Oleh Berseniev, chairman and founder of the Ukrainian consulting company “B2Ukraine” that assists Italian business to open up the Ukrainian market.
The impetus for the creation of our consulting company has become a significant interest for Italian business in the opportunities of the Ukrainian market.
Ukraine will become part of Europe sooner or later and that in its turn will lead to a consumer boom. These factors are the key ones that urge Italian businessmen to firmly consolidate themselves in the Ukrainian market.
First and foremost, they are interested in the development of Ukrainian infrastructure. Also, objects of energy saving are of considerable interest for the Italians. Another promising area of Ukrainian-Italian economic cooperation is cooperation in the sphere of agriculture. Ukraine, as we all know, is one of the most powerful producers of agricultural products, and it is this direction that attracts Italy.
But, separately, I would like to emphasize upon the three main components of Ukrainian-Italian economic cooperation that are conventionally called 3 F – Food, Fashion, Furniture. Food means agricultural products.
Fashion means light industry products. Furniture means collaboration in its production. These industries are developed most dynamically within our cooperation.
The analysts of leading companies of Italy carry out continuous monitoring of the Ukrainian market, and visit Ukraine in order not only to set up business contacts, but also to open their own production.
Recently, we have created the International Ukrainian–Italian Association “Соfnindustria Ucraina” in Ukraine that has already included 6 leading Italian companies. In October of this year we will realize the presentation of this Association. Each Italian company that wants to work at the Ukrainian market will become a member of this association, thus, we will increase the number of our Italian partners and therefore, we will be able to introduce new promising directions of our bilateral cooperation. At the presentation, “Confindustria Ucraina” is expected to be visited by more than 50 representatives of leading Italian companies that will present their strategic plans for further development of the Ukrainian market.
So far, I am the assistant of the Honourary Consul of Italy in Ukraine, Mr. Tucson, and this allows for our company “B2Ukraine” to maintain constant contacts with the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy, with the Italian Embassy in Ukraine, and to keep up the close relations with Italian government representatives.
In particular, the representatives of the Italian Embassy in Ukraine take an active part in the charity events that have been hosted by “B2Ukraine” in collaboration with the hotel “Hilton”.
In April 2017, the “Days of Ukraine” in Italy were held. Within this event, we have initiated and entered into an agreement on cooperation between the Italian city of Padua and Kherson.
Also, in the course of this event, B2B meetings took place between Ukrainian and Italian entrepreneurs, thus contributing not only to the penetration of Italian capital into Ukraine, but also to the further European integration of our country.
On the 31st of May, 2018, in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, together with representatives of the Consulate of Ukraine in Italy, we organized and held the “Trading Forum”, in the course of which a large number of deals were concluded between Ukrainian and Italian companies.
In the nearest future, we are planning a number of events that will strengthen the Ukrainian-Italian cooperation. Among these events the “Fashion Show” is the first one to be mentioned. The show will include not only fashion shows in fact, but a demonstration of Italian light industry products, tasting Italian wines, cheeses and other delicious pieces of the Italian cuisine.
The event is scheduled for October–December this year in Ukraine and in May 2019 in Italy. By organizing similar projects, we want to combine the two directions that I have already mentioned in 3F, namely Fashion and Food.
Step by step, Ukraine has been approaching Europe, and I am very pleased that this process that involves Italian entrepreneurs and Italian politicians has a contribution from me personally and from our company.
