More than 180 local and relocated entrepreneurs received support as part of the “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” project

Project Results

Twelve trainings, four networking events, and 30 engaged experts who conducted 245 business consultations for more than 180 local and relocated entrepreneurs – these are the results of the “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” project during the support of the Save Business Now Crisis Coordination Center from April to December, for nine months of full-scale war.

Ivano-Frankivsk became one of those cities in which business people found temporary or permanent shelter, in cities where active hostilities were and are being conducted as a result of full-scale Russian aggression.

From the first days of the war, the Save Business Now crisis coordination center supported businesses and entrepreneurs who relocated to Ivano-Frankivsk.

The “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” project supported the activities of the crisis coordination center Save Business Now and, as a response to the challenges of the war, implemented activities to support local and relocated businesses.

Such support included free training sessions from practicing experts, networking events, and free consultations from specialists financed by the project during the first year of operation, from April 2022 to March 2023.

Conducted training

More than 180 entrepreneurs attended 12 free training sessions from April to December on various topics: marketing, export, personal branding, cooperation with the media, development of digital products, successful relocation experience, team support during war, team management, etc. The project team invited 12 practicing professional speakers who shared their experiences with the participants – local and relocated entrepreneurs and representatives of SMEs. On average, each training was attended by about 40 participants.

Hanna Yakushko, owner of an online store for gluten-free products: “As a micro-entrepreneur, it was precious for me to receive support, useful information, and new acquaintances. Some communications have turned into friendships, and some into joint projects, another important value of your project. When but now to unite and create something, supporting and inspiring each other.”

Networking

Another proper format for business was networking, including networking for designers, architects, and manufacturers on the topic “Design as a business,” which pushed to the next event – “Factory Tour” – a tour of 3 production enterprises in Ivano-Frankivsk. There was also a networking event jointly with Chernivtsi Business Group, a business club from Chernivtsi, and a final networking event together with the Ivano-Frankivsk Business Association (BAIF), where business representatives talked about their most significant challenges in 2022 in a panel discussion. It is interesting that the business, although difficult, continues to develop; some companies have even managed to increase sales volumes.

Ruslan Kolishenko, entrepreneur, captain of the Аrmed Forces of Ukraine, an ambassador of the BOARD business community: “First of all, the events of the Save Business Now community are new interesting acquaintances and very high-quality networking. There was a lot of interesting and valuable information, exchange of ideas, great speakers, and the opportunity to ask them your questions. For example, it motivates me to create jobs to invest in new ideas – this is a potent energy for developing myself. I am not ready to single out anyone in particular from the speakers because they all were unique and valuable in their way. It’s just that you take a piece of what you need from each event. Besides that, it evens your emotional background, encourages, motivates, etc.”

Quick Business Help

In the “Quick Business Help” format, 30 experts provided 215 free business consultations on various topics: marketing, sales, business processes, export, grant financing, business strategy, personnel management, and others.

“The format of short consultations helps to focus on a specific request, to receive advice and recommendations in the form of concentrated information. And even if one of the topics did not seem to be a priority — thanks to the consultations, there is an understanding of where to turn the focus of attention,” – says Viktoriya Ivanova, the founder of Kryza Store, who, thanks to consultation with grant expert Lyuba Mocharska and the selected grant program, wrote a grant application and her company received confirmation of financial assistance for relocated enterprises in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Within the framework of the project, two-hour consultations and longer business consulting formats are also available. From April to December, more than 30 two-hour consultations took place. 

For Oksana Arkhipchuk, the founder of the Kaizen network of small schools, the result of the consulting was a new business strategy for the school with long-term development planning until 2025: “The approach of the experts was clear and understandable, the program “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” turned out to be very useful for me.

I consulted several specialists in marketing, business development, and strategy. Rapid Business Assistance helps provide an opportunity to form short-term requests and quickly receive answers from specialists. At two-hour consultations, there is an opportunity to focus on a specific topic and work on it.”

Over nine months, the Save Business Now Crisis Coordination Center supporting the “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” project, helping many entrepreneurs. There were many inspiring stories, warm meetings, and valuable acquaintances during this time.

The “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk” project will continue supporting and assisting in developing micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Dmytro Melnykovych, an expert in personal branding development and vice president of PR at IT Ukraine Association, said: “In my opinion, such events are very effective because entrepreneurs can come and immediately receive advice from competent experts. Such meetings are now very timely because they help businesses in difficult times. Grateful for the clarity, constructiveness, and usefulness of expert advice, everything went very well.”

The project “New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk (NEF) – support of new clusters of innovative economic activity in Ivano-Frankivsk” is financed by the European Union within the Mayors for Economic Growth Facility. The project is implemented jointly by the five partners: the Executive Committee of the City Council, innovation center Promprylad, charitable foundation Teple Misto, METALAB urban laboratory, and the economic development agency PPV.