The Expert Council of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, which will evaluate the project applications submitted for the VARTO Start Your Own Business competition, includes three experts: Olha Veselovska, Maria Kot, and Vitalii Masyuk. Here are the details of the experience and motivation of those who will select the projects that will receive financial support from the Foundation.
Olha Veselovska has over 10 years of experience in managing international projects in the private and public sectors and over 7 years in managing non-profit organizations.
The expert’s competencies include launching projects from scratch, developing organizational procedures, policies, project and financial documentation, including establishing budgeting and reporting processes (including to international auditors), forming and developing teams, and cooperating with government partners at various levels to implement reforms, international organizations, UN agencies, and international technical assistance projects.
With experience in financial management of multimillion-dollar international projects, Olha is an expert in budgeting and financial management. Since 2018, she has been working on projects aimed at combating domestic violence and developing a national system for preventing domestic violence.
“I am sincerely glad to join the cohort of experts of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation. I believe that veteran-owned businesses will not only contribute to the economic recovery of our country, but will also become a real driver of its development,” the expert says.
Maria Kot is a co-founder and managing partner at APT (Ukrainian Human Capital Investment Agency) and a lecturer at UCU Business School.
Maria has over 14 years of experience in the IT industry and education, of which 8 years she has held senior positions in recruiting and management, business development, and operational management. She is a lecturer at UCU Business School, a trainer and author of training programs in HR management, leadership and HRM, and a certified SHRM specialist (SCP, PMQ, Veterans at Work).
“For me, participation in the Expert Council is an opportunity to contribute to the support and development of veteran initiatives and projects that can make our state more resilient to current challenges and help the country’s economic recovery after the war. I am glad that the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation is exactly the platform that attracts competent and qualified experts with diverse experience and expertise from various fields and unites them under one slogan: care, support and development of veterans’ opportunities. Since I am familiar with the specifics of building and expanding a business in Ukraine, understand the problems and needs of business today, it is important for me to contribute to the stability and development of the country and to the development of the veteran movement by joining the Expert Council,” says Maria.
Vitalii Masyuk is a co-founder and managing partner of ASBG Systems, a company specializing in innovative solutions in business intelligence and computer systems management, and a resident of Diia.City.
Vitalii Masyuk has been specializing in accounting and management consulting for 20 years, and for the last six years has been focusing on digitalization and automation of accounting processes, evaluation of investment programs in the processing and agricultural sectors.
Vitalii has a master’s degree in management, specialized education in accounting, and has acquired additional competencies in IT project management and business process optimization.
He is a member of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and a member of the NGO “NEW HONEST UKRAINE”. He specializes in social and human resources policy of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, advocacy for the rights of military personnel and veterans.
As a postgraduate student of the Department of Public Administration and Project Management at the University of Education Management of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, he focuses his academic interest and research on the issues of social protection of combatants and the mechanism of their provision.
“The value of the “VARTO Start Your Own Business” program is the quality reintegration of veterans. We need to expand the focus from thanking veterans for their invaluable service to creating conditions for their successful transition to the civilian sector. I believe that this is not only a moral obligation to our defenders, but also a strategic step to preserve and support the spirit of the nation. Financial support for veteran businesses helps restore their dignity and self-esteem, make them feel useful to society, and open up new horizons in civilian life,” explains Vitalii Masyuk on what motivated him to join the Expert Council of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation.
It should be noted that the three experts were selected from among 21 candidates in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Expert Councils of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation and the Regulations on the Commission for the Selection of Experts to the Expert Councils. The Expert Council is now beginning to process the project applications submitted for the “VARTO Start Your Own Business” competition.
