure” liberalism. Instead, countries that are now among the world’s economic leaders — Japan, South Korea, and China — actively used industrial policy instruments to accelerate the development of their economies.
According to the MP, industrial policy is what makes it possible to shorten development time, and today time is one of the most valuable resources for the state.
In his opinion, one of the key tasks of the state should be the formation of an entrepreneurial culture and the creation of an environment in which Ukrainians can realize their potential within the country.
Relaunch of the Interdepartmental Working Group
Member of Parliament Ihor Marchuk stated that Ukraine plans to relaunch the interdepartmental working group on deregulation of economic activity, which should become a permanent institution for addressing business issues.
“We want to create not just a discussion platform, but a working mechanism that will systematically deal with deregulation and economic freedom,” Marchuk noted.
He emphasized that changes should take place gradually — through a “small steps strategy,” focusing primarily on the issues most painful for businesses.
Among the priorities, the MP named:
- modernization of the simplified taxation system;
- liberalization of business conditions;
- support for entrepreneurial activity;
- creation of conditions for the self-realization of people with entrepreneurial potential.
The Goal: Keeping Talent in Ukraine
According to Volodymyr Dubrovskiy, today the key task of the state is not only to bring Ukrainians back home, but also to create conditions in which they will want to stay and realize themselves specifically in Ukraine.
“This is primarily about people who are capable of creating innovations or implementing them through entrepreneurship. They are the ones who determine the country’s competitiveness,” he emphasized.
The economist stressed that the country must become a “country of opportunities” for the middle class and entrepreneurs. And it is precisely the sense of prospects, opportunities for development, and fair rules of the game that will determine whether Ukrainians remain to work and build businesses in Ukraine.
What Business Needs for Growth
Among the specific solutions that, according to the expert, could become drivers of Ukraine’s competitiveness:
- preservation and development of the simplified taxation system;
- radical simplification of the tax system;
- introduction of a tax on withdrawn capital;
- development of Diia.City for a wider range of industries;
- creation of conditions for venture and angel investment;
- formation of “islands of legal protection” for investors;
- attraction of international talent and qualified specialists;
- support for the middle class and the entrepreneurial environment.
The roundtable became a platform for an open discussion between business, experts, and the state about what Ukraine’s economic model should look like in conditions of global turbulence and post-war recovery. We thank all participants for the active discussion.