Lviv, Ukraine, 20 September 2022 – Entrepreneurs in Lviv city and oblast have a new way to find out about investment opportunities in the region, business support programmes, as well as a source advice on export opportunities following the opening of the Lviv Invest Office.

The Lviv Invest Office was created as a joint initiative of Lviv Regional Administration, Lviv City Council and the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) Business School, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine. The office’s managing director is Taras Yeleiko, an expert with 15 years of experience in investment, financial management, and asset management in the public and private sectors.

Yeleiko says the office’s goal is to help entrepreneurs make business operations easier at all stages, from searching for start-up investments, to applying for preferential loans to accelerate business development.

“This is especially important now, when the country is in a state of war,” says Yeleiko. “I’m sure that the office will simplify the interaction between the private and public sectors. In addition, this activity will strengthen the economic backbone of Ukraine – and Lviv region in particular.”

Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of Lviv Regional State Administration, says that even during full-scale war, the economy can and should work. “Lviv region is an attractive area for investment,” Kozytskyi says. “Our competitive advantage is not only favourable geography, resources and people, but the quality and speed of services. The Invest Office – a single entrance window for investors and businesses – will help show off the attractiveness of the region.”

Among their most acute needs, Ukrainian businesses list the need for financing (stated by 35.9 percent of respondents), establishing new partnerships (27.1 percent), and developing export activities (25.1 percent). The Invest Office strives to help entrepreneurs meet precisely these needs.

Andrii Sadovyi, Lviv City Mayor, says Lviv is open to businesses and investment. “Before the start of full-scale war, the city was actively developing, with the help of international and domestic investors,” Sadovyi said. “Now our region has also become a hub for relocated businesses. Entrepreneurs need quality assistance, provided to them from the very beginning, and that satisfies all their needs within the shortest possible time.”

While the Lviv Invest Office is designed to assist all Ukrainian businesses, it has a particular focus on relocated enterprises, informing displaced entrepreneurs about available business development opportunities in Lviv city and oblast.

Sophia Opatska, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and Founding Dean of the UCU Business School, says that the economic front is currently of high importance for recovery of Ukraine. “Communicating with business on a daily basis, we acknowledge how difficult it is to continue business activity, support employees and pay taxes,” Opatska says. “At the same time, we need to understand: if we want not only to rebuild Ukraine, but to build back better, we need new partnerships with foreign companies, foreign investments, and the latest technologies."

Maksym Boroda, UNDP Project Manager, stresses that the Lviv Investment Office is an important element of the business support infrastructure for both local and relocated enterprises affected by the war. “Supporting the office’s launch is an opportunity for UNDP not only to contribute to the economic recovery of the region and the country as a whole, but also to pilot this toolkit for its further scaling and dissemination,” says Boroda.

Lviv Invest Office activities and events are being implemented in the framework of the “Support to Entrepreneurs and Livelihoods” Project which is funded and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, in cooperation with Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk City Councils.

The project seeks to achieve two interconnected outputs: to boost the capacity of local institutions to support business relocation and continuity, and to provide war-affected local and relocated businesses with rapid relief so they can stay in business.

These interventions add to the incentives set by local authorities, as well as to subsequent phases of recovery, where support will focus on strengthening businesses to become export-oriented, with the aim of continuing the internationalization of Ukraine’s economy.

The office is located at 2, Rynok Square, Lviv. Working hours: Monday-Friday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Contact: Tetiana Maiorova, +38(068) 501 88 80 or maiorovalink@gmail.com