InvestUkraine: a Government Agent of Foreign Investors’ Interests
Many countries have investment promotion agencies. In emerging markets, like Central and Eastern Europe, where the investment climate has to do a lot to catch up with that of most developed economies, an investment promotion agency’s role can go far beyond responding to investor requests and organizing promotion campaigns.
In the case of Ukraine, this agency has multiple roles. First, it advances the interests of the country in attracting foreign investment. Second, it transmits the requests of foreign investors to the Government, the President and the Verkhvna Rada, acting as a universal lobbyist of foreign investor interests. Third, the agency often plays a mediating role between the government and foreign investors, if the latter run into problems. This last role is also known as an “investment nanny”, which President Zelenskiy announced during his last visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020.
In the interview, we are going to talk with UkraineInvest’s director about:
- The complexity of the roles the agency plays;
- Tools and instruments the agency is using as a lobbyist inside the government;
- The challenges of the investor acquisition process during the COVID-19 crisis;
- The role of an “investment nanny” and how the agency deals with GR teams in foreign corporations.
Yevhenii Shakotko