Establishing Abroad have been in contact with Clara Bodin, founder and owner of Clarus Eastern Europe to find out the situation in Ukraine after all the turbulence in recent months.
The situation in Ukraine right now is pretty serious, says Clara. Foreign investment in the country has completely stalled. The currency Grivnan has fallen sharply against the dollar and has had trouble meeting the demands of the foreign loan providers, including the IMF which has given out necessary loans.
Mainly in the financial sector and especially in real estate investments all have stalled due to the financial crisis. Within these sectors there are large layoffs at the moment and this has mainly affected Kiev. In the regions, the crisis has affected the manufacturing sector where many people are laid off.
In this difficult situation, one can ask whether there is any interest from Swedish companies and if there is still hope?
There is still Swedish interest in Ukraine but not at all at the same level as before. All start-ups have stalled and now we work only with already established companies such as Viasat, Sandvik and Oriflame, says Clara.
But there are bright spots. Right now we help a new Swedish company with the recruitment in the agricultural sector; this is a sector that looks pretty positive for the future and even in the short term.
Clara can still see a bright future for Ukrainian companies, especially if you are thinking in terms of agriculture, outsourcing and subcontracting as prices for labor, facilities and land has fallen sharply and will probably fall even further.
Clara has plans to start up in Belarus, but wants to wait because of the global crisis.
Tony Harkén