Estonia to support Ukraine’s service sector in the recovery and reconstruction of their country

The cost of reconstructing Ukraine after the war is estimated to be $411 billion, with more expenses to be expected. It’s a massive undertaking that will require the collaboration of thousands of companies and billions of investments. The Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) has teamed up with the Visionest Institute to create the Ukraine Rebuilding Task Force to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian institutions to participate in rebuilding their own country.

This new initiative focuses on capacity building within the Ukrainian professional service sector (engineering, technical drawing, architecture, consulting and digital services) for the imminent collaboration with international companies.

“Our initiative aims to increase the capacity of Ukrainian companies so that they can contribute more in the reconstruction activities. Today, there is strong international interest to rebuild Ukraine and these companies need capable local partners to work with. Thus, it is important to prepare enterprises for the fast-paced, long-term and intense rebuilding process,” explained Jaanika Metssalu, Project Manager at Visionest Institute.

“Ukraine has clearly said that rebuilding the country quickly and with new quality is key today, not after the end of the war. The newly formed Ukraine Rebuilding Task Force would be a good base for Ukrainian companies to strengthen their role in rebuilding Ukraine,” Metssalu added.

Through the project, 300 participants from the service sector receive specialised training from experts and a panel of more than 20 mentors who will be available online to monitor and advise the process. The participants will be enrolled in an eight-module training programme (176 hours in total), which consists of pre-recorded training videos, practical workshops and feedback from the experts after every module. The mentors, who will facilitate digital strategy building and mentorship training, will help the participants make themselves visible in an online environment.

The Ukraine Rebuilding Task Force program is developed by Visionest Institute Estonia and implemented in cooperation with Ukraine’s Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office within the framework of the Diia.Business Ukrainian national project.

“The Rebuilding Task Force project is crucial during times of war as it aims to enhance Ukraine’s resilience and reconstruction efforts. We are providing targeted support, expertise, and resources from relevant industries to help Ukrainians rebuild infrastructure, grow economically, and promote internationalization and transparency,” said Maxim Chechelev, Visionest Institute Project Manager in Ukraine.

The budget for the “Ukraine Rebuilding Task Force” project is 203 878 EUR, of which 50% (101 939 EUR) is funded by ESTDEV. The duration of the project is 01.05.2023-30.06.2024. The project is financially supported by the U.S. Department of State Office of the Assistance Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia under the 10th Round of the Development Cooperation Partnership (DCP) Program and ESTDEV.

Photo credit: Max Fedyshyn