Lviv has selected another 32 business projects by veterans and their family members to receive grant support from the city. Each will be eligible for up to 300 thousand hryvnias to launch or develop their own enterprise, with the total amount of funding exceeding 9 million UAH.
Agreements with the winners were signed under the city’s “Courage to Do Business” programme. Beforehand, participants completed a two-week training course, during which they worked with experts on business models, financial plans and development strategies. After the training, veterans and their relatives presented and defended their ideas before a selection panel.
The winners include both those who are only planning to embark on entrepreneurship and existing business owners looking to scale up. Among the supported initiatives are the creation of a quail farm for raising poultry and producing meat and eggs, and the development of the inclusive Asgard guest house in the Carpathians, adapted for people with disabilities, veterans, visitors with limited mobility and their families.
The city will also fund the development of a Ukrainian animated and educational product for children, the expansion of production of energy-efficient prefabricated houses, the launch of an automated walnut processing line, as well as the manufacture of souvenir and award products using 3D printing technologies.
A stand-alone project is the historical and tourist site “Buinych”, conceived as a living museum of fourteenth-century medieval Ukraine in the village of Biinychi in the Lviv region. The intention is to combine cultural tourism, educational activities, recreation and veteran-led initiatives.
Grant support will also go to projects in the fields of beauty and health, agribusiness, public catering, car repair, photo and video production, construction, trade and other areas.
“Courage to Do Business” is a municipal programme to support entrepreneurial activity among veterans and their family members, combining training with grant funding. It enables both the launch of new ventures and the development of existing projects. This year the programme has been expanded: it is now open, in particular, to veterans who have taken part in the defence of Ukraine since 2014, and the maximum grant amount has been increased to 300 thousand hryvnias.