Kyiv, Ukraine, April 5, 2016—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) have launched a new program to help improve Ukraine’s business environment, reduce the cost of doing business, and unlock new markets for the country’s agri-producers.
The three-year advisory project focuses on improving permits and licensing and inspection procedures across Ukraine. It will also streamline port and river transport regulations to boost trade and exports, as well as help agribusiness legislation conform to international standards—including rules on food safety, and plant and animal health.
“Switzerland has stepped up its support to Ukraine in several key areas, including economic sustainability,” said Holger Tausch, the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine. “We believe deregulating and developing entrepreneurship are among the reforms now required to help Ukraine kick-start growth.”
The project builds on the results of previous work focused on Ukraine’s important agribusiness sector, which included $159 million saved in compliance costs. In addition, with support from IFC, the country carried out a major overhaul of its food safety management systems, including the adoption of a new Food Safety Law, as well as helping open new markets, like Ukraine’s poultry exports, to the European Union. The project has also helped increase the use of renewable energy in the sector.
“Our new advisory program in Ukraine is focused on helping to create a more favorable, fair and competitive business environment and reduce the costs of doing business here,” said Rufat Alimardanov, IFC’s Regional Manager for Ukraine and Belarus. “This will help generate more investments in key sectors, including agribusiness and logistics, and boost job creation and long-term economic growth.”
The project is being implemented by the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice and is funded by SECO. It is also part of the World Bank Group’s broader collaboration with the government of Ukraine, which aims to create a strong and sustainable investment climate.
IFC is a leading international investor in Ukraine’s agribusiness sector and supports projects across the value chain with a range of financing and advisory programs.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
About SECO
Through its economic cooperation with middle income developing countries and with former eastern-bloc and Central Asian states, SECO seeks to ease its partner countries' integration into the world economy and promote economic growth that is socially responsible as well as environmentally and climate-friendly. For more information, visit www.seco-cooperation.admin.ch
