UAH 5.2 million for women's entrepreneurship development: a new season of the visionary accelerator "Vzvazhna 2. Scaling and Digitalization"
On March 26, Kyiv hosted the presentation of the new season of the visionary women's accelerator "Vzvazhna 2. Scaling and Digitalization". Its goal is to help Ukrainian women start or develop an existing business. The new season of the Vzvazhna accelerator is a logical continuation of the first iteration of the project and is aimed at digitalizing and scaling up their own business.
"The development of Ukrainian entrepreneurship is one of the main priorities of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. That is why we have launched the Diia.Business project and are implementing services in Diia that accelerate and simplify the launch and scaling of your own business. We also continue to implement programs and initiatives that help entrepreneurs develop their businesses. One of them is the visionary accelerator Vzvazhna, which has united a community of 5,000 entrepreneurs. In the first season, the project's winners raised UAH 1.3 million to develop their businesses. The new season will allow us to launch and scale even more businesses, as small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy," said Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
"Vzvazhna offers future and active entrepreneurs a 4-month course in financial planning and management, marketing and sales, business digitalization tools, taxation, accounting, and tools for entering foreign markets.
"Supporting Ukrainian women on their way to entrepreneurship has always been one of our priorities. Especially now, when 60% of new sole proprietorships are started by women. Last year, together with our partners, we launched the Vzvazhna accelerator. It brought together thousands of women entrepreneurs in a large community. Each participant gained the necessary knowledge and support on their way to starting or scaling their own business. Their stories inspired us to continue the program. Today, we are launching the second season of the accelerator to provide even more opportunities for Ukrainian women in the entrepreneurial sphere," said Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine for European Integration.
Based on the results of the training, 40 participants will receive UAH 100,000 each to implement their business ideas. At the final event, Grand Pitch Day, 12 finalists will compete for the main project incentive in the following categories: "Debutante, Visionary, and Barrier-Free Business Project. The three business projects with the highest scores from the jury will each receive an additional UAH 400,000 to develop their own business.
"The successful launch of the Vzvazhna project is an appropriate and timely occasion to emphasize the need to digitalize even more Ukrainian SMEs, which is one of Visa's main focuses. The goal of this year's accelerator is to scale and take the businesses of brave Ukrainian women to the next level. Owning their own successful business gives women access to shaping the country's economic agenda, financial independence and mobility, creating new jobs, increasing production or services, filling the state budget with taxes, and, as a result, strengthening Ukraine's role on the global business map. Mza is ready to support entrepreneurs in every step of their journey, thus expanding access to the digital economy," said Svitlana Chyrva, Vice President, Regional Manager for Ukraine and Moldova at Visa.
The accelerator will combine two learning formats:
- Online learning, where participants will follow a general educational program based on the principles of practicality, interactivity, and leading approaches in business education led by leading speakers. The online modules will be delivered by representatives of Visa, USAID, monobank, Checkbox, Shop-Express, Ukrposhta, and others.
- Offline and virtual bootcamps based on 10 Diia.Business entrepreneur support centers, where participants will receive in-depth business training and mentoring. Preference for participation in the bootcamps will be given to barrier-free business projects and those who are ready to implement these principles in their businesses.
The accelerator participants will also receive additional offers that will accelerate business digitalization from Visa: monobank, Ukrposhta, Checkbox, Shop-Express.
"According to a study on the needs and problems of women entrepreneurs, more than a third of Ukrainian women surveyed say that one of the most common obstacles is lack of access to free training programs, noting financial literacy as one of the most popular areas for improving competencies. It is important to note that other important areas of development identified by entrepreneurs are the digitalization of business processes and the systematization of information. All of this data is concrete evidence that future and active entrepreneurs are striving to improve their skills, develop their own businesses, scale up, and innovate. The Vzvazhna accelerator will become a catalyst for meeting these needs by providing the necessary knowledge and resources for successful business operations," said Andriy Remizov, Director of the State Agency "Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development."
The accelerator participants will also receive additional offers that will accelerate business digitalization from Viza's partners: TopBank, Ukrposhta, Checkbox, Shop-Express.
"According to a study on the needs and problems of women entrepreneurs, more than a third of Ukrainian women surveyed say that one of the most common obstacles is lack of access to free training programs, noting financial literacy as one of the most popular areas for improving competencies. It is important to note that other important areas of development identified by entrepreneurs are the digitalization of business processes and the systematization of information. All of this data is concrete evidence that future and active entrepreneurs are striving to improve their skills, develop their own businesses, scale up, and innovate. The Vzvazhna accelerator will become a catalyst for meeting these needs by providing the necessary knowledge and resources for successful business operations," said Andriy Remizov, Director of the State Agency "Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development."
To learn more about the project and apply for participation, please visit the Program's landing page here: https://www.vidvazhna.com.ua/#about. The application deadline is April 28, 2024 (23:59).
The project will run from April to September 2024. You can watch the recording of the Program presentation here.
In 2023, Vzvazhna brought together more than 5,000 Ukrainian women who received online and offline training at 10 Diia.Business entrepreneurial support centers. As a result of the program, 6 Ukrainian women raised UAH 1.3 million to start and develop their own businesses.
The new season of the visionary women's accelerator "Vzvazhna 2. Scaling and Digitalization" is being implemented by the Diia.Business network of entrepreneur support centers with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development, and with the support of the USAID Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI) and the global initiative She's Next Empowered by Visa.