Sustainable business hub opens in Kyiv with UNDP, Japanese govt support

A Sustainable Business Hub has opened in a protected area of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) in Kyiv, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan.

The facility includes 15 workstations, a meeting room for 10 people, and a conference hall for up to 100 participants. It is equipped with backup power and connectivity, allowing operations to continue during air raid alerts and power outages.

"UNDP is committed to supporting such initiatives and helping the government's grant team to expand an inclusive business environment and establish relevant recovery models," said UN Deputy Secretary-General and Acting UNDP Administrator Haoliang Xu at the hub's opening ceremony.

Photo: Andriy Krepkykh/UNDP

Tadayoshi Hiraki, Commercial Attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine, noted that Japan sees support for Ukrainian businesses not only as aid, but as an investment in human dignity, resilience, and self-sufficiency.

"For Japan, supporting Ukraine's economic recovery is of paramount importance. We believe that a resilient economy begins with helping small and medium-sized businesses – through tangible solutions that enable people to work, create, and grow," Hiraki said.

Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Vitaliy Kindrativ thanked the partners and emphasized that such hubs are essential for helping Ukrainians maintain productivity under wartime conditions.

The hub's opening coincided with the conference "Infrastructure for Supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: Business Analytics and Policy Dialogue." The event marked the conclusion of the grant project "Innovation and Trade: Partnership with Japan, Business Analytics," implemented by the UCCI and UNDP as part of the "Transformational Recovery for Human Security in Ukraine" program supported by the Government of Japan.

Additional Sustainable Business Hubs are set to open this year in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Odesa, and Kharkiv regions.

Overall, UNDP and the Government of Japan are working to build a broad support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine. One of the initiatives includes opening business support offices under the "Made in Ukraine" campaign. There are currently 88 such offices across the country, including 11 supported by UNDP and Japan.

By the end of 2025, the plan is to establish 100 such offices, 13 of which will be backed by these partners. Additionally, 151 business support desks are already operating within local administrative service centers in consolidated territorial communities.