For three months, SUP and U-LEAD with Europe have been implementing the joint project “AHs and Business: Ways to Facilitate Interaction” seeking to improve practical skills of amalgamated hromadas (AHs) in their interaction with businesses.
18 newly created amalgamated communities from all over Ukraine have taken part in the project and prepared their own investment proposals with the consultative support provided by our project’s expert team and the relevant action committees of SUP.
On 10 June, AHs for the first time presented their investment projects to the business community in the agribusiness industry.
“For us, it is really important to support these amalgamated communities towards building up partner relations with businesses because this is what business revenues and eventually payments to local budgets will depend on. We believe that this event and all the experience gained through the preparation process will be of much use for promoting the projects,” emphasized Mariana Semynyshyn, Deputy Head of Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), U-LEAD with Europe, in her welcome speech at the event.
The hub was moderated by Yuliia Alieksieieva, Cand. Sc., business school coach, owner of consulting company STRATEGISTA, expert of the project “AHs and Business: Ways to Facilitate Interaction”.
“What we expect today is that the AHs will not only have a chance to present their projects but will also receive some particular recommendations from business for their investment proposals,” she said.
Co-Chairman of the SUP Agribusiness Committee Oleg Shevtsov noted that today the committee’s agricultural businesses are really interested in the interaction with AHs.
“Last year, we as a committee spent a lot of time in communications with governmental authorities. One of the key items we had on the agenda was about numerous governmental projects that may bring profits to both local communities and entrepreneurs, but lack a nice “packing”. The hub is supposed to jump-start some progress in this area, it is exactly the collaboration between business and AHs that must help AHs make attractive presentations of their projects and thus raise additional investments in local budgets”.
At this first hub, AH representatives presented 6 agribusiness projects:
- Ladyzhyn AH presented their proposal to open a museum and plant for producing craft fruit-flavoured carbonated beverages that will have syrup additives made of local fruits and berries growing in Cherkasy Region. This project may become a part of travel itineraries in Cherkasy Region which received more than 1.3 million tourists in 2019.
- Lypianka AH made a presentation of the project to create a honey collection and purchase centre, where it will also be possible to arrange a packaging workshop. As of 2020, there are 15 active beekeepers in Lypianka community and their number is growing.
- Berezniaky AH presented the idea to create a production facility for food components based on greens, carrots, garlic, onions, beetroots, and other local produce. Local farmers have been already growing more than 2,500 tons of vegetables and are ready by now to expand their production.
- Chumaky AH, Dnipropetrovsk Region, presented the project on opening a dairy plant. The community has its own sustainable supply of raw materials – there are at least 60 tons of fresh milk produced daily by local cooperatives and farm households.
- Pryiutivka AH welcomed business to open a small plant for production of dehydrated foods. The plant will produce powdered ingredients out of any organic products, with any particle size and with long shelf-life periods.
- Medvedivka AH, Cherkasy Region, proposed the investors to set up a local plant for processing and packing processed pumpkin products based on the dehydration and direct squeezing technologies. The community’s farmers grow around 100 tons of pumpkins every year, and there is some potential for further growth such as land, farm households and workforce.
“Now Ukraine needs something more than just to be the bread basket of Europe – we must become a country that can supply valuable processed products with most of the added value generated inside our country. Today, at this hub, we have the projects that target to create this added value”, said Valeriy Yakovenko, Chairman of the SUP Agro IT Sub-Committee, delivering his remarks at the presentation.
We would like to thank all the AH representatives for their involvement in the process and their readiness to cooperate and give support to potential investors! Our special thanks also go to the project experts – Yuliia Alieksieieva and Mykhailo Krykunov, Dean of Kyiv Business School, Chairman of the Management Board of CLUST-UA Ukrainian Cluster Development Agency, for their help in the preparation of the investment proposals and the support they provided to AH representatives under the project!
U-LEAD with Europe Programme has been supporting local communities since 2016 to facilitate their sustainable development and improve the lives of local population. The programme is a multi-donor action of the European Union and its Member States Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden.
