B2B visits and training for the development of the export potential of small businesses: Ukraine and Estonia join forces

With the support of the Estonian Center for International Development and Tallinn University, on November 13-14, B2B visits by businesses of the Kyiv region and cross-sectoral communication training took place within the framework of the project of the same name “Creating a culture of partnership and development of common local products to increase the export capacity of small businesses in front-line and border rural areas”. The project is aimed at strengthening the culture of inter-industry partnership and developing a common local product to increase the export capacity of small businesses through the spread of new formats of formal and informal interaction in the front-line and border rural areas of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv, and Zhytomyr regions. In the Kyiv region, the project is implemented by the efforts of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National Technical University of Ukraine “Ihor Sikorskyi Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine and All-Ukrainian Association of Guides. Already during the last two months, the working group of the project team visited rural territorial communities in the specified regions and got to know local businesses.

Mart Reimann , researcher of Tallinn University, founder of Reimann Retked LLC, project coordinator and volunteer, who personally delivered 16 vehicles to the front line for the Armed Forces and constantly helps Ukraine during the war, gave an opening speech at the intersectoral communication training . Natalya Vengerska , Doctor of Economic Sciences, deputy head of the Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine and president of the Academy of Rural Development, co-coordinator of the project ; Volodymyr Vasiliev – head of the Association of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine; Nataliya Pogrebna , director of the Department of Economics of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration; Hanna Strykun , head of the National Small and Medium Business Platform. The event was moderated by Yanina Gavrylova , head of the board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Guides and Vyacheslav Areshchenko , trainer of the All-Ukrainian Association of Guides, member of the European Association of Interpreter Guides.

Among the invited experts, Olga Vovk , doctor of economics, professor of KPI and adviser to the President of ICC Ukraine, spoke on the topic “Implementation of the export potential of Ukrainian business”; Halyna Shchuka , Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, expert in rural and gastronomic tourism, vice-president of the Academy of Rural Development presented “Geographical indications as a tool for increasing the export capacity of small businesses”; Valeria Bondarenko , head of the NGO “Slavuta”, talked about the creation and development of the “Roads of Wine and Taste” system. Diana Hrynyuk , Ph.D., lecturer at Taras Shevchenko KNU, vice president of marketing and communication of the Academy of Rural Development, concluded the session with a speech on the topic “Digital marketing and branding tools in the development of the business environment.”

Also, the tourist cluster of Vyshgorod Oblast ( Krystyna Koval ) and Yagotyn Oblast ( Tetyana Mirzodaeva ) was presented at the event . The event was completed by a master class by Natalia Wengerska  – “The art of intercultural communication and conducting negotiations with stakeholders”. The event was accompanied by the volunteer pool of the Academy of Rural Development of the Union of SZTU “Selo UP”, coordinator Inna Tarabarova and volunteer Olga Gapii .

Such measures will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between Ukraine and foreign partner states during the war and will increase the level of recovery processes in communities on the way to victory. Ukraine – Estonia, cooperation continues.

The material was prepared by:

Diana Hryniuk , Candidate of Geographical Sciences, teacher of the Department of Country Studies and Tourism of the Kyiv National University, vice-president for marketing and communication of the Academy of Rural Development of the Union of SZTU