Dentons “unlocks” Africa to Ukrainian exporters of agricultural products

Dentons, Kyiv, Ukraine, 
Fri, June 26, 2015

Kyiv, 26 June 2015 — Dentons LondonPartner Jeremy Cape, Senior Counsel Raj Kulasingam, and Kyiv Associate MaksymSysoiev spoke at the “Ukrainian Agri & Food Strategy Forum,” which was heldon June 3-4, 2015 at the National Complex Expocentre of Ukraine. The forum waspart of the XXVII International Agroindustrial Fair “AGRO-2015”— the largestagricultural exhibition of the CIS and Eastern Europe.

Jeremy and Raj were special guestsdelivering presentation titled, “Africa focus: “The insiders’ view onsuccessfully accessing the African agri and food market.” Jeremy and Rajdiscussed the peculiarities of the African economy as well as the differencesin agri and food markets in between African countries. They also covered issuesincluding the business and legal framework in place for Ukrainian companies toexport their products to Africa, and advising how to invest and operate abusiness in Africa.

Kyiv Managing Partner Oleg Batyuk said,“Being home to six of the top ten fastest growing countries in the world,Africa is an attractive proposition for businesses across the world. Africa’sinterest and increasing demand for Ukrainian agricultural products provides aperfect opportunity for those companies who strike while the iron is hot.”

London Partner Jeremy Cape added, “In thelonger term, the African agricultural sector has the potential to develop insuch a way that Africa does not only become self-sufficient in food, but alsocan export substantial amounts to the rest of the world. Given the manychallenges in the short term, coupled with rising incomes, many parts of Africawill need to increase imports of food very quickly. Those Ukrainiancompanies who are willing to understand and are able to surmount the challengesof doing business on the continent should be able to achieve impressivereturns.”

Maksym Sysoiev moderated the paneldiscussion “Financing Ukrainian exporters by IFIs and commercial banks,” whichwas dedicated to the best practices for Ukrainian exporters to obtain financingfrom international financial institutions and state-owned banks. The panelfeatured prominent speakers from the International Finance Corporation,UkrEximBank and Oschadbank.

The forum was organized by The Ministryof Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine together with A7 CONFERENCES and inpartnership with Dentons. More than 300 participants attended the eventincluding CEO’s of leading Ukrainian exporters, government officials, foreigninvestors and companies operating in Ukraine, as well as representatives ofinternational financial institutions and NGO’s.

For further information, pleasecontact:

Tetiana Babinska, BusinessDevelopment & Marketing Manager

Kyiv

+38044 494 47 74

tetiana.babinska@dentons.com

AboutDentons

Dentonsis a global law firm driven to provide clients a competitive edge in anincreasingly complex and interconnected world. A top 20 firm on the Acritas2014 Global Elite Brand Index, Dentons is committed to challenging the statusquo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality in new and inventiveways. With a legacy of legal experience that dates back to 1742, Dentons wasformed by the combination of international law firm Salans LLP, Canadian lawfirm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) and international law firm SNR Denton.Dentons' clients now benefit from approximately 2,600 lawyers and professionalsin more than 75 locations spanning 50-plus countries across Africa, AsiaPacific, Canada, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, CIS and theCaucasus, the UK, and the US. The firm serves the local, regional and globalneeds of a broad spectrum of clients, including private and publiccorporations; governments and government agencies; small businesses andstartups; entrepreneurs; and individuals.