On February 26, 2024, Kyiv hosted the Grand Pitch Day of the educational grant program Pochinok. Ten finalists of the program presented their business ideas to the jury and competed for two main project incentives – up to $5,000 in additional funding to implement their business ideas.
The educational and grant program Pochinok aimed to improve the business skills of Ukrainian women and help them launch or develop their own businesses. The project included online and offline training, consultations with leading psychologists, mentoring from business experts, and financial support for business development.
Ten finalists of the Grand Pitch Day were selected from 200 participants of the Program, who had already attracted financial support of up to $3,000 for business development during their participation in the project. The participants received the highest scores for their business presentations from mentors from the Diia.Business network of entrepreneurial support centers, actively attended educational classes during their studies, and, accordingly, had high academic performance in the project.
“We at the Ministry of Digital Transformation are building a country of entrepreneurs. That is why we created the national project Diia.Business, which provides free opportunities and tools for entrepreneurs. We pay special attention to women entrepreneurs, as women now account for 60% of new sole proprietors. Therefore, we strive to help Ukrainian women acquire the necessary business knowledge and receive specialized support. The educational and grant program Pochinok has become a record in terms of the speed of registrations and the activity of participants. Almost 6,000 entrepreneurs took part in the program, of which 200 participants received up to $3,000 to develop their own business idea or a new line of business,” said Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration.
Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration
According to the jury’s vote, the two main awards of the Initiative were given to the following participants:
● Iryna Antonchyk, AgroHobby garden center. She studied at the Diia.Business center in Lutsk
● Natalia Olshanska, production of natural dogwood products Famberry. She studied at the Diia.Business center in Kryvyi Rih.
Winners of the Grand Pitch Day
“The Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development and the national project Diia.Business are actively involved in the implementation of educational and grant projects aimed at supporting women’s entrepreneurship. The Startup program has become an important first step for many Ukrainian women to start a business or the necessary inspiration to continue developing their own business. During the training, participants gained new business knowledge, mental, mentoring and financial support. Today we saw competitive, strong and creative participants who proved by their own example that Ukrainian business is not standing still, but is actively moving towards new achievements,” said Andriy Remizov, Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development.
Andriy Remizov, Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development
More than 6,000 women entrepreneurs took part in the educational and grant program
In the first stage of training, participants attended 11 online lectures from leading business experts and a project psychologist. Entrepreneurs learned more about: business model analysis, financial management, leadership psychology for women, strategies for success and self-development, digital transformation of small and medium-sized businesses, team management and building HR processes, etc.
The second stage of the training included 367 participants who presented presentations on their future or existing businesses to the project’s independent mentors. In addition, the entrepreneurs were involved in 11 online and offline business and psychology classes at Diia.Business centers, received individual mentoring support, and had the opportunity to compete for financial support from the Program. The total grant fund of the program is UAH 22,570,000.
“The Grand Pitch Day is of great importance as a key moment in the UN Women project “Strengthening Gender Response and Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls in the Context of the Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis in Ukraine”. This event is the culmination of efforts, a platform where women’s aspirations and entrepreneurial endeavors take center stage. It provides a unique opportunity for participants to showcase their business ideas, innovations and plans to a diverse audience,” said Julia Broussard, UN Women Deputy Representative in Ukraine.
Julia Broussard, UN Women Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine
The expert jury of the Grand Pitch Day included:
● Aslikhan Ozkan, Planning and Partnerships Specialist, UN Women Ukraine
Yevheniia Klepa, Director of Partnerships and Innovations, SET University
Valeriya Chachybaya, producer, Forbes Ukraine
Anton Shulyk, financier, entrepreneur and co-founder of fint8 platform
Grand Pitch Day jury
Criteria for evaluating the business projects of Grand Pitch Day participants by the jury:
● Vision, ability to implement the project – participants had to justify a step-by-step plan for its implementation.
● Business project, relevance and effectiveness of the project – the idea must meet the goals of the acceleration program and market requirements, having a positive impact on Ukrainian business and the culture of doing business.
● Realism of the hypothesis – the project must be aimed at meeting the needs of the target audience and meet the hypothesis of the market niche that the company plans to occupy.
Competitive advantages – the parameters that distinguish a company, product, service or business concept from competitors in the selected niche are evaluated.
Financial strategy – participants must present a description of specific areas of development of the company, product, service or business concept, which will be the focus of further investments, as well as a plan to increase the project’s profitability.
For reference:
The educational and grant program Start was implemented by the network of entrepreneur support centers Diia.Business with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development with the support of UN Women Ukraine and the Government of Japan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Tirana will hold a meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, will participate in the summit “Ukraine – Southeast Europe”.
“With the Prime Minister of Albania and his team we will hold talks on defense and political cooperation, support for the Formula World and work on security agreements. Albania is one of the countries that joined the G7 Vilnius Declaration, for which we are very grateful,” Zelensky wrote in his Telegram channel on Wednesday, calling Edi Rama an uncompromising friend of Ukraine.
“In the format “Ukraine – Southeast Europe”, which is meeting for the second time, we will talk about our common path to the Euro-Atlantic goal. I will offer to support Ukraine’s efforts to ensure a just and lasting peace, the organization of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland,” he informed.
In addition, the President of Ukraine will hold bilateral meetings with the participants of the summit.
Change in consumer prices in 2022-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
During a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Crown Prince, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud.
“The Ukrainian head of state emphasized the desire of Saudi Arabia to help restore a just peace in Ukraine,” the presidential press service reported.
Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud exchanged views on the current situation in the world and possible ways to end the war in Ukraine.
The parties discussed the realization of the Formula for Peace. The President of Ukraine thanked the Crown Prince for his valuable advice on speeding up the process of implementation of a number of its points.
“Saudi Arabia’s leadership can help to find fair solutions,” the President said.
The Head of State informed the Crown Prince about the preparation by Ukraine together with its partners of the first Global Summit of Peace at the level of leaders, which will be held in Switzerland. Volodymyr Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud discussed the content of the summit and possible steps to really restore security for Ukraine, all of Europe and all peoples of the world.
“We are equally interested in ensuring global stability,” the President emphasized.
The leaders also discussed specific opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia in the economic and technological sphere.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud instructed the teams of the two states to work on the relevant areas discussed during the meeting.
Due to the fault of foreign drivers with a valid insurance contract “Green Card” last year in Ukraine there were 315 road accidents (RTA).
As reported in Facebook Motor (transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine, according to the law of Ukraine on compulsory insurance of motor liability, in such cases the damage to the injured driver is compensated at the expense of the Insurance Guarantee Fund of the MTSBU.
“Such regulatory payment is carried out on the terms and amounts established by the legislation of Ukraine and the principles of mutual settlement of damage on the territory of the member countries of the international system of automobile insurance “Green Card”, it is noted in the message.
ITSBU is the only association of insurers carrying out compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles for damage caused to third parties.
“Green Card” – a system of insurance protection of victims in a traffic accident regardless of the country of their residence and the country of registration of the vehicle. “Green Card” covers the territory of 45 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
According to the decision adopted by the General Assembly of the Council of the Bureau of the International Motor Insurance System “Green Card” in Luxembourg in May 2004, Ukraine is a full member of this system since January 1, 2005.
auto insurance, car insurance, DRIVERS, GREEN CARD, insurance bureau
2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD billion)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
