Grow East Conference

On November 21, 2022, the 13th Grow East Congress on "Doing Business in Central and Eastern Europe in uncertain times" took place in a hybrid format, i.e. the speeches and discussions at the WKO Conference Center were streamed simultaneously. Thus, in addition to the 80 guests on site, 100+ guests followed the congress online.

Thomas Matejka, CFO of Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, and Olga Trofymova, President of the Ukrainian Association of Management Consultants, provided insight into the incredible efforts of local companies to keep operations running. The crisis management of Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine has first of all taken care of the safety of the employees, of whom about 10% have fled abroad and 40% to Western Ukraine. There is financial support, provision of transport and training to enable them to work in new jobs, e.g. in the bank's call centers. Diesel-powered generators have been purchased to secure the power supply, and satellite links have been set up to move critical infrastructure and support into the cloud. As the Russian attacks subsided, business processes were stabilized and planning for the future began. However, they are now back in acute crisis mode due to the latest widespread Russian missile attacks on power plants and network infrastructure.

Olga Trofymova appeared in her capacity as both President of the Ukrainian Association of Management Consultants (CMC) and Head of the Ukrainian Automotive & Mobility Cluster. She presented Ukrainian entrepreneurs from various industries who, despite the adverse circumstances, are maintaining operations and looking for new sales opportunities. Destroyed plants are being rebuilt or relocated to Western Ukraine, the Ukrainian army is being supplied with products from their own production (e.g. medical, orthopedic products). The patriotism and motivation of the employees is impressive. Shift operations are set up according to the availability of electricity. CMC supports the companies in crisis management and reorientation. The Ukrainian Automotive & Mobility Cluster was founded together with international partners (among others Leoni, Kostal, SEBN, Ukrainian-German Chamber of Commerce) and includes 2,000 companies. These companies are trying to connect with Western European clusters via partnerships and reposition themselves.