Meeting of Credit Agricole Management Board with key customers in Lviv

Recently, Credit Agricole held a meeting between its Management Board and key customers in Lviv. The event brought together over 50 bank customers from various segments, such as corporate, small, and medium-sized businesses and premium banking, as well as representatives from different industries, including agriculture, IT, energy, and others. For Credit Agricole, it is important to share its expertise that helps businesses make managerial decisions in times of uncertainty, in particular decisions regarding energy transition. The bank supports its customers in implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, while making its own contribution to Ukraine’s energy independence.

The meeting began with welcoming speeches by Carlos de Cordoue, chairman of the Management Board, and Ihor Kuropiy, director of Corporate Business and Financial Markets. Taras Kytsmey, the co-founder of SoftServe, Yurii Fedak, deputy director of Development at Eco-Optima, as well as Sviatoslav Kavetskyi, head of the Supervisory Board and acting director of Lviv IT Cluster, joined the discussion. The moderator of the discussion was Yuliya Pynzenyk, head of Multinational Corporates Desk at Credit Agricole.

The participants discussed the transformation of the competitive environment and the need to diversify business models, strengthen the international presence of Ukrainian IT companies in the context of the current geopolitical and economic realities, as well as the challenges and prospects of post-war recovery, particularly in the energy sector.

Yurii Fedak shared the company’s experience with constructing and launching wind farms in Ukraine, highlighting the key challenges encountered at every stage of project implementation, from regulatory procedures to technical and financial coordination. Despite the difficult conditions, the trend towards large-scale deployment of wind-power capacity in Ukraine will continue, as wind energy remains one of the strategic areas of the development of the renewable energy and energy resilience in the country. A separate presentation was given on the green hydrogen project as a promising area for energy production among the renewable sources.

As part of the discussion panel, the participants also talked about the key development trajectories in IT industry, global opportunities and risks in the coming years, as well as the role of financial system in supporting businesses.

“In France, Credit Agricole Group has its own accelerator, Le Village by CA, and has long established itself as a reliable partner for the IT industry. In Ukraine, we also view IT not as individual customers, but as a complete ecosystem – from students to clusters and associations. Therefore, we actively invest into financial solutions, development of the IT community, and partnership programs with the country’s leading technical universities,” said Carlos de Cordoue, chairman of Credit Agricole Management Board.

For over 10 years now, Lviv IT Cluster has been systematically investing efforts in education by developing partnerships with universities and businesses.

“Investing in education is investing in the future of Ukraine’s economy. The Cluster’s goal is to create conditions in which talented students can receive a high-quality, modern education in Ukraine without having to seek opportunities abroad. Ukrainian IT companies cooperate with global technology leaders, and their engineers and experts participate in teaching educational programs at Lviv IT Cluster, passing on their practical experience to the new generation of specialists. This synergy between business and education creates unique opportunities for the development of human capital within the country,” comments Sviatoslav Kavetskyi.

Investing in education, creating a favorable work environment, and taking a strategic view of the challenges associated with the brain drain can ensure sustainable development of the tech industry in post-war period.