An innovative center for business development and support

The long-term Russian aggression continues to have a negative impact on the city's business environment.

According to the Main Department of the State Tax Service in the Kharkiv region, as of 1 June 2023, the number of individual entrepreneurs in Kharkiv was 118,912.

The Department of Administrative Services and the Consumer Market reported that in the first half of 2023, 9.7 thousand sole proprietors ceased operations in Kharkiv, and almost 80% of the business in the Kharkiv region was relocated to the western regions of the country. The statistics are disappointing. Today, about 90,000 IDPs live in the Kharkiv region. Very few of them have managed to find employment. There are 15-21 candidates for one vacant position, depending on the speciality.

At a time when entire lists of the richest women entrepreneurs are published, a special app for business women is created, and social media is flooded with advertisements for working mothers on maternity leave, statistics show disappointing figures - according to the United Nations Development Programme, less than 10% of economic resources in Ukraine are in the hands of women. Women make up 38% of the total number of entrepreneurs. The International Labour Organisation has shown, based on statistical data, that about 50% of women's productivity remains unused.

The aim of the project is to create a business center to strengthen and develop local businesses, restore and further develop the Ukrainian economy. A separate key objective is to increase the entrepreneurial potential of women in the Kharkiv region, enhance their economic independence and promote the development of sustainable and successful businesses by organizing consultations and training for women entrepreneurs.

The application of innovative methodologies and the use of well-known expert experience will help entrepreneurs and newcomers to overcome the challenges they face and implement the changes necessary to create profitable and sustainable businesses. The project also places an important emphasis on supporting participants in their further development by providing opportunities for experience exchange, cooperation and mutual support.

By studying business issues, we plan to continuously expand the services of the business centre, involving the business community of the city and the region.

Everyone will have access to the services of the business centre, with special attention to vulnerable groups: IDPs, people with disabilities, parents of large families, single mothers, and the unemployed.

Project objectives:

1. To promote the strengthening and development of local small and medium-sized businesses

2. Reducing the number of unemployed, assistance in finding a job. Training, consultations, psychosocial support

3. Raising awareness of the local community about government microcredit programmes for small businesses

4. Assistance in obtaining microcredit for their business. Training and consultations

5. Assistance in raising additional funds for business development. Searching for grants and submitting projects for grants

6. Provide support and mentoring: Create opportunities for personal and professional growth of entrepreneurs through individual support, advice and mentorin

7. ncrease the competence of women entrepreneurs: Provide women with the practical knowledge, skills and tools they need to successfully start and manage a business

8. Change gender stereotypes: Promote positive changes in gender stereotypes in society, recognising the importance of women's entrepreneurship and its role in the economy

9. Expand the network of contacts: To create opportunities for communication, exchange of experience and partnership between women entrepreneurs

10. Increase women's economic independence: To promote women's economic independence and enhance their role in society

‍