Syngenta, one of the world’s largest producers of plant and seed protection agents, has opened a Digital Innovation Lab in Kyiv, the sixth platform in the company’s global network of laboratories. “Our laboratories in other countries focus on researching and studying consumer demand for digital products, developing concepts and creating prototypes of products. The Ukrainian laboratory will complement their work by offering a full cycle of developing solutions – from research and modeling of test samples of digital products to creating working versions ready for launch with real users and integrated with Syngenta systems,” Benjamin Ninio, the head of the global direction of digital technologies at Syngenta, said during the opening of the company’s laboratory.
According to him, over the past year and a half Syngenta has launched five similar projects in different countries of the world. Now the laboratories operate in the United States, China, India, Singapore, and the UK.
The laboratory office in Kyiv is located in the innovative and technological park Unit.city.
Syngenta is one of the world leaders in plant protection and seed production. The company employs 28,000 people in more than 90 countries of the world.
DIGITAL INNOVATION, LAB, SYNGENTA, TECHNOLOGICAL PARK, UNIT.CITY
The Kyiv City Council at a session on Thursday, September 20, made a decision to lease two land parcels with a total area of 22.2 ha located at 8, Simyi Khokhlovykh to companies UNIT Zhytloinvest and UNIT Holdings to build a residential and office complex. A total of 71 lawmakers backed the lease of 8.2 ha land parcel to UNIT Zhytloinvest and 83 lawmakers supported the lease of 14 ha to UNIT Holdings. As reported, KAN Development and UDP in 2019 will start building a residential complex of 170,000 square meters in Kyiv-based UNIT.City innovative park. The share of housing will be around 30% of the park.
The project provides a mix of housing of business and comfort classes. The construction is scheduled to begin in 2019, and the first stage, which will account for 15% of the total area (about 25,000 square meters), will be commissioned in 12-14 months.
KAN Development is also engaged in joint development for the construction of a six-story business center on UNIT.City’s area. Its commissioning is planned before the end of 2018. Its total area is about 13,000 square meters. At the same time, preliminary lease agreements have already been signed for 90% of the area. Under this project, UDP and KAN Development act as co-investors.
Apart from housing, UNIT.City will also have a university, a school, a kindergarten in the future.
As reported with reference to founder of the UFuture investment group and K.Fund Vasyl Khmelnytsky, it is planned that the area of the UNIT.City innovation park in Kyiv will be expanded to 26 hectares from 19 hectares (as of May 2018).
The UNIT.City innovation park officially opened in April 2017 on the territory of the former Kyiv Motorcycle Plant. Its territory comprises the Chasopys-UNIT co-working facility, IT school UNIT Factory, three laboratories, a business campus, a fund and five accelerators.
According to UNIT.City’s website, four new business campuses, three accelerators, four funds will be created in the park before 2019. The number of resident companies will be increased to 100. By 2025, the park should include 25 hectares of space for work and leisure, as well as more than 300 companies and R&D laboratories.
KYIV CITY, LEASING, OFFICES, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, UNIT.CITY
Businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky’s UFuture investment group will participate in the development of a project to create in Astana (Kazakhstan) a copy of the innovation park UNIT.City, which UFuture has been developing for several years in Kyiv. “I’ve just returned from Kazakhstan, where I was at the invitation of Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev. We’ve agreed we will help create an analogue of UNIT.City in the center of Astana,” Khmelnytsky wrote on his Facebook page.
He said starting this autumn UFuture would launch a project to create an eco-system and a university in Astana, following the example of UNIT.City. He added that this project is already known in Kazakhstan, as Kazakh students study at Kyiv’s UNIT Factory.
Khmelnytsky positively assessed the experience of creating an international technopark for IT start-ups at the Astana Hub and the Astana International Financial Center, where residents enjoy a preferential tax regime, British law and an independent court of British judges. UFuture’s press service told the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency that it would be possible to speak about details of the possible participation of the investment group in the Kazakhstan project after the project was prepared.
As earlier reported, UFuture is situated on 25 hectares of land at Kyiv’s motorcycle plant where it is developing the UNIT.City innovation park. The “anchors” of the project are programming factory UNIT Factor created in spring 2016 under partnership with French School 42, and the Technology Companies’ Development Center (TCDC). Khmelnytsky has already announced plans to create similar projects in Lviv and Kharkiv.
UFuture Investment Group, headquartered in Brussels, was established in the autumn of 2017 and unites Khmelnytsky’s business projects. The group includes UDP Renewables, the Bila Tserkva Industrial Park, the innovation parks UNIT.City and LvivTech.City.
Only innovative entrepreneurs can buy apartments in UNIT.City Innovation Park. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, an entrepreneur and founder of UNIT.City, made this statement in an interview for AIN. “We have already built and sold about three million square meters and know this market well. We want to turn the idea into reality: to sell apartments only to people who promote innovations. When they go out for a walk here in the evening, they will start discussing something and can come up with a brilliant idea together. We see a blue ocean in it: we create the enabling environment where a success case can meet another success case, resulting in something greater. This is an experiment,” the businessman underlined.
He said he realized that such approach would put some restrictions on the company and narrow down a range of potential buyers. However, it is essential for him to make UNIT.City a home for visionaries, not for officials or people who deal with trade or cash-out transactions.
Vasyl Khmelnytsky placed emphasis that UNIT.City meant not simply buildings, but a big infrastructure facility focused on innovations and education.
When asked if people who deal with IT innovations and earn €20,000-40,000 a year can afford housing in UNIT.City, Mr Khmelnytsky said that it would be quite possible. With $1,500 per square meter, a 50 sq m apartment would cost $75,000. With a four-year installment plan offered by the businessman, it would cost about $20,000 a year.
According to Vasyl Khmelnytsky, UNIT.City is a long-term project where one can expect return on investment in several years only. Therefore, it is hard to go without international partners. To this end, the company has initially focused on global standards in construction technologies and transparency in financing.
The businessman pointed out that he planned to extend these practices to other regions of Ukraine. The company has already started building UNIT.City in Lviv and plans to do so in Kharkiv. Vasyl Khmelnytsky said $50 million has been invested in the project up to date. According to his estimates, total investment will amount to $700-800 million to be partly financed with office rental income and sales of apartments.
Vasyl Khmelnytsky said he had a strategy to develop UNIT.City. The park is expected to be completed in 2025. However, much depends on the demand for buildings and on the political environment, he said.
“UNIT.City is now completing two buildings, with 75% of each being already commissioned. This is an excellent performance for the local market, as it is typical for Ukraine to commission buildings for two years. Now we have a request for several new buildings at once, so a couple of construction projects are underway simultaneously. However, tomorrow something can happen, for example, the political situation will change in the country, bringing our entire strategy down. Our further actions may change. Therefore, I do not make any fixed plans. The company has the opportunity to build residential facilities here for two years or for five years — everything will depend on the demand,” Mr Khmelnytsky said, describing the project in a nutshell.
Ukraine should create equal opportunities and access to education for young talents whatever income they can have. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, an entrepreneur and owner of UFuture Investment Group, made this statement in an interview for AIN. According to Mr Khmelnytsky, he is now bringing the most advanced and innovative educational institutions into UNIT.City Innovation Park he created.
“We want to invite as many quality educational institutions as possible here and are ready to offer them favorable conditions. For example, now we are in talks with a school of English from the West. I will lease premises to them at cost price in an effort to bring them in our initiative. After all, it is difficult to become successful today without a good command of English. If you have a good educational project, come to us, we will offer you good conditions,” said Vasyl Khmelnytsky.
He mentioned DTEK Academy as an example, saying that they had a strong methodological basis and expertise. In future, Vasyl Khmelnytsky expects the UNIT Factory educational initiative to expand to have up to 2,500 students.
The entrepreneur is set to build something like a student dormitory in UNIT.City in a move to create comfortable conditions for all students, regardless of the wealth of their families: for young people from small towns who cannot afford to rent expensive housing in the capital city. Those who will not have money even to pay for the dormitory will be able to enjoy a credit line with a very low interest rate of 5%.
At the same time, Vasyl Khmelnytsky reminded that the school would be tuition-free.
Commonly, talented people do not have enough money. Vasyl Khmelnytsky believes that if the tuition is high, the children of rich parents will come to school, without any motivation and ambitions. “If we offer equal conditions for all, we will bring real talents in UNIT.City. These very children will later join businesses based in UNIT.City. Here we have the following business model: the costs do not scare me so much, because I understand the future income from the entire system. This is a long game, and the return will not come immediately, but in a few years,” Vasyl Khmelnytsky underscored.
According to the businessman, students having a strong academic performance will have high chances to find a job in companies based in UNIT.City. However, no one will force them to work for one or another company. Mr Khmelnytsky said they would be able to choose either to work for a UNIT.City resident company or land a job outside the park.
Vasyl Khmelnytsky emphasized the role of the educational environment in UNIT.City, saying it creates added value. “People sometimes tell me that it is a little expensive here. Indeed, somewhere you can find a price, which is lower by $2 per sq m, but here we have students, schools, universities, other companies, educational programs, accelerators, laboratories, security and so on. If you find no point in this, there is no reason to spend $2 more in this case. However, the bonuses offered by UNIT.City will help you become better, that is why the price is higher,” he said, summing up the project.
Ukrainian IT talents have received another important argument in favor of the industry development in the country. A new business campus of the UNIT.City Innovation Park with the Chasopys.UNIT co-working place has opened in Kyiv. Many incumbent and future residents of the innovative city – more than 500 people – gathered to celebrate a house-warming party on June 14. “Our main task is to help talented people grow and succeed in our country but not abroad, create big companies. This is a challenge to build not only a modern city but also a space for new opportunities for the development of a creative economy of the country,” founder of UFuture Investment Group and one of the major investors in the project Vasyl Khmelnytsky said.
The building with an area of 3,800 square meters is designed for 360 people to work comfortably at once. The project of the new building was created by the Odesa architectural studio Haliulin Architects. The campus has the shape of a cube, while three types of glass were used in construction. “If to walk along the building, it seems to be hovering in the air, going up and down along the axis,” CEO and Managing Partner of UNIT.City Max Yakover said.
Some 50 well-known companies have entered or selected offices in the new campus, including SolarGaps, a Ukrainian startup in the field of alternative energy, the Quadrate28 marketing agency, ARbrowser, LookinAR, and Crosslytics.
“The first residents of the new co-working space became the following companies: Imperious Group, Royenko Agency, Hubble Ukraine, the DTEK design team, the Quadrate28 representative office and others,” UNIT.City Managing Partner Maksym Bakhmatov stated. The Fedoriv creative agency plans to become a resident of UNIT.City. Andriy Fedoriv is seeking a location in the innovative city building being under construction, the opening of which is scheduled for this year.
“Chasopys.UNIT is the fourth co-working place of the Chasopys network,” CEO of Chasopys Creative Family Aliona Kalibaba said. According to her, the best practices achieved in the last six years were united in the design of the building. “The campus events calendar is being filled in. Schools of entrepreneurship, international competitions and a form of expert Fridays will be held here,” Kalibaba added.
