WPP and the Ukrainian Government have joined forces to attract investment into the country and help rebuild its economy, despite the fact that its future is still in doubt as the war with Russia rages on.
The plan was outlined a session at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity featuring Ukraine minister of culture and information policy Oleksandr Tkachenko and WPP global boss Mark Read.
WPP agencies from Ukraine, Poland and Czech Republic will work with the minister and his government colleagues on ‘Advantage Ukraine’ to demonstrate that Ukraine is open for business.
The initiative will target business leaders within the region and across the world to encourage inward investment to support the economic recovery of the country.
The wider programme will showcase the variety of talent and expertise in Ukraine across sectors including agriculture, technology, education and the creative industries and its huge potential for commercial investment.
Tkachenko said: “I’m pleased to announce our partnership with WPP on our new Advantage Ukraine initiative that will create the right conditions for inward investment and create attractive opportunities for visionary business leaders and investors.
“We want the world to know that Ukraine is still open for business and has the potential to be a key cultural and digital technology European hub.”
Read added: “We are very proud to be able to support Ukraine directly through this campaign. Creativity has the power not only to solve commercial problems but to address some of the biggest issues we face.
“WPP’s partnership with the Ukrainian Government will aim to do both – underlining the enormous commercial potential of the country while supporting the economic recovery essential to rebuilding Ukrainian social and cultural life and ensuring a positive future for its citizens.”
WPP was one of the first agency groups to discontinue all business activities in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, at the time saying it stood with “the international community in condemning this unjustifiable aggression”.
In a note sent to all WPP employees, Read said the company had been carefully considering the future of its agencies in Russia and what its actions would mean for its nearly 1,400 people there.
He added: “We have concluded that to continue operating in Russia would be inconsistent with our values as a company. This means that over the next few weeks and months, we will discontinue our activities in the country.”
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