Business Wisdom Summit 2025: how businesses are finding opportunities in the storm
Ukrainian business confidently talked about growth and scaling, about the development strategy now, not after the war, at the Business Wisdom Summit held on 11 April in Kyiv. 600 participants, 40 leading Ukrainian top managers and international headliners spoke frankly about the economy under fire, money in chaos, technologies born on the battlefield, and the future of Ukraine. The event was hosted by Oksana Gutzeit, host of the ICTV programme Fakty.
The discussion started with an expert interview with Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy. One of the key consequences of the new customs initiatives of the Donald Trump administration is the destabilisation of the global economy. The US actions are triggering a chain reaction that could hurt Ukrainian exports not only through direct tariffs, but also through the responses of other global players.
So, how can we rebuild the economy and build a future for the country in the face of uncertainty? The Summit continued with the panel ‘Building Ukrainian’. Ruslan Shostak, President of TERWIN Corporation, founder of EVA and VARUS, suggested promising areas that the country should focus on.
"The country's economic well-being directly depends on the scale of Ukrainian projects. Every $1 billion of investment can increase GDP by 0.5-1%. Global infrastructure projects do not just inject funds into the economy, but also trigger a multi-level chain of change. It is important for us, as the owner and operator of one of the largest investment projects in Ukraine, to create this multiplier effect," said Ruslan Shostak.
The panelists, including Yevhen Kulikov, Head of Corporate Business at PrivatBank, and Igor Liski, Founder of EFI Group, agreed that the path to a trillion-dollar economy lies in building a strong and self-sufficient industry with a high degree of localisation.
The Recovery: Investing in Ukraine's Recovery panel was dedicated not only to rebuilding the country, but also to changing the paradigms of the future. Kyivstar's Director of New Business Development Ilya Poltakov explained how Kyivstar will help the country transform through major innovations. For example, by investing in Starlink, which changes the philosophy of network development. In turn, Yevgeniy Riyako, attorney at law and managing partner of RIYAKO & PARTNERS, shared his positive sentiments about the new guarantees for investors. A draft law on suspension of mask shows and indefinite arrests after a search is currently in the second reading.
Today, while Ukraine's investment climate is being hardened by the war, the role of banks is changing - from lender to co-creator of transformations. Leading experts Larysa Bondarieva (Raiffeisen Bank), Serhiy Magdych (FUIB), Pervin Dadashova (NBU), Andriy Semchenko (INGO Insurance Company) and Yulia Ponomarenko (AbInBev Efes Ukraine) outlined a new architecture of financing in an uncertain environment.
According to Mark Petkevych, CEO of the NOVUS supermarket chain, Ukrainian business is forced to take responsibility for the stability of the economy. However, even if it is ready to pay taxes and develop, business needs stability from the state and long-term plans. In support of these words, Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, said that ArcelorMittal has already invested $1 billion to support production in Ukraine. However, significant challenges, such as rising energy prices, threaten the company's competitiveness.
Vasyl Yatsyshyn, Director of Mass Market Brands Management at Kormotech, shared his experience of launching a product in a new European market. A qualitative study of relevant channels and audience expectations of the product allowed the Club 4 Paws brand to achieve 31% recognition among consumers, which is the entrance ticket to the market.
The Armourers panel discussion made it clear that the Ukrainian defence industry is already creating solutions that the whole world needs. During his speech, KVERTUS CEO Yaroslav Filimonov said that the enemy's massive use of advanced drones no longer requires the use of electronic warfare and electronic warfare equipment, but rather an entire ecosystem. KVERTUS is working on deploying such an ecosystem that will integrate and synchronise electronic warfare and electronic warfare assets, allowing them to be controlled remotely and from various types of devices, even from a smartphone.
During the Business Wisdom Summit, the award ceremony for business leaders was held according to the magazine TOP-100. RATINGS OF THE LARGEST" MAGAZINE.
The organisers, Ekonomika+ business/media bureau and Delo.ua online media, are grateful to our partners:
, the general partner of TERWIN,
, the main partner of Sense Bank,
, the general information partner of Starlight Media.
We also thank the coffee partner Foundation Coffee Roasters, the water partner Morshynska, the tasty partner Lantmannen Axa, the sweet partner BKK, the sparkling partner Latinium, and the alcohol partner AZNAURI.
Online resources: "NV.ua, UNN, Kommersant Ukrainian, Liga Zakon, HiTech.Expert, Glavkom, Business Capital, xsport, Burda Media Ukraine, PaySpace Magazine, 44.ua, Postfactum, Pervyi biznesovyi, TrueUA, HR-Liga, Okhrana Labour, Logist FM, Marketer. ua, Economist, Founder, ShoTam, as well as ADV EXPERT, Infovision, bc media, Gulliver BFC, Osvita Dyvosvit, and the European Business Association and the Association of Ukrainian Banks.
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