EasyBusiness, together with the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (formerly WNISEF), within the framework of the “Regional Growth Poles of Ukraine” project, conducted a study on the possibilities of applying policies based on the methodology of growth poles/centers. The study results were presented in Kyiv during the event “Growth Poles: The Path to Ukraine’s Economic Recovery and European Integration”.
As noted during the event by Vitalii Bezgin, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, the European cohesion policy aims to address territorial, social, and economic imbalances that exist between different regions of the European Union.
“A focus on leveling territorial disparities, which includes the concept of growth poles, should become one of the priorities in adapting Ukraine’s regional policy to EU approaches,” stated the parliamentarian.
The cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction increases every month due to the ongoing war, making economic growth the top priority. According to Andrii Teliupa, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, the Government sees achieving this through regional development.
“Starting next year, we will work on the smart specialization of each region. A regional dashboard will be created with a ranking system for regions to identify weak points and growth poles,” Andrii Teliupa announced.
“Growth poles are exactly the mechanism that can help Ukraine stimulate economic development, strengthen communities, and balance disparities between regions. It will also support business development, attract foreign investment, and foster economic growth in Ukraine,” stated Iryna Ozymok, Director of Local Economic Development at UMAEF.
A team of experts and analysts conducted the most comprehensive analysis of international experience regarding growth poles, including:
- Studying the experience of 18 countries across different regions of the world.
- Conducting interviews with 26 experts, of whom 12 were international experts.
- Conducting field research in 12 communities.
- Developing an interactive dashboard to identify growth poles using 38 indicators.
According to Dmytro Lyvch, Executive Director of EasyBusiness, European integration offers new opportunities to build a balanced regional policy.
“The search for growth poles can become an effective economic tool that ensures high-quality economic profiling of regions. It will help identify the competitiveness factors of each region or macro-region,” the expert emphasized.
The full study “Growth Poles: The Path to Economic Recovery and European Integration” is available at the link: