The Ukrainian Veterans’ Fund of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs together with the charity fund “MHP – Communities” presented the concept of the #Varto “Doing Your Own” financing program, which will be launched soon.
Under this program, veterans, as well as relatives of fallen defenders, will be able to receive from 500,000 to 1.5 million hryvnias to start and develop their own business.
The total budget of the competition is 15 million hryvnias.
“The list of industries forming the world economy also includes agriculture. The agricultural sector and the food industry embody revolutionary transformations. The number of people on the planet is growing, so new ideas are needed to protect the world from hunger. Ukraine is positioned as a country focused on the food industry of world importance, so new technologies are being implemented here the fastest, and there is a transition from extensive to intensive agriculture. Where, for example, drones are becoming an integral part of the industry. We are focused on the introduction of new technologies that do not require a lot of manual labor. Fortunately, it is the veteran business that implements innovations and technologies the fastest, because they have already dealt with the latest technology on the battlefield, so they are not afraid to work with it in civilian life,” says Ruslana Velychko-Trifonyuk, first deputy executive director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation.
During 2022, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation held two macro-financing contests, in which 53 winners received financing in the amount from 500,000 to 1000000 UAH.
This year, the veteran business support project is being implemented in partnership with the “MHP – Community” charitable foundation. The Foundation has been supporting micro-entrepreneurship in the regions for the last several years. Last year, “MHP – Community” financed the opening and development of 85 businesses for UAH 7.4 million in 11 regions of Ukraine.
“For our Foundation, cooperation with the UVF and the Ministry of Veterans became not just a logical continuation of the “Do Your Own” competition, but a matter of honor. Supporting and helping military personnel and their families is one of the vectors of our activity. The restoration of Ukraine will not begin after victory. This process is already underway. And the quality of life of all our future generations depends on what kind of environment, what ecosystem in communities we create for those who protect us on the front lines. Because veterans should know: people are waiting for them. Families, communities, Ukraine. They are needed,” emphasizes Tetyana Volochai, director of the “MHP — Community” charitable foundation.
In addition to funding, veteran entrepreneurship will also receive support at the legislative level.
“We are working on the regulation of veteran business initiatives at the legislative level. During the crisis, it was exactly the veteran business that did not relocate, but remained working in Ukraine, creating jobs and helping the economy. So we have to do everything to support these initiatives,” says Maksym Kushnir, director of the department of civic identity and veteran development.
One of the winners of the previous funding program of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund was a veteran entrepreneur, Oleksandr Kvyatkovskyi, who is developing a business in the field of agricultural drones.
“Those farms where the fighting took place are trying to use tractor tillage as little as possible. It takes more than one year for thorough demining, and here the drone is a safer alternative to the tractor: there are fewer passes of heavy equipment, and there are fewer chances of hitting a mine or an unexploded shell,” says Oleksandr Kvyatkovskyi.
Photo – “MHP — Community”
