The region’s economic development starts with the ability to recognise its strengths and external opportunities and transform them into production, jobs, investment, and added value. This requires teams that can work together, including public authorities, local self-government, business, educational institutions, and regional development agencies.

Such regional teams are created by the training programme of Produce! “Leadership in Economic Development through Production” initiative. It has brought together representatives from the six pilot regions of the Swiss-Ukrainian UCORD project: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi regions.

The programme is implemented by the KIEF Academy under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian “Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development” (UCORD) project, which is implemented with Swiss support by NIRAS Sweden AB.

 

 

On 25–27 September, the participants will complete the third and final training module of Produce! initiative. It will combine discussions with entrepreneurs and managers, study visits to Ukrainian manufacturing enterprises, an introduction to practical models for the development of innovation and industrial ecosystems, as well as work on regional development projects.

Representatives of regional authorities and local governments, regional development agencies, manufacturing businesses and educational institutions participate in the training sessions. As part of the programme, they interact with representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the Export-Credit Agency, the National Development Agency, the State Employment Service, and experts in manufacturing, lean management, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.

Produce! aims to form cross-sectoral teams of leaders who can unlock the economic potential of their regions through the development of manufacturing, applying modern economic development tools and implementing the “Made in Ukraine” government policy at the regional level.

Participants work with mechanisms that support manufacturing: localisation in public procurement, the “5-7-9” affordable loans scheme, industrial parks, export support via the export credit agency, and grant programmes. The programme offers not only the opportunity to gain an understanding of these instruments, but also to learn how to apply them for the development of communities and regions, by attracting investors and fostering a favourable environment for manufacturers and exporters.

‘The regions have everything they need for economic growth: entrepreneurs, specialists, resources, educational institutions, infrastructure. The challenge lies in bringing these elements together around a shared priority and turning it into a project with a clear objective, partners, and prospects for implementation. Produce! initiative creates a space for this kind of work. Teams are learning to take a broader view of the opportunities in their region, engage in substantive dialogue with the business community, and formulate solutions that can bring new industries and jobs to the regions,’ said Maryna Bril, UCORD Project Leader.

Switzerland has been supporting Ukraine for many years in the development of local self-government, regions, and human capital. Its current cooperation programme with Ukraine focuses, in particular, on economic recovery and institutional strengthening. Produce! is one of the practical aspects of this cooperation at the regional level. Jean-Luc Bernasconi, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, will be the distinguished guest at the programme’s third and final training module.

 

 

On the first day of the training, there will be open discussions with entrepreneurs about leadership, business resilience, decision-making, and management in wartime. Ihor Liski, the founder and chairman of the supervisory board of EFI Group, and Oleksandr Sokolovskyi, the founder and president of the Tekstyl-Kontakt group of companies, will share their experiences.

The practical session on the first day will be devoted to a SWOT analysis of regional economic development projects and the mapping of their stakeholders. Yurii Pyvovarov, CEO of the Kyiv International Economic Forum, will moderate the session.

On the second day, there will be study visits to innovative manufacturing sites. Participants will be able to observe different models for attracting investment, developing production and building industrial ecosystems in action, and identify which approaches could be adapted for use in their own communities and regions.

The final day will be devoted to dialogue with business representatives, the exchange of experiences amongst participants, and work on regional development projects. The discussion will include Ruslan Illichov, Chief Executive of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine; Eduard Maltsev, Deputy Dean for Research and Development at kmbs, Head of the Presidents’ MBA programme, Professor at kmbs and Candidate of Technical Sciences; Yurii Pyvovarov, CEO of the Kyiv International Economic Forum; and Viktor Halasiuk, CEO of the KIEF Academy and UGF, member of the KIEF Supervisory Board, Adjunct Professor at kmbs, and Doctor of Economics. This will give the teams the opportunity to view their own work through the eyes of business and management professionals, identify the projects’ strengths and determine what further refinement is needed before presenting them to the government and international partners.

 

 

The practical outcome of Produce! is intended to be not only a new level of understanding of economic policy instruments and a professional network, but also six regional development projects – one from each pilot region. These will be prepared with the advisory support of experts from the KIEF Academy for presentation to the Government of Ukraine, the Office of the President of Ukraine and international partners during the Kyiv Dialogue Session, with a view to their further implementation.

‘Realising the region’s economic potential relies on daily efforts to remove barriers and create advantages, primarily for manufacturing businesses. This requires an honest assessment of our resources and vulnerabilities, an understanding of global and sector-specific trends, consideration of stakeholders’ interests, and the use of practical tools – ranging from economic engineering mechanisms to lean management and artificial intelligence. We help participants see this framework and focus their efforts on what matters most. Produce!’s mission is to facilitate investment in industry, the development of manufacturing, and the scaling up of non-commodity exports – not within the context of a single investment project, but on a systemic basis. Produce! therefore helps teams navigate this path and transform the potential of the regions into solutions that can be built upon,’ said Viktor Halasiuk, CEO of the KIEF Academy and UGF, member of the KIEF Supervisory Board, Adjunct Professor at kmbs, and Doctor of Economics, and the driving force behind the Produce! Initiative.

As previously reported, Produce! training programme was launched on 6 August 2026. Over the course of three training modules, participants learn about approaches to planning regional economic development, attracting investment, state support for manufacturing businesses, modern models of value creation, Lean methodologies, agent-based artificial intelligence systems, and European integration.