You're reading: Danes small in number, but big in influence on Ukraine

Not more than 200 Danes live in Ukraine, making it impossible for the reserved Scandinavians to stand out in numbers or by appearance in the nation of 45 million.

So they found a different way to leave a mark: opening more than 100 businesses, from pig farms in Western Ukraine to world shipping giants like Maersk.

“It comes from being a trading nation,” said Jesper Rishoj Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Ukraine, which claims a 20 percent share of the Ukrainian shipping market. “We’ve had centuries of history in dealing with international trade and it’s very important to deliver goods on time.”

We’ve had centuries of history in dealing with international trade and it’s very important to deliver goods on time.”

– Jesper Rishoj Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Ukraine.

The Scandinavian country with great access to mainland Europe, Denmark became one of the most trade-oriented economies in the world starting from the Viking expeditions, which pillaged England and France as early as 800. Warriors one day and traders the next, Vikings imported silver, silk, spices and pottery, among other goods.

Giant Rickmers ship from the Maersk Line calls in the Port of Hamburg in 2010. (Courtesy)

Now Maersk transports steel, grain, poultry and eggs from Ukraine on their huge vessels. The Danish have invested some $1.3 billion into Ukraine since 1991 according to the Danish embassy 2009 records.

Pedersen, 40, first came to Eastern Europe in 1994 as a trainee for Maersk in Poland. Taking up a job with another shipping company later in Moscow, Pedersen said that business deals made then were far from what a foreigner might have expected.

A typical negotiation would be when a bunch of street market owners, wearing sports suits and [holding] guns in their pockets, want a container of clothes shipped in from China.”

– Jesper Rishoj Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Ukraine.

“A typical negotiation would be when a bunch of street market owners, wearing sports suits and [holding] guns in their pockets, want a container of clothes shipped in from China,” recalled Pedersen. “They would be rough and would want immediate results knowing nothing about either documents they need to provide or customs clearance rules.”

Many things have changed since then. As ports were privatized and upgraded, the volume of trade increased lowering eventually the shipping costs. Business suits have replaced sports jackets during meetings, but “the culture of making deals is still the same,” said Pedersen.

“If in Denmark we would need to meet clients 10 times before signing a contract, here people are used to do deals right here and right now.” In his experience operating without personal connections in Ukraine is next to impossible because of “rampant corruption.”

“Rules can be interpreted in several ways… and [if you don’t want to bribe] it is always better to take the chance of getting fined…otherwise, it’s to be expected that greater scrutiny will happen eventually and more ‘non-compliance’ will be found,” he said.

Rules can be interpreted in several ways… and [if you don’t want to bribe] it is always better to take the chance of getting fined.”

– Jesper Rishoj Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Ukraine.

While Maersk struggles with corruption in Ukraine, another Dane started a project to weed it out. Henrik Kaufholz is in charge of Scoop, an organization funded by the Danish government since 2003, which funds investigative journalism projects.

“One of the first investigations we sponsored was in Odesa,” said Kaufholz. “It was about a studio, which was looking for young women to play in a drama club, but in reality it was a pornography hub.”

Scoop sponsorship scheme extends to 13 countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Granting up to $53,000 to journalists with promising ideas for investigations, Scoop also partners them with professionals abroad and provides back-up assistance if a reporter gets in trouble.

Henrik Kaufholz of Scoop, which funds journalistic investigations.

I admire that so many young people are starting their own businesses here. Such risk-taking is very uncommon in Denmark, where only a few become entrepreneurs.”

Jesper Rishoj Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Ukraine.

Kyiv Post reporter Peter Byrne received a grant in 2003 to investigate the tape scandal implicating former President Leonid Kuchma in the 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze. The investigation found that Yevhen Marchuk, the former head of the National Security Council, was involved in the taping of Kuchma.

Marchuk has denied any involvement in the scandal. Based on these findings, former Ukrainian diplomat Volodymyr Tsvil wrote a book “In the Center of the Tape Scandal.”

“Ten to 25 investigations come yearly from Ukraine,” Kaufholz, 64, said. The latest work to impress him was a report from Kremenchuk, which uncovered how money for the state’s tuberculosis programs were spent on bogus medicines.

Both Kaufholz and Pederson commended Ukrainians for fighting corruption and not giving up on their state.

“I admire that so many young people are starting their own businesses here. Such risk-taking is very uncommon in Denmark, where only a few become entrepreneurs,” Pederson said.

Read also ‘More than 100 businesses from Denmark in nation‘.

Kyiv Post staff writer Katya Grushenko can be reached at
[email protected].