For Ukrainian companies entering international markets, attracting investors, working with foreign corporations or participating in tenders, it is important to establish a transparent and verified business profile in advance. One of the tools for such international verification is the D-U-N-S Number, assigned by the American company Dun & Bradstreet.
A D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit business identifier used to identify legal entities and their individual locations in international commercial databases. This number enables foreign partners, banks, investors, procurement platforms and large corporations to identify a company more quickly and verify its basic information.
“For Ukrainian companies, the D-U-N-S Number is not just a formal number in an international database. It is a way to make themselves more transparent to a foreign bank, buyer, investor, distributor or technology platform. In the context of war and the restructuring of export routes, trust in a company often begins even before the first meeting – with a check of its business profile,” noted Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit, and Candidate of Economic Sciences.
For Ukrainian businesses, such an identifier can be useful in several practical situations: when registering on international platforms, working with large corporate clients, participating in tenders, raising finance, establishing partnerships, vetting counterparties and confirming business reputation.
“Ukrainian exporters are increasingly finding that foreign partners want to see not just a website, presentation or commercial proposal, but also verified information about the company: who it is, where it is registered, what it does, and how reliable it is as a counterparty. The D-U-N-S Number helps integrate a Ukrainian company into the global business identification system,” Urakin emphasised.
According to him, this is particularly important for small and medium-sized businesses seeking to enter the markets of the EU, the US, the Middle East or Asia, but which do not yet have a long-standing international track record.
“Many Ukrainian companies produce high-quality products but remain insufficiently visible to global partners. Having a correct profile in the international D&B database can be one of the steps towards building trust. This does not replace financial reporting, quality certificates or contractual discipline, but it enhances the company’s business transparency,” added Urakin.
The D-U-N-S Number is also important in the context of Ukraine’s recovery. A large number of future projects will involve international donors, contractors, suppliers, engineering firms and financial institutions. For such projects, it is critical to verify the origin of companies, the resilience of supply chains, the absence of sanctions risks and the transparency of business structures.
“Ukraine’s recovery will require not only money and technology, but also trust. International partners need to understand who they are working with. Therefore, a culture of business verification, counterparty checks and transparent company profiles must become the norm for the Ukrainian market,” believes Urakin.
Dun & Bradstreet is an American company specialising in business data, analytics, commercial information and risk management, founded in 1841. The company provides international tools for business identification, counterparty verification, credit and commercial risk assessment, compliance and working with global supply chains. D&B maintains a global business data database and works with companies, financial institutions, government bodies and international organisations.
‘Interfax-Ukraine’ is an independent Ukrainian news agency that has been operating in the Ukrainian political and economic news market since 1992 and has a reputation as a reliable and competent provider of timely and objective information. The editorial office and the agency’s head office are located in Kyiv. Interfax-Ukraine is not part of any foreign media holding company.
