U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Business Roundtable Series held at Embassy of Ukraine (11/10/02)

U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Business Roundtable Series held at Embassy of Ukraine

by Irene Mokra

WASHINGTON - The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation recently sponsored two Business Roundtable Series events focusing on Ukraine's economic development at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington.

Michael Bleyzer, president and CEO of SigmaBleyzer and president of the Bleyzer Foundation, and Dr. Edilberto L. Segura, SigmaBleyzer's chief economist and chairman of The Bleyzer Foundation Advisory Board, presented findings from their just-published work, "The Bleyzer Initiative: Completing the Economic Transition in FSU Countries."

"The Bleyzer Initiative" is an action-oriented plan, a methodology and a set of tools that accelerate the completion of the transition from centrally planned economies to market economies by the countries of the former Soviet Union.

SigmaBleyzer, through its family of Ukrainian Growth Funds, is one of the largest Western investors in Ukraine and is the driving force behind a comprehensive package of reforms developed and accepted by the Ukrainian government. The concept and package of reforms developed in Ukraine are now being proposed to other countries in the former Soviet Union and other developing countries in the world.

The presentation took place on October 11, and attracted more than 70 representatives from the government, private industry and the non-profit sector. The event was opened by Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, and moderated by Andrew Bihun, international trade specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Nadia K. McConnell, president of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.

Dmytro Lendel, head of the Software Department of Elikom Ltd. in Uzhhorod, Ukraine and Lyubomyr Oliynyk, senior project manager of Lionsoft in Lviv, Ukraine, were the featured presenters in the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Business Breakfast event, Information Technology in Ukraine, held on October 17.

Discussion centered on a new vision of the development of the information technology (IT) sector in Ukraine, current trends in information technology industries and software development in particular, and comparative advantages of the Ukrainian IT industry.

Messrs. Lendel and Oliynyk viewed the advantages in the Ukrainian IT and software development sector: low labor costs, availability of highly qualified programming specialists, technical excellence, focus on research and development experience with complicated projects, strategic location, ability to work under rapidly changing business and technology climate, Western culture and availability of local professional associations.

The presenters clearly recognized the disadvantage that Ukrainian IT professionals face in terms of inexperienced project management. The Ukrainian IT industry's lack of experienced managers, especially project managers and sales managers, is an obstacle to growth in the world market.

The event attracted more than 30 representatives from the U.S. and foreign governments, the business community and non-profit industry. Volodymyr Yatsenkivsky, minister-counselor, and Yaroslav Voitko, chief of the Trade and Economic Mission of the Embassy of Ukraine, made opening remarks. The discussion was moderated by Ihor Gawdiak, member of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's advisory board.

With offices in Washington and in Ukraine, the foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1991 to facilitate democratic development, encourage free market reform and enhance human rights in Ukraine.

The Business Roundtable Series is part of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Economic Development Program and Business Links publication, which facilitates economic development between Ukraine and the United States by focusing attention on companies interested in business ventures, providing general business and economic data, and creating an open exchange of information between business entities.

For more information about the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's Economic Development Program or to receive a complimentary copy of "The Bleyzer Initiative: Completing the Economic Transition in FSU Countries," contact the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, 733 15th Street NW, Suite 1026, Washington, DC 20005; telephone: (202) 347-4264, fax: (202) 347-4267; e-mail: [email protected]; homepage: www.usukraine.org.

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