Name: Ukraine investors conference sets sights on reconstruction
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T15:24:07.595Z
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: As signs of hope for an end to the Ukraine war emerge, a business conference in Berlin has shifted the focus to the reconstruction of the war-torn country, with Germany offering loans and risk insurance for investors.

As signs of hope for an end to the Ukraine war emerge, a business conference in Berlin has shifted the focus to the reconstruction of the war-torn country, with Germany offering loans and risk insurance for investors.

Berlijn

A reconstruction conference in Berlin addressed the estimated 500 billion euro cost of rebuilding Ukraine, emphasizing that financial resources alone are insufficient without companies willing to operate on the ground. Initiatives like the Ukraine Connect fund, launched with 45 million euros, aim to provide low-interest loans and insurance to reduce investment risks and attract more German companies to Ukraine.

While current investment is concentrated in the defense sector, there is also movement in construction and industrial projects, as well as efforts to support young talent through co-living and co-working hubs. Experts and companies involved in demining and infrastructure stress that large-scale reconstruction will take many years and cannot fully begin until the conflict ends and landmines are cleared.

Ukraine investors' conference sets sights on reconstruction

Rebuilding Ukraine will not come cheap. Estimates put the cost at around 500 billion euros. But money alone won't be enough. What Ukraine also needs are companies willing to work on the ground. One of them is Boreal Light, a Berlin-based company that entered the Ukrainian market two years ago, despite the war. In the city of Mykolaiv, it built a drinking water treatment facility. Five solar-powered units now turn wastewater into clean drinking water, despite extremely difficult conditions. The system that we installed in Mykolaiv two years ago was about 60 kilometers from the front line. So we know that there are security risks and we know that this is a critical infrastructure, so we have to treat it accordingly. Ukraine is a very large country, so they have absolutely different kind of water problems. Boreal Light operates in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and in Ukraine. Its technology is adapted to wartime conditions and designed with the future in mind. Whenever there is a conflict, we can serve people with the hope that that conflict ends soon. Even the concept of the design for the machine in Ukraine, from the first day we designed it the way that when the conflict ends, hopefully very soon, they can dedicate this machine to another place. So far, 70 German companies have invested in Ukraine. But for many, financing is the biggest hurdle. At the reconstruction conference here in Berlin, Germany's economy minister announced a new fund called Ukraine Connect. The fund will start with 45 million euros, offering low-interest loans and insurance to reduce investment risks. The goal? To bring more German companies into Ukraine. At the moment, a lot of this is focused on the defense sector. For obvious reasons, that sector is booming right now, and we're seeing significant investment there. But there's also movement, for example, in construction supplies and related industries. We also very much like to cooperate with German industry, and there are a lot of industrial companies at this forum, to reindustrialize Ukraine, to rebuild what Russia destroyed, but also become an industrial powerhouse. Others are also seeking funding for reconstruction, especially from private investors. We would like to build ecosystem of 50 co-living and co-working hubs all around Ukraine for young generation, because we want our young generation to live in Ukraine, to come back in Ukraine and to support our talents. But before large-scale reconstruction can truly begin, the war must end. And landmines, for example, must be cleared. That work's already underway, carried out by Swiss company Global Clearance Solutions. We usually work in countries coming out of conflict, helping them rebuild. I know even if this war continues, we still need to start building up infrastructure as soon as possible. The scale of the task ahead is enormous. Experts agree it will take many years before Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure return to anything close to pre-war levels.

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