I recently came across a quote from Martin Jäger, the German Ambassador to Ukraine, who said that, from a risk assessment perspective, Ukraine does not differ much from Moldova or similar countries in its ability to attract investment. It’s a striking point. I’ve heard similar comparisons in the past — even to certain African nations, where FDI volumes often exceed those of Ukraine. It raises an important question: why?
I believe our company’s experience offers part of the answer. NEQSOL Holding operates a diversified network of assets and production companies across 11 countries. This speaks to both geographical diversification and sectoral breadth — our portfolio is built on four pillars: energy in all forms, construction materials and natural resources (extraction and processing), telecommunications, engineering, and advanced technologies. This combination gives us broad operational experience.
Why did we choose to participate in the privatization of United Mining and Chemical Company? It was a large-scale privatization — both in size and strategic relevance, not only to Ukraine’s economy but also globally. To make such a decision, a company must have extensive management experience, the ability to develop high-quality projects, and most importantly — the capacity to modernize assets. In Ukraine, there are no “ready-to-go” projects that one can simply acquire and leave as-is. Continuous investment into development is essential, and modernization requires capital.
Let’s recall the early recovery conferences — in Lugano, London, and most recently, Berlin. Ukraine’s recovery needs were estimated at $700 billion initially, later adjusted to $350–$500 billion. A large pipeline of projects was presented to match these figures. Yet many investment analysts — those advising global funds and banks — have pointed out a critical gap: there are too few large-scale, high-quality investment projects in Ukraine.
A key issue is the lack of “bankable clients.” Such projects can only be implemented by transparent businesses. However, Ukraine still has a significant shadow economy — and it is, by definition, not bankable.
Creating high-quality projects requires strong management resources — ideally with international experience. At the very least, companies need proven expertise in building viable projects and must operate transparently, meeting global standards of compliance, reporting, and creditworthiness. Large-scale projects require large-scale funding. These are the prerequisites — alongside the well-known challenges of war-related risks, macroeconomic volatility, and bureaucracy.
How can we increase the number of high-quality projects? This is directly linked to the number of capable management teams in Ukraine. Such teams do exist, but more are needed. I recently moderated a panel at an agricultural conference — not my direct area of expertise — yet the discussion focused on governance and investment. The volume of capital investments made annually by Ukrainian agribusinesses into modern production facilities reaches hundreds of millions of dollars. These are capital investments in the truest sense.
It’s also important to clarify what we mean by “investment.” Purchasing a business in Ukraine is often labeled as an investment. But in economic terms, true investment is capital that creates new capacity and jobs — that generates new value. Many companies already operating in Ukraine are investing heavily — in the billions — simply because they must. One of our group’s assets, Vodafone Ukraine, is investing UAH 10 billion over two years into equipment and technologies. Such businesses deserve respect, including from the government — which is actively developing incentive programs. These efforts are progressing, but much more can still be done.
Ultimately, a key factor in attracting large-scale investment is the ability to deploy strong management teams that can develop and modernize high-quality projects. More capital is needed — and attracting it remains a challenge in today’s Ukraine.
Much is said about the need for international investors in Ukraine — and that need is vast. The funds pledged by donor governments alone are massive. But we must also consider the behavior of domestic investors. Are we seeing widespread interest — if not a boom — in investment activity? Are small, medium, and large businesses investing in new production? Creating the right conditions for investment — for both current market players and those eyeing postwar reconstruction — is essential.
