“Veteran’s Way. Business” – this is the concept that the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation and its partners LUN and Uklon are working together to strengthen veterans through business, to support entrepreneurship and to ensure veterans’ comfortable return home.
On October 30th, they jointly presented an interactive map of veteran businesses at https://misto.lun.ua/veteran. The map brings together businesses launched in different regions of Ukraine by veterans and their families.
This project was the beginning of a collaboration between a government institution and a business that united for the sake of veterans. The Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, as an expert on veterans’ issues, together with its partners, chose the direction of reintegration through business.
Today, veterans’ businesses can be found on an interactive map developed by LUN IT company as part of the LUN City social initiative. No matter where you are in Ukraine, you can use your geolocation to find the nearest veteran business and choose the goods or services you need. Uklon, as one of the largest taxi services in Ukraine, joined the project, both by providing information on the map and by further participating in the reintegration of veterans.
The presented map currently has 77 projects and will continue to be updated.
Ruslana Velychko-Tryfoniuk, acting Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, stated:
“We talk a lot about our funding program winners and often receive questions on social media about where to buy certain veterans’ products. Therefore, we have collected all the businesses that have already passed the competitive selection process at the UVF and where we, as a government agency, can certify that these businesses exist, comply with the law, and have no debts.
This map will be constantly updated. Any legal form and business sector can be placed on the map. Currently, the food industry prevails. The defense industry is gaining momentum. This is natural, as veterans have acquired specialized knowledge that they apply in civilian life and continue to help their comrades. In addition, relations with the military allow us to receive prompt feedback on products.
For security reasons, we do not label businesses that operate close to the war zone. And those businesses that are represented are positive feedback from veteran entrepreneurs themselves.”
The businesses presented include dozens of inspirational veteran success stories. For example, veteran Marko Melnyk. His books are read by many young Ukrainians and General Zaluzhnyi. In 2014, Marko volunteered to go to the front. He was a soldier in the reconnaissance and sabotage unit of the Azov battalion. He is a military journalist. In 2016, he founded one of the first veteran publishing houses in Ukraine in Kyiv. By ordering books from veteran Mark Melnyk, you help provide books for the military.
Volodymyr Dovhan is an ATO veteran and a pottery master. Together with his wife, the man is building a unique pottery in a village in the Kyiv region called Dovgan-art, where they will treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Andriy Sarvira is a veteran, entrepreneur, and founder of the First Wave restaurant in Dnipro. In the early days of the war, the restaurant served hot lunches to the military, IDPs, and police. Five hundred people ate here every day. Now Mr. Sarvira continues to help the army and develop his own business.
There are many such life stories about life after war. And the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, which promotes the establishment and development of veteran businesses and the reintegration of veterans through their own business, announces press tours in the regions so that journalists and bloggers can see private enterprises with their own eyes and get the opportunity to learn more about the stories of veterans and their families in business development and return to civilian life. Support your fellow Ukrainians, too.
Denys Sudilkovsky, Marketing Director of LUN and Ambassador of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, talks about the motivation to support and popularize veteran-owned businesses in all regions of the country:
“We see the future of Ukraine as one where veterans are respected and where veteran businesses have preferences not only in the economic or tax field, but also directly with users. When you have to choose between several businesses, we want people to give preference to those founded by veterans. Therefore, one of the ideas to popularize the project is for users to pay attention to who the business founder is. You can already see the first veteran-owned businesses added to the map, as well as apply to add new businesses to the map.
LUN is a commercial business. LUN.Misto is a non-governmental organization that implements social initiatives. This is our company’s DNA. We treat veterans with the utmost respect because they risked the most valuable things for our common good, for Ukraine’s independence, for its existence. This is the least we can do for veterans – to help them reintegrate into civilian life. We call on responsible businesses to join support initiatives. Develop a culture of honor and respect for veteran businesses among other non-veteran businesses.”
You can use the map on the website of LUN City or the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, as well as in the Uklon app. Click on “find me on the map” and see the businesses that are very close to you or in your city.
Dmytro Dubrovsky, co-founder and CEO of Uklon, has this to say about the possibilities of popularizing the project:
“Uklon is a company that is widely represented to consumers. Hence, in this project, Uklon is primarily a logistics partner. In particular, through the Inclusive car class. But we are ready to support the popularization of the veteran business card not only through advertising integration. For example, in a mobile application, the user can mark veteran businesses located nearby on the route of their trip. As a company, we believe that supporting veterans and veteran-owned businesses is the least we can do in return. And this support should come from all businesses and society as a whole. Reintegration of veterans into society is something we are already working on by supporting the initiatives of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation.”
To date, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation has supported 440 veteran-owned businesses (as of 10.2023). Of these, 263 were supported under the 20K program and 177 veteran businesses under the Varto program. In addition, 18 non-governmental organizations received funds to implement projects that help veterans and their families under the VARTO+GO competition program.
For reference:
The Ukrainian Veterans Foundation is a state-owned provider of reintegration services for veterans into productive civilian life. The UVF team works for veterans and their families every day. While veterans are once again defending Ukraine on the frontline and protecting our future, the UVF cares about their tomorrow, about their return home in body and soul.
The UVF is engaged in financing veterans’ businesses (microfinance, large competitive programs with the opportunity to receive up to UAH 3 million for their own business), provides legal advice, crisis support on the Hotline, conducts surveys and analytical research, studies the needs of veterans and provides solutions and opportunities.
LUN City is a social initiative of the Ukrainian IT company LUN. At the beginning of the full-scale war, a series of interactive maps was launched on the LUN City website: the maps provided information about working pharmacies, gasoline availability, facilities with generators during blackouts, etc.
There are currently two current projects: The Inclusivity Map and the Veteran Business Map, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation and Uklon.
LUN City maps also provide information on shelters, kindergarten occupancy, charity boxes, pump rooms, etc. The map is available throughout Ukraine, and it is free to use and add your own establishments.
Uklon is an online car ordering service that unites tens of thousands of drivers in 27 cities of Ukraine. The service is a development of the product IT company of the same name. Uklon is a member of the IT Ukraine Association and the European Business Association.
