For decades, the traditional logic of economics in Ukraine was simple: the community waits for an investor, the investor arrives, and “provides jobs.”
In 2025, this model no longer works.
New challenges — demographic, energy, and logistical — have forced communities to move from the role of “aid recipients” to active participants in the economic process.
And it is this shift in thinking that creates the basis for a new model of partnership — one where the community and business become equal partners in creating shared value.
From “top-down” to “co-management”
After 2022, hundreds of Ukrainian companies began looking for safe regions to relocate to.
In the first few months, it looked like a temporary evacuation: find a building, connect the electricity, start production.
But within a year, it became clear that successful relocation is only possible where the community takes on part of the responsibility — working with businesses to resolve issues of infrastructure, communications, energy supply, and human resources.
This model of interaction transforms the community from an administrative partner into an economic one.
It understands that a business is not just a taxpayer, but a local driver of development: new jobs, professions, local supply chains.
How it works in practice
Partnerships between businesses and communities are formed not through memoranda, but through concrete actions.
When local authorities create conditions for businesses to operate — reducing rent rates, helping with land or communications — they are not “giving away resources,” but investing in their own tax base.
Successful examples show that such solutions pay off faster than any subsidies.
One stable business generates more for the community than a dozen grants for short-term initiatives.
The benefits for businesses are obvious—reduced operating costs and predictability.
For the community, it means a long-term flow of income and the preservation of jobs in its territory.
Community Wealth Building: when growth stays in the community
The CWB (Community Wealth Building) model, which is being implemented in many European countries, is based on a simple principle:
economic activity should enrich not only business owners, but also the environment in which the business operates.
This means that the community participates in the creation of local supply chains, supports local producers, and co-finances social infrastructure projects.
The money earned by businesses remains in the community’s circulation — through wages, purchases, services, and local taxes.
In the Ukrainian context, this may look simple:
- a manufacturer uses the services of a local carrier,
- the community invests in training specialists for this business,
- the enterprise participates in the restoration of local space or a cultural project.
This creates an economic ecosystem where profits do not flow out, but create a multiplier effect within the community.
The role of relocation programs
Relocation initiatives after 2022 have become a catalyst for this approach.
Initially, they were a tool for saving businesses, but now they are becoming a tool for regional economic recovery.
Each successful relocation is an example of effective partnership:
the community provides space and conditions, while businesses create added value and jobs.
In many cases, joint actions have become the basis for new clusters — woodworking, agro-processing, and logistics.
Benefits for both sides
For businesses:
- predictability of costs and logistics;
- preferential terms for property use;
- access to local labor and social support.
For the community:
- stable tax revenues;
- development of the local economy without external subsidies;
- building a reputation as an investor-friendly region.
Such partnerships are no longer the exception — they are becoming the new norm for economic development.
“Attractive Community” as a practical model
The “Attractive Community” initiative developed by the BIG.U team is based on this philosophy.
Its goal is to help communities understand their economic potential, structure business proposals, and build systematic cooperation.
The key idea is simple:
the community stops waiting for investors and becomes a partner that offers specific conditions, assets, locations, and human capital.
This is a transition from ‘we are looking for funding’ to ‘we are ready to offer a development model.’
Ukraine’s economic recovery begins not from the centre, but from the communities.
This is where a new culture of partnership is formed, where investment is not a one-off act, but a joint process of growth.
When the community and business work together, every hryvnia invested in the region turns into jobs, new services and stable taxes.
This is the new economy of Ukraine — built not on waiting for help, but on cooperation.
