03.07.2026
Panorama Group of Companies has been included in the Forbes Ukraine Next 250 list – a list of small and medium-sized promising companies that will determine the landscape of the Ukrainian economy in a few years. This is the fourth Forbes Ukraine study. Over four years, the publication has studied 1,000 businesses and created the most comprehensive map of entrepreneurs who are growing today and can change the country tomorrow.
Breakthrough leaders of the Next 250 list, who are scaling Ukrainian SMEs despite any challenges, took part in the Forbes 2026 Entrepreneurs Forum: two days of conversations about business, sustainability, entering international markets, 1,300 participants, 70+ speakers, dozens of discussions, practical workshops and effective tools for scaling companies.
Panorama’s inclusion in the Forbes Next 250 is a powerful marker. The group of companies has been operating in the Ukrainian market for over 10 years and has significant experience in the construction of turnkey infrastructure facilities: from street and stadium lighting to the installation of flagpoles in large cities (Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi). Panorama Group is the official representative of the global brands Philips and Schreder, and also has its own production of metal structures (ROSA TM supports, brackets, etc.). Today, one of the key areas of Panorama is alternative energy: design and construction of industrial-scale solar power plants (SPPs) with energy storage systems, as well as energy services (ESCO). Panorama Group is an active member of the Ukrainian Association of Energy Service Companies.
“For me, Forbes Next 250 is not only about the company’s recognition,” says Vitaly Shevchenko, head of Panorama Group. – It is about confirming that energy services in Ukraine have great potential – as a business model, as a tool for communities, and as a practical way to modernize critical infrastructure.
For many years, we have been working with projects where a specific result is important, not a beautiful slogan: lower costs, modernized facilities, clear economics, and responsibility for the effect.
Forbes Next 250 for Panorama–it is not final point, but the start of a new stage. Next – more focus on ESCO, more cases, more partnerships and more systematic work with communities and investors.
In an interview with Energy Club journalist Olena Karpachova, Vitaliy Shevchenko told why he considers Forbes Next 250 to be the start of a new stage of the company’s development, how he transformed the business into a full-fledged ESCO model, why today’s profit is a consequence of the value created, how the team is going through the challenges of war and what prospects for energy services are opening up for Ukrainian communities.
– Mr. Vitaliy, Forbes Next 250 is a prestigious marker. Do you remember the moment when you learned about the company’s inclusion in the rating? What was your first emotion and who did you call first?
– Yes, I remember. The first emotion was very calm, but deep. It wasn’t euphoria or a feeling of “we won.” Rather, it was an internal confirmation that all these years we had been moving in the right direction.
I immediately thought about the team. Because Forbes Next 250 is not about one person or a coincidence. It’s about many decisions, a lot of work, many moments when it was difficult, but we kept moving forward.
The first people I wanted to share it with were the people inside the company. Because behind this result are engineers, installers, managers, financiers, lawyers, heads of departments – everyone who makes Panorama a real company every day, and not just a name.
– What do you think was the main reason why Panorama ended up among the most promising companies in Ukraine? What decisions were decisive?
– I think the main reason is that we chose a very specific and practical path. Panorama today is an energy service investment company. We don’t just talk about energy efficiency or energy independence. We invest our own money, build facilities, implement energy service contracts and take responsibility for the result.
It was important for me that the company created not an abstract, but a very measurable value. A constructed facility, community funds saved, less dependence on the energy market, stronger critical infrastructure – these are things that can be seen and counted.
The decisive decision was not to remain just a trading or contracting company, but to switch to an investment model. That is, to believe in projects yourself enough to invest your own resources in them is a completely different level of responsibility.
– You started in 2018 as a trading company, and today Panorama builds industrial solar power plants with storage tanks and implements turnkey ESCO models. What was the most difficult decision you made over the years, when you had to act without any guarantees and actually take risks?
– The most difficult was evenIt wasn’t just one management decision. The most difficult thing was to change the mindset – my own, my partners’, and the entire team’s.
The trading model is very clear: bought, sold, earned, moved on. In energy services, everything is different. You invest today, take responsibility for the technical solution, installation, financial model, result, and you get the return gradually – through savings over many years.
This is a completely different business logic. You can’t think in terms of a short-term deal here. You have to think long-term: will the facility work, will the community get savings, will the result be clear to all parties, will the model stand the test of time?
Of course, not everyone was ready for this. Some people got used to a simpler and faster model. And that’s normal. But it was this transformation that significantly shaped the company. Some didn’t move on with us, but new strong people came – with a different level of responsibility, with a willingness to work systematically and for results.
When we first entered the ESCO, there were no guarantees. There were doubts, difficult negotiations, distrust from some communities, legal nuances, financial risks. But there was an understanding that Ukraine needed a mechanism that would allow it to modernize its infrastructure without initial budget costs.
We bet on the long game. And now I see that this decision made Panorama not just a contractor or supplier, but a company that invests in Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
– In your Facebook post, you noted that business is not about ease, and money is not a goal, but only the result of the value created. How has your personal understanding of the value of business changed in the current war realities of Ukraine?
– War very quickly removes everything superfluous. It shows that business is not only about financial results. It is about the ability to be useful at a time when the country is in difficulty.
For me, the value of business today is when your work helps the community to be more resilient. When a water utility, hospital, or other critical infrastructure facility receives an energy solution and becomes less vulnerable. When private capital enters where the budget is lacking. When saving money becomes not just a number on a spreadsheet, but a resource for community development.
Money in such a model is truly a consequence. If you have created value, if the facility is working, if the community sees savings and results, then business has the right to profit. But profit cannot be the only meaning. Especially now.
– You are sincerely proud of your team. Tell us about it. When a company goes through sleepless nights, strict discipline, and working in conditions of uncertainty, how do you as a leader manage to keep the team motivated and prevent burnout?
– The Panorama team is made up of people who are not afraid of responsibility. It is impossible to work formally in energy services. Here, each project consists of many parts: technology, finances, contracts, construction, communication with the community, deadlines, risks. If someone drops out, the entire project feels it.
I don’t believe that you can keep a team going for a long time with just motivational words. People need to see the meaning of their work. That’s why I try to show not only plans, but also the result: here is the facility we built; here is the community that has saved money; here is the critical infrastructure that has become stronger.
Drive appears when a person understands that their work matters. Of course, there are difficult periods, there is fatigue, there is tension. But when the team sees that it is not just “closing the tasks”, but really affects the energy sustainability of the country, it is very strong.
– Production in Poltava, installers, engineers, managers – you have a large structure. What is the main value or rule that unites all these people into a single “Panorama”? For what can you be fired from the company immediately, and for what mistakes do you never reprimand?
– The main rule is responsibility. You can look at processes differently, you can argue about decisions, you can make mistakes. But you cannot be indifferent to the result.
In our field, trust is very important. We work with long contracts, with investments, with communities, with critical infrastructure. Therefore, dishonesty, manipulation, deliberate shifting of responsibility or the attitude “it’s not my problem” are things that are unacceptable to me.
But I do not punish honest mistakes. If a person made a mistake, admitted it, drew conclusions and corrected the situation – this is experience. Business does not grow without mistakes. But a mistake and irresponsibility are different things. The first can be corrected. The second destroys the team.
– Entry into Forbes confirmed that energy services in Ukraine have finally become a mature and serious business. Why, in your opinion, do some communities still look at this model with fear, and how do you convince them that this is not an “experiment”, but a real modernization without budget costs?
– I understand the caution of communities. ESCO is indeed not always easy to perceive the first time. Because this is not a classic procurement, where the community allocated funds, bought equipment andwings of the question. Here the investor comes in with his own funds, implements the modernization, and the return on investment occurs through the achieved savings.
But it is not theory that works best, but concreteness. While one community is thinking for two or three years, another has already implemented the project and during this time could save several million hryvnias. And this is a very simple argument. Because energy efficiency is not about “someday later”. It is about money that is either lost every month or remains in the community budget.
We always show real examples: here is the facility, here is the model, here is the contract, here is the savings, here is the responsibility of the parties. When people see the real result, the fear disappears. Because it becomes clear that ESCO is not an experiment, but a full-fledged investment mechanism.
It is also important that communities do not have to choose: either ESCO, or grant, or loan, or state program. The right approach is to take everything that is available and combine tools. If there is a grant – you need to use the grant. If there is an opportunity to attract ESCO – you need to attract ESCO. There is a banking product or an international program – this can also be part of the solution.
In wartime, time is very precious. Every year of delay means lost funds, lost opportunities and weaker infrastructure. Therefore, our position is simple: first you need to calculate the potential, see the financial model, and then not be afraid to make a decision.
– Panorama works throughout Ukraine – from the West to the front-line Kharkiv region. How does the company balance business interests and huge military risks when it invests its own funds in facilities in areas close to the front?
– We do not romanticize risks. War is a reality that must be taken into account very soberly. We evaluate each project from the point of view of security, finances, technical implementation, contractual conditions and the importance of the facility for the community.
But there is an important point: it is precisely where the risks are higher that the need for energy sustainability is often greatest. When it comes to critical infrastructure, water supply, hospitals or other important facilities, we look not only at the business model, but also at the impact of the project.
Of course, business must count money. Otherwise, it will not be able to work for a long time. But Ukrainian business today cannot stand aside. If we want a strong country, we must invest in its sustainability now.
– You noted that the Forbes Next 250 is not the final point, but the start of a new stage. What are the three main tasks facing Panorama Group in the coming year? Is this related to the development of our own metal construction workshop in Poltava?
– For us, Forbes Next 250 is not the finish line. I would say that it is an important checkpoint.
Such things are important not only for the market, partners or potential investors. They are very important for the team within the company. Because when people work remotely for a long time, go through complex projects, risks, negotiations, construction, responsibility to communities – it is important for them to see that this path is noticed and recognized.
Forbes Next 250 for us is external confirmation that Panorama has already become a noticeable company in the market. But at the same time, it is also raising the bar. If you are noticed, then you need to prove that this is not a coincidence.
This is not the first important recognition for us. At the end of 2025, we received the 100gREen Award – in fact, the “green Oscar” in the field of renewable energy – for the implementation of the facility on Khmelnytsky Waterworks. It was very valuable for the team, because such awards show that our work is important not only for a particular community, but also for the development of the market as a whole.
We have three main tasks for the coming year.
The first is to scale energy service projects. We want more communities, waterworks, hospitals and other critical infrastructure facilities to receive modern energy solutions without initial budget costs.
The second is to strengthen the company’s investment capacity. ESCO requires capital, trust, partnerships with banks, funds, international programs and private investors. We see great potential for Ukraine in this.
Third – to increase our own technical and operational capacity. It is important for us to implement more projects qualitatively, quickly and on a turnkey basis. In this context, our own metal construction workshop in Poltava is an important part of our infrastructure. It gives us more control over quality, deadlines and production processes.
But the strategic core of “Panorama” remains the same – energy services, investments in energy and practical solutions for the energy independence of communities.
– Now, many communities are looking for quick solutions due to decentralization and energy problems. What is the first and easiest step you would advise a community head to take who reads this interview and wants to cooperate with you under the ESCO model?
– The first step is to look at their most energy-intensive facilities. Where does the community spend the most energy?Where is the critical infrastructure? Where is energy sustainability most important?
These can be water utilities, hospitals, educational institutions, heat supply facilities, street lighting. Next, it is worth doing a preliminary energy analysis. It answers simple but important questions: what is the potential for savings, what solutions are possible, is the facility suitable for the ESCO model, what can be the financial logic of the project.
My advice to community leaders is not to be afraid to start with an analysis. This does not oblige you to immediately make complex decisions, but it gives an understanding of the opportunities. And today’s opportunities need to be used quickly. Because energy efficiency is no longer just about savings. It is about safety, sustainability and the future of the community.
The history of Panorama Group is an example of how consistency, willingness to take responsibility and strategic vision allow not only to develop your own business, but also to create solutions that are important for the country. After all, successful business today is not only about financial results, but also about long-term prospects and willingness to invest in the future. The entry of Panorama Group into the Forbes Ukraine Next 250 rating became a natural recognition of this path and at the same time a new point of growth for the company.
Energy Club sincerely congratulates Panorama Group and its head Vitaliy Shevchenko on this significant event. We wish the team successful implementation of all ambitious plans, new large-scale projects, reliable partnerships and further professional achievements. We are convinced that the company has many more significant victories and professional achievements ahead.
