Business Relocation: Where Are the Women? December 2022
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Author: The Women‘s Information Consultative Center. Anastasiya Nenka, Director. Olena Suslova, Founder wicc.net.ua Project coordinator: ©Nacionalinė nevyriausybinių vystomojo bendradarbiavimo organizacijų platforma / Lithuanian NGDO Platform Contact: Justina Kaluinaitė, justina@vbplatforma.org Cover photo: Jakub Ivanov / Unsplash.com
This publication is part of the project VBirNVO3 funded by the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour. The publication and its contents are the author‘s sole responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the donor‘s views.
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While at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, around 70-80% of small and mediumsized businesses ceased their activities, more than half a year on many of them have returned, creating new jobs and more varied business types. Both government measures and international organisations have contributed to this recovery. Entrepreneurs themselves were and continue to be active participants in this process. YeRobota (Ukrainian for “I Work”) is a government programme that provides grants to agricultural and food-processing enterprises as well as other types of small and micro businesses. One mandatory condition to receiving such grants is that business founders must be citizens of Ukraine and their initiatives must create new jobs. There are 4 types of grants under the YeRobota programme: • to create or develop a small business; • for gardening, berry growing, and viticulture; • for greenhouse farms; • for processing enterprises. The total budget of the programme is 16 billion UAH (almost 415 million EUR). Applications are accepted through the Diia portal1. Grants of up to 250,000 UAH (around 6,500 EUR) are available for micro and small businesses. Among the projects aimed specifically at women entrepreneurs and owners of family businesses is a theme titled “Business support during the war and in the post-war period”. It is implemented by the NGO Ukrainian Investment and Trade Facilitation Center (ITFC)2 with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy of Ukraine programme. Under the West Business Hub relocation programme, female citizens of Ukraine are offered: • financial support: rent payment in the West Business Hub space for a period of up to 6 months. The hub is a large, shared production space where businesswomen set up their productions; • organisation of placement and arrangement of a workplace, production or office; • consultations and mentoring support; • the possibility of business development and scaling in cooperation with a business development manager. As the wise know well, you cannot stop a person whose time for creativity and development has come. Olena Khatmullina is one of the first Donetsk kurkuls (a programme under which Ukrainian peasants in the Donbas region receive financial support for their agricultural activities).3 In peacetime, the entrepreneur produced and sold hygiene products. Now she lives between two regions: she is trying to settle down in the Ternopil region, and also continues doing business in Kostyantynivka (Donetsk region) as well as volunteering in many areas related to the urgent needs of people who have been evacuated or live in areas where atrocities took place. 1 2 3
https://diia.gov.ua/ more on Diia: https://ukraine.ua/invest-trade/digitalization/ http://tradecenter.org.ua/ https://suspilne.media/268560-u-kostantinivci-misceva-pidpriemnica-odin-biznes-relokuvala-a-insij-zapocatkuvala/
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“I adjusted my equipment and now it works again, but in a different direction. When I moved, I immediately began to study the new area. There are many villages around. Accordingly, the vegetable garden needs to be processed. That’s how the idea of producing spices and dressings for salad arose.” But the sublimation of fruits and vegetables is not the only creative solution for Olena in her new home. The entrepreneur also secured a grant from international organisations and established a poultry farm. “I received a grant for quail.There are up to a hundred of them. Now they lay eggs in Kostyantynivka, where there is a demand for them. I set up an incubator in Ternopil region, because I have plans to expand the farm and relocate it to Donetsk region after our victory.” In addition to entrepreneurial and volunteer activities, Olena together with her partners is also implementing a number of public initiatives such as support for vulnerable people, particularly in relation to blackouts, missile attacks etc., all aimed at improving the lives of communities in her homeland. Women are active in all spheres of life, and business is no exception. After the war started, the majority of Ukrainian businesses closed down but did not relocate, and among the relocated businesses, the majority remained within Ukraine, having moved from one region to another, but not outside the country. And although the average indicator of business activity remains low at 33.9 (out of 100)4, it is nevertheless gradually increasing, especially in the healthcare, transport, and postal services, as well as in the restaurant sector.
4 https://business.diia.gov.ua/cases/novini/stan-ta-potrebi-biznesu-v-ukraini-sektoralnij-rozriz-veresen-2022?fbclid=IwAR0gP 4Yh2EeTrOwVOkff38y7kWHers0LeG5mqC-yyMC3u4Sk_Hl3Y1885eY
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