This year, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation received a record number of applications for the contest #VARTO Start Your Own Business – 219.
Experts are currently reviewing the applications, and the winners will be announced on April 22. The projects were submitted by representatives of 22 regions and the capital of Ukraine. Among the record-breaking regions:
- Lviv region – 27 applications;
- Kharkiv region – 24 applications;
- Ivano-Frankivsk region – 21 applications.
In total, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation has already supported 176 veteran business projects that participated in the #VARTO funding contests in 2022-2023. The total amount of funding under the contracts amounted to over UAH 293 million.
“In March 2024, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation held a new contest #VARTO Start Your Own Business. We received 219 applications from veterans. The amount of funding under the terms of the competition ranges from 500 thousand to 1.5 million hryvnias. The number of winners will be announced on April 16,” says Ruslana Velychko-Tryfoniuk, acting executive director of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
She also notes that an important goal of the contests is to support veteran entrepreneurship in communities.
“This means not only taxes to local budgets, but also employment of veterans. Most veterans who have received funds for business development say they have either already employed or are ready to hire a person with combat experience. If you want to learn more about veteran-owned businesses in your region, you can use the map of veteran-owned businesses that we created together with LUN. You can also add your business to the map if you are a veteran,” said Ruslana Velychko-Tryfoniuk.
Veterans, wives/husbands of veterans, their parents, children, and families of deceased defenders can participate in the VARTO Start Your Own Business contests. Importantly, the business must be officially registered as an individual entrepreneur or legal entity.
