In Lviv, participants of the municipal programme “Courage for Business” presented their business ideas to the selection panel, for which they can receive grants of up to 300,000 UAH to start or develop their own enterprises. The project is aimed at supporting male and female veterans and members of their families, the Lviv City Council reported.
The pitching session was the final stage for more than a dozen and a half participants who had undergone intensive business training over two weeks. Together with mentors and experts, they studied the basics of entrepreneurship, financial planning, marketing and business development, while simultaneously working on their own business plans.
Yesterday, 14 July, 16 projects were presented to the panel. The ideas included an eco-friendly passenger transport service, a workshop for repairing musical instruments, an adaptive sports centre for veterans, a modern quail farm, a psychotherapeutic support centre, a studio for creating photo and video content, the production of decorative items using 3D printing and other initiatives. Next comes the presentation of the second batch of applications, after which the panel will determine the winners of the grant competition.
One of the projects was presented by veteran Liubomyr Diak. His business idea, Asgard, is an inclusive holiday home in the Carpathians designed for veterans, people with disabilities, guests with limited mobility and their families. The concept envisages a fully barrier-free environment: a ramp and step-free entrance, an adapted bathroom, wide doorways, a parking space next to the entrance and a vertical lift to the terrace for visitors who use a wheelchair.
“Asgard was born not from a spreadsheet, but from my personal experience of recovery after the war. It was this experience that prompted me to create my own space in the mountains,” said Liubomyr Diak.
The project author plans to use the grant funds to install an autonomous power supply system with solar panels and batteries, which will allow the house to operate for up to eight hours without an external electricity supply.
The “Courage for Business” programme helps participants move from an idea to launching a business, combining training, mentoring support and financial assistance. Recently, important changes have been made to its terms. Whereas previously grants could only be obtained by those who had taken part in combat operations after 24 February 2022, now all veterans of Ukraine have the right to participate, starting from 2014, that is, from the beginning of the ATO/JFO.
The pool of potential applicants has also been expanded: applications can now be submitted not only by male and female veterans, but also by their family members — wives, husbands, adult children and parents, as well as close relatives of fallen, missing or captured service personnel.
Another update concerns the training format. Applicants have been divided into two groups: existing entrepreneurs and beginners. Business owners who have been officially registered as business entities for more than 12 months may skip the mandatory training course and submit a business plan for a grant straight away. For those who are only planning to start their own business from scratch, offline training remains compulsory.
The project is being implemented by the Department of Economic Development and the Entrepreneurship Support Centre of the Lviv City Council together with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The initiative is carried out within the framework of the project “Expanding Economic Opportunities for Women and Youth in Western Ukraine for Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery” and the programme “Courage for Business: Grant Support for Entrepreneurial Activities of Veterans and Their Families” with the support of the Government of Austria in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.