The Kyiv Business Centre particularly targets small and medium-sized enterprises. The Ministry of Defence said costs, security requirements and administrative complexity had made a local presence prohibitively difficult for smaller firms.
The facility was developed by the National Armaments Director Group, industrial partners and the finance industry. It supports the UK-Ukraine 100-Year Partnership.
“Britain has stood firmly with Ukraine since the first days of Russia’s illegal invasion, and with the Kyiv Business Centre now open, we are helping to unlock new opportunities for investment, growth and long-term recovery,” said Luke Pollard, minister for defence readiness and industry. “By supporting UK companies in Kyiv, we are deepening the 100-Year Partnership and turning our shared resolve into shared innovation.”
Access to partners and battlefield insight
The centre gives companies access to Ukrainian partners and battlefield insight. Its networking platform will help members build partnerships, raise investment and expand production and capability.
National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce met senior industry figures and smaller businesses to mark the start of its work. The centre builds on more than 40 major UK-Ukraine industrial partnerships and earlier Ministry of Defence trade missions.
“This new facility is not just a centre; it’s a permanent gateway transforming the UK’s ability to collaborate meaningfully with our Ukrainian partners now, and for the long term,” Pearce said. “Until now the costs, security considerations and other restrictions created by Russia’s full-scale invasion have made it difficult for firms, especially smaller firms, to work in Ukraine.”
Pearce said the facility would extend the work of those trade missions. “Our previous Trade Missions successfully addressed some of those challenges – this centre breaks down those barriers, giving UK firms a permanent centre in Kyiv embedding real opportunities for innovation, investment and export.”
The centre also supports Ukrainian firms seeking UK industrial partners. It will assist those establishing UK-based subsidiaries.
Source: UK Ministry of Defence (press release).
