Ukrainian social enterprise helps people with disabilities to become more independent

At InvaFishky, you can find everything, from accessories for opening cans to various wheelchairs. Since its foundation, the main goal has been to improve the independent lives of people who have received various types of injuries. At first, there was a portal with helpful advice, which later grew into a social enterprise — a store where everyone could find goods for rehabilitation, home improvement, or sports equipment.

We spoke with Vitalii Pcholkin, one of the founders of the social enterprise, who told us more about what tools are presented at the store, how much they help people with disabilities, and what difficulties the team encountered while developing the enterprise.

What is the problem?

Vitaly Pcholkin was injured in 2007 after an unsuccessful dive into the water. Due to a back injury, he ended up in a wheelchair. The complex injury led to various disorders in the body. "Most of the actions that I used to perform unconsciously at the everyday level became unattainable for me after the injury," says Pcholkin.

He understood that full recovery was not in the plans. Therefore, he came to the conclusion that it is necessary to adapt to the conditions of a new life.

"I participated in an active rehabilitation camp, met instructors who were independent in everyday life, relied on their experience in searching for solutions, arranging the space around me. I took some things from foreign experience because this has never happened in Ukraine. I made most of the devices with my friends, and others were made for me by my father," recalls Pcholkin.

He divided these things into two parts: what can be done to arrange a person's life with a disability and assistive devices — those that can compensate for a part of the body that does not work.

"I shared the ideas of my products among people with disabilities, and I realized they are useful not only for me," says Pcholkin.

What is the solution?

During his work, Pcholkin had the idea to organize his solutions into a separate project — a site that different people could access. This is how InvaFishki appeared. The primary idea was to share knowledge, but then Pcholkin realized that people didn't need ideas — they needed a finished product.

In 2017, the idea of founding an entire social enterprise was born. Pcholkin got acquainted with 3D printing, which made it possible to create inexpensive individual products.

"I realized that 3D printing technologies can make a cheap but high-quality individual product — fork or spoon grabber, opener, etc. Something simple but useful," says Pcholkin.

It was difficult to do business alone, so the entrepreneur gathered a team of three friends. They developed their idea together and submitted it to the accelerator. In 2019, a social enterprise appeared — the InvaFishky store. Thanks to the accelerator, it was possible to get a 3D printer on which the first products could be created.

When the team founded the social enterprise, the founders were already known in the circle of people with disabilities, so it was not difficult to enter the market, especially since there were no similar solutions in Ukraine then.

They made a store from two components: what they create and what is available on the Ukrainian market in ordinary medical equipment — goods aimed at improving self-service. "We have collected everything on our website so that a person with a disability can find anything for themself," says Pcholkin.

However, according to the founders of InvaFishky, five years ago, auxiliary products were offered not to a person with a disability but to someone who is engaged in caring for them. The idea of a social enterprise was to make people more independent thanks to what was purchased on the site.

The shop offers various products to make the life of a disabled person more convenient and independent. One of the products sold on the website is cuffs worn on the arm, which you can put a spoon or fork into. They are necessary for a person whose fingers do not work so they can eat independently. 

Currently, the company has three 3D printers, one of which is of a professional level. Some of the products are created independently, and the other part is outsourced.

Now, the company has a small team, but among them are also people with disabilities, who consult buyers remotely.

"Our task is not to force a person to buy, but to make a person able to do as much as possible independently," says Pcholkin.

The most important problem that Pcholkin faced was the lack of experience in entrepreneurial work.

"It was difficult to understand how all the mechanisms work," says Pcholkin.

Then, the team had to delve into the processes of cooperation with suppliers, learn how to work with marketing and promote ideas. When the first employees appeared, the entrepreneurs had to understand how to ensure the sustainability and future of the enterprise.

Another challenge was finding a room for InvaFishki that people with disabilities could use. It took almost a year to find an accessible option.

Pcholkin says that after the start of the full-scale war, the demand for products from InvaFishki grew and changed a little. Earlier, the shop's audience was mainly people in wheelchairs with various lesions of the spinal cord and strokes; now, it is already people with various types of amputations.

"I have been disabled for 18 years, and I have the education of an occupational therapist, but even I still find new things for myself and improve them. This process of improving life is continuous," says Pcholkin.

InvaFishki also cooperates with rehabilitation specialists. Hospitals have samples of project products. The team provides some of its items to people with disabilities for free and gives discounts on others.

"Our goal is to ensure that people receive these things on time, that they are accessible, and that they are free of charge or provided by the state," Pcholkin says.

The first thing to do is to buy from the InvaFishki website.

If you do not have a disability but want to support the project, you can buy everyday things on the website: irrigators, brushes, various medical equipment, thermometers, and tonometers. 

Second, the team invites enterprises with different capacities for processing wood, metal, and design bureaus to cooperate.

"We have simple equipment for processing wood, but we want to improve and make our products better," Pcholkin explains.

The third way is to spread information about InvaFishki.

"We see our mission and value in the fact that a person with a disability can achieve great independence. Of course, there are different states, but we can simplify life so that people have the right mindset," Pcholkin is convinced.