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A full-scale war became a challenge for Ukrainian enterprises. Many businesses lost production, were forced to relocate to other regions and start their business from scratch. Women entrepreneurs and owners of family businesses, whose activities are currently the "backbone" of the economy, were especially affected.

 

However, they did not give up and continue to develop their own business. This is proven by the statistics of the Opendatabot service. So, in 2023, every second new FOP will be opened by women — 51% of those registered for the year in general. For example, in 2022, the number of open IEs was dominated by men.

 

Therefore, Women Biz Days workshops will be held for women entrepreneurs. This is a series of trainings that will help women business owners to develop existing entrepreneurial skills and to form new ones - according to the principles of sustainability. There have been numerous requests from women entrepreneurs regarding the support provided within the framework of this initiative, because the project has already helped many of their colleagues to maintain and develop their own businesses. It is about the long-term project "Expanding the opportunities of women's entrepreneurship in Ukraine", which was implemented on the initiative of the Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP). In particular, Women Biz Days.

 

"The USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP) supports women entrepreneurs in Ukraine. This support is especially important in times of unprecedented challenges, when women daily overcome many difficulties and increasingly take on a role in running a business and ensuring the country's economic stability. The Women Biz Days initiative will promote the establishment of female leadership, the development of entrepreneurial skills, as well as the creation of favorable conditions for the development of business and innovation," comments Olesya Zaluska, head of the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP).

 

Women Biz Days workshops are designed for female entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). They will cover the legal, marketing, and financial spheres of business development. During the workshops, leading speakers will tell you how to build effective communications, run social networks, present yourself and conduct export activities. In fact, workshops will provide an impetus and a basis for the further development of businesses, will help their owners to adapt to new realities and be successful in them.

 

A total of 8 workshops are planned, two of them in 2023. They will be held in two formats: online and offline.

- November 29-30, 2023 in Ivano-Frankivsk;

- December 20-21, 2023, virtually

 

Other workshops will be held in Kyiv, Ternopil, Uzhgorod, Khmelnytskyi and online next year.

Register using the link.

*The selection results will be announced 2 weeks before the start of the workshop. 20 participants can attend one workshop

 

"For more than 10 years, Ukraine has been actively joining the global trend for greater involvement of women in economic life and increasing their social and cultural role in the state," says Iryna Tytarchuk, executive director of the Ukraine Investment and Trade Facilitation Center. - The survey among the community of female entrepreneurs showed that 40% - continue to work, 30% - closed the business, but plan to resume activity, 15% - stopped activity completely. We are proud that our Center, together with partners, will implement such an important initiative for business now"

 

The project "Expanding opportunities for women's entrepreneurship in Ukraine" provides large-scale assistance to Ukrainian enterprises, in particular:

- West Business Hub: Intensive session — summary of the relocation program;

- Women Partnership Hackathon — a 3-day hackathon for creating partnership ideas for businesses of Ukrainian women entrepreneurs with a prize fund;

- Women Podcast — a series of podcasts with successful women entrepreneurs who are graduates of the project's initiatives;

- The board game "Women IN: Leadership and Business" about women's leadership, the role of women in the economy, science and society, including the achievements of women in unpredictable/crisis situations;

- WomenInTrade EUA — cooperation with a web platform for establishing business relations between Ukrainian SMEs owned by women and entrepreneurs from the Kingdom of the Netherlands;

- An advocacy campaign aimed at gender optics — to influence and improve the protection of women's rights and opportunities;

- Update of the results of the study "Ukrainian Female Entrepreneur Profile".

 

The project will last until July 2024 in order to continue to support small and medium-sized Ukrainian businesses, and for Ukraine to recover its economy faster.

 

For reference: The USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP) supports startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) aiming to provide support for competitive industries and firms on Ukrainian and international markets, foster a better business enabling environment, and enabling Ukrainian companies to benefit from international trade.