The project is driven by three overarching aspects: 1\. Leadership: Ukraine has the potential to become a sustainability leader in Europe. If you view Ukraine as a startup, it has everything needed for success. (A) The rebuilding will happen under one legislation: Ukrainian legislation with smaller or larger EU elements in it. This will make the market a level playing field. (B) The market is quite big — the rebuilding of Ukraine will cost around 500 billion euros or more — and it will open on a specific date. This will be the day of victory or a lasting peace. This means you can start now on a small scale and be ready when the time comes. (C) Money is on the table. Not 500 billion, but enough to finance the first steps, investments and projects. This is because Ukrainian, European and international institutions, such as the EBRD, have developed financing instruments at local, regional and national levels. This means that the start-up can progress through the initial phases and potentially overcome the 'valley of death'. If Ukraine bundles these aspects and focuses on sustainable rebuilding, it can design and implement processes and products on a mass market scale. This scale is lacking in the EU. In the West, sustainability is often just incremental tinkering. 2\. Inner Ukrainian fails: Paper tigers remain paper tigers Many projects never progress beyond the announcement stage. Based on my experience of working with Ukrainian partners over the last three years, I would say that this is the case, without blaming anybody! There are many reasons for this: (A) The war leads to a focus on short-term decisions. Long-term planning is not an option. (B) Short-term planning requires a business case. If you cannot present a business case or business model that works immediately, your proposals are not welcome. (C) After more than 30 years of "do whatever you want" (because Ukraine was after gaining independence not bound to the EU or any other organisation that regulated the economy), the companies are struggling to fulfil EU requirements and oversee all the financial opportunities that supporting countries are offering Ukraine nowadays. 3\. Shift: The greater region will change after the victory or a lasting peace. In the first days of the large-scale invasion, Romanian and Moldovan stakeholders stepped in to fulfil the tasks of their Ukrainian partners. For example, they shipped grain to Northern Africa. However, once the situation changes, Ukraine will regain control of these tasks. With modern infrastructure in place following the rebuilding phase, Ukraine will be able to compete at a level that Romanian and Moldovan stakeholders cannot match. This means: Romania and Moldova must be involved in rebuilding Ukraine in certain areas. (In our project, this relates to innovation in the Blue Economy.) These aspects are the "background music" for the design of the Black Sea Ecosystem. E.g., the inclusion of Romanian and Moldovian partners is the result of point 2.A: 'focus on short term output': With partners from the neighbouring countries we might be able to widen the focus from short term to mid term. The problems, the Black Sea Innovation Ecosystem is addressing, are the following: \- Ecological: The Black Sea's ecological status is very bad: overfishing, pollution, and climate warming make it necessary to support regenerative economic approaches. \- Social: The project is addressing regions like Moldova and Bessarabia, which face challenges from war-related flight, emigration, and brain drain. \- Political: The Black Sea has six neighbouring states and one of them is terrorising the whole area and beyond: After the victory the remains of this situation will be plentiful, e.g. sea mines and explosive ordonances, sweet water scarcity, a shift from fossil energy to renewable energy and so on. \- Economical: The reconstruction of Ukraine is the EU's largest economic project, requiring urgent use of Ukrainian ports as logistical hubs. But: The maritime industry needs also to adapt to Nearshoring and new ways to create value - beyond "counting containers". To sum it up: The Black Sea is facing very different challenges. From war related challenges, to climate change to new regulation and role models. This leads to the conclusion that what is needed is not a single start-up or local project, but rather a structure that helps the players and stakeholders to meet the challenges. The Black Sea Innovation Ecosystem will be this structure.