Centre for Economic Strategy / CES

What Centre for Economic Strategy / CES does

Centre for Economic Strategy (CES) is an independent Ukrainian civil society organization and think tank, established in 2015 and headquartered in Kyiv. It produces economic research, policy analysis, and commentary focused on Ukraine's wartime economy, macroeconomic policy, business environment, human capital, and European integration. Core outputs include monthly economic reviews, the open-access "Economy Tracker During the War," the Recovery Spending Watchdog, Public Investment Control monitoring, an economics podcast series exceeding 300 episodes, expert blogs, and longer-form research publications delivered in both Ukrainian and English. Its primary audiences are Ukrainian government bodies, parliamentary committees, and ministries, alongside international organizations (EU institutions, IMF, World Bank) and, to a lesser extent, Ukrainian businesses and industry associations seeking market and regulatory intelligence.

CES's underlying "technology" is its human-analyst research platform: a small bench of named experts (e.g., Bohdan Slutskyy, Iryna Ippolitova, Yana Okhrimenko, Oleksandr Pyvovarskyy) who produce written analysis, host podcasts, run webinars, and provide media commentary cited in outlets including The Economist. The Economy Tracker and Recovery Spending Watchdog function as recurring data products built from publicly available and government-sourced indicators, rather than from a proprietary software stack.

The organization's business model is grant-funded nonprofit research services. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and is generated through commissioned research for organizations that contact CES directly ([email protected]), multi-year institutional grants from Western donors (including EU4B, the International Renaissance Foundation, and the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine), capacity-building support (Think Tank Fund), and donations. There is no public pricing model or commercial product. Go-to-market is community-led: CES reaches stakeholders through its website, podcasts, newsletter, events/webinars, and earned media rather than through a sales function.

Name

Centre for Economic Strategy / CES

Legal name

Громадська організація «Центр економічної стратегії»

Website

https://ces.org.ua

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyiv

HQ country

Ukraine

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Contracts: CES conducts commissioned research for government bodies, international organizations, and businesses. Organizations submit research requests to [email protected] for custom economic analysis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CES is an independent Ukrainian economic think tank that produces evidence-based economic research, policy analysis, and continuous macroeconomic monitoring. Its core offerings include the Ukraine Economy During War Tracker, monthly economic reviews, recovery spending watchdog reports, public investment control analyses, podcasts, and bespoke commissioned research for government bodies, international organizations, and businesses.

Product overview

Centre for Economic Strategy (CES) is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization providing economic research and analysis services. Rather than a unified software product, CES offers a portfolio of research-based services including economic monitoring reports, podcasts featuring expert analysis, blog posts on economic policy, and specialized tracking tools. The core offerings are the Economy Tracker During the War (Трекер економіки України під час війни), Public Investment Control monitoring, Recovery Spending Watchdog reports, and periodic research publications covering macroeconomic analysis, business conditions, human capital, and European integration topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ukraine Economy During War Tracker A web-based monitoring platform tracking Ukraine's economy during wartime, providing regular updates and analysis on key macroeconomic indicators for policymakers, international organizations, and the public.
• Public Investment Control Monitoring Ongoing monitoring and analysis of public investment projects in Ukraine, including EU-supported initiatives like the DREAM platform and recovery spending, intended for government and oversight stakeholders.
• Podcasts Audio content series featuring expert discussions on Ukrainian economics, including interviews with officials and analysis of current economic issues, distributed via ces.org.ua and third-party podcast platforms.
• Economic Research Publications Comprehensive economic research reports covering Ukraine's wartime economy, macroeconomics, business conditions, human capital, and European integration topics, prepared for government, international, and business stakeholders.
• Recovery Spending Watchdog Ongoing monitoring of reconstruction spending in Ukraine, tracking public investment and international funding utilization for recovery and oversight purposes.
• Expert Blogs Expert-authored blog posts providing analysis on economic policy, fiscal issues, corruption legislation, refugee return dynamics, and Ukraine's broader economic situation.
• Commissioned Research Services Custom economic analysis and research projects commissioned by government bodies, international organizations, and businesses that contact CES directly through [email protected] to request bespoke deliverables.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces regular monthly economic reviews and ongoing economic tracker updates

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Skills AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCES began cooperation with the Skills Alliance initiative focused on labor market development. This partnership supports research on workforce development and employment issues in Ukraine.
• Think Tank Fund (TTF)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with International Renaissance Foundation to implement the Analytical Centers Development Initiative, providing capacity building support for CES.
• PrivatBankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPrivatBank is listed as a partner for the Tracker and podcast 'What is Happening with the Economy?' indicating a marketing collaboration for economic content distribution.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research): Network of international economists producing research across macroeconomics, trade, and transition economies. Broader incumbent with comparable analytical rigor on European economic policy, including Ukraine-focused working papers, but at a much larger global scale.
• Bruegel: European economic policy think tank based in Brussels producing macroeconomic and EU integration research. Broader incumbent serving EU institutional clients with overlapping Ukraine coverage, but with a pan-European mandate rather than Ukraine-native focus.
• Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE): US-based leading international economics think tank producing research on global macro, trade, and emerging markets including Ukraine. Broad incumbent with comparable analytical depth on Ukrainian economic policy but from a global platform with significantly larger resources.

Regional players

• European Policy Centre (EPC): Brussels-based think tank covering EU policy including enlargement and Eastern neighborhood. Regional peer addressing EU institutional audiences on Ukraine-related policy, comparable in EU integration thematic focus but EU-headquartered.
• CASE — Center for Social and Economic Research: Warsaw-based economic research center with strong focus on Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and EU enlargement economics. Regional peer with deep Ukraine analytical engagement, comparable in research topics but with primary base outside Ukraine.

Direct peers

• Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER): Leading Ukrainian economic think tank headquartered in Kyiv, conducting policy research on macroeconomics, business environment, and EU integration. Directly comparable to CES as a domestic peer serving the same government and international-donor clients with similar analytical products.
• Razumkov Centre: Established Ukrainian policy think tank covering political, economic, and security issues. Comparable to CES in domestic policy-research positioning and government-facing distribution, though broader in topical scope.
• Kyiv School of Economics (KSE): Major Ukrainian think tank and graduate school producing economic policy research, business climate surveys, and reconstruction analytics. Closely comparable to CES in target audience (government, donors, businesses) and core themes (EU integration, wartime economy, business environment).
• International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS): Kyiv-based think tank focused on economic reform and European integration policy. Direct peer to CES in topic focus (EU accession, economic reform) and primary stakeholder base (Ukrainian government, international partners).

Others

• Carnegie Europe: European arm of Carnegie Endowment producing policy analysis on European affairs including Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. Broad incumbent with overlapping audience (policymakers, donors, media) but wider regional scope than CES.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ces_ukraine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-economic-strategy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Economic Strategy / CES