Ukrainian NGOs launch platform to support women-owned businesses

WomenINTrade EUA is a web platform for establishing business connections between Ukrainian SMEs owned by women and entrepreneurs from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

During russia's full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territories, many enterprises and businesses suffered losses: they had to evacuate to other cities and parts of the country or start from scratch due to their enterprises being destroyed by russian shelling and looking for opportunities to implement their activities again. Despite the war, the country's economy needs help because supporting it is the primary way to Ukraine's victory and recovery.

What is the solution?

Women IN (WIN) and LifeLine Ukraine launched the WomenINTrade EUA cooperation platform in early March. The main goals are:

• to meet the needs of Ukrainian SMEs owned/managed by women and provide them with opportunities with support from Dutch companies and entrepreneurs in the following areas: business mentoring, market access, finding equipment, micro-credits,
• to create lasting economic ties between Dutch companies and Ukrainian SMEs owned/managed by women,
• to provide women entrepreneurs and managers with tools to improve their practical business skills.

"According to the results of the study "Portrait of Ukrainian women entrepreneurs" in 2022, 16% of female respondents are engaged in export activities, and every third female entrepreneur is considering the possibility of entering foreign markets in the future," says Iryna Tytarchuk, founder of the Women IN initiative (WIN).

Also, 94% of business owners have a positive attitude to partnerships in entrepreneurial activity. "That is why the issue of creating a platform for unification and cooperation is urgent, which provides an opportunity to attract as many necessary resources as possible and cover a wide range of social and economic tasks, overcome obstacles and barriers, as well as effectively scale activities," she emphasized.

How does it work?

Currently, 15 Ukrainian enterprises and four international partners are registered on the platform, and another 25 questionnaires from businesswomen are being processed. If you are a Ukrainian company and want to be represented on the platform, go to the "Join the project" section and fill it out.

"Immediately after the start of the war, LifeLine Ukraine went into active action mode and began the flow of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. As a result, we also met several women and family businesses that were affected. Their sales markets fell to almost nothing. Some of them were located in the occupied territories, etc.," says Marius Dekker, chairman of the board of LifeLine Ukraine.

"We were surprised by the interesting products produced by these companies. That's why we started to help them develop new markets outside of Ukraine," Dekker said, adding that they also automatically gain export experience. 

"The new platform for finding partners we create with Women IN will be a handy tool for Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises and foreign companies looking for new products. Besides, it will remain very valuable even after the end of the war," Dekker added.

Creating the WomenINTrade EUA platform means significant prospects and expansion of opportunities for Ukrainian businesses. Establishing ties with foreign partners will help entrepreneurs survive during the war and scale up in the post-war period, become a solid link to the domestic economy, and integrate into the world economy.

Reference

Women IN (WIN) is a women's initiative. The community develops female leadership, helps and supports starting and scaling a business, and spreads experience and best practices among women entrepreneurs in Ukraine.

LifeLine Ukraine implements fundamental changes in Ukraine, assisting at three levels:

• practical solutions aimed at stimulating Ukrainian SMEs owned by women,
• daily aid through meeting the daily humanitarian needs caused by the war,
• medium-term assistance through the supply of non-consumer goods such as mattresses, water containers, and medical equipment,
• supply of energy solutions (generators) on a small and large scale,
• ICT training for Ukrainian veterans and their families.