Implementing Projects for Community Economic Sustainability: Serhii Morhunov Met with Heads of International Organizations GIZ and UNDP

Developing the economic potential of a community, especially in times of war, is important for the sustainability of the entire country. This allows us to support our army and people, said Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov.

"The Krystal Innovation and Technology Center is becoming one of the platforms for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. We discussed the stages of its construction and the timing of its commissioning today with representatives of GIZ and UNDP. These international organizations are one of the project's investors," says the mayor. "Thanks to their support during the war, we were able to continue implementing this project, which we started on our own back in 2019. The task of the Krystal Innovation and Technology Center is to put the facility into operation by the end of this year. Then it will be able to become a hub for various businesses seeking development. In addition, it will create new jobs and engage war veterans, for example."

Today, GIZ and UNDP are among the main international partners of Vinnytsia region, said Viacheslav Sokolovyi, head of the Regional Council.

"Together with you, especially during the war, we have managed to implement a number of projects that ensure the sustainability of business, internally displaced persons, and community residents. And this allowed the communities to maintain their capacity to implement their main tasks. GIZ is one of the main partners in the implementation of the decentralization reform in Ukraine. And this reform, for its part, has allowed Ukraine to demonstrate its resilience and efficiency in terms of protecting its territories and providing for the Ukrainian Defense Forces by accumulating resources over a long period of time," emphasized Viacheslav Sokolovyi.

The goal of the joint GIZ and UNDP mission to Vinnytsia was to meet with local partners, hear about their needs and priorities, get feedback on the current situation, and explore opportunities for possible future cooperation.

"We realize how important the role of municipalities and communities is in rebuilding Ukraine. We realize that the war is ongoing. But at the same time, we need to restore and rebuild Ukraine. When we talk about the priorities of our team, they remain unchanged. First and foremost, it is to continue working with local governments, to build their capacity so that they can develop economically, so that they can accept large investments, so that they know how to do it all in a transport, inclusive and participatory approach, so that everyone is involved. This is especially important in the context of the decentralization reform and Ukraine's accession to the European Union," said Mariia Hutsman, UNDP Department Head.

She noted the great capacity of Vinnytsia community, its readiness and serious approach to cooperation.

The city, regional, GIZ, and UNDP leaders discussed, among other things, the implementation of the Krystal Innovation and Technology Park project. It was presented by Maksym Martianov, Director of the Department of Economics and Investments.

"The Krystal Innovation and Technology Park is a project to create Ukraine's first municipal innovation and technology park, which Vinnytsia has been implementing since 2019 and was actively implementing before the start of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resumption of work related to the reconstruction of ITP Krystal became possible thanks to Vinnytsia City Territorial Community's victory in the all-Ukrainian competition of local initiatives aimed at repairing basic and auxiliary business infrastructure within the framework of the joint project of the German government company GIZ and UNDP Support for the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities (SRER)," said Maksym Martianov. "We plan to involve the city's business associations, active entrepreneurs, higher education institutions, and foreign investors in the technology park to develop the economic potential of the community and strengthen cooperation with other regions of Ukraine. In addition, it will be a modern platform for young people - a space for realizing their most creative ideas and implementing new technological solutions."

According to Mustafa Sait-Ametov, UNDP Ukraine's Regional Development Program Manager, the municipality and international partners are currently working on a functional model for managing the innovation and technology park.

"This is also a priority area for us to ensure its sustainability, its early vision, results and prospects. We hope that in the future this project will become not only tourism for business attraction, but also a magnet for attracting new businesses," says Mustafa Sait-Ametov, UNDP Ukraine's Regional Development Program Manager.

At the end of the meeting, Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov thanked the GIZ and UNDP leadership for their interest in implementing such projects and their continued support of the Vinnytsia community: "It also gives us an understanding that our team is moving in line with European principles and guidelines," added Serhii Morhunov.