Retraining and the path to success: a forum for entrepreneurs who started a business during the war was held in Mykolaiv

A forum of the Charitable Organisation «Shchedryk» «Retraining and the Road to Success» was held in Mykolaiv. The event was dedicated to the stories of entrepreneurs who were able to restore or create their own business in the face of a full-scale war.

The forum was held on 13 June at «Pier 8», according to NikVesti.

The event was supported by the foreign non-governmental organisation «Oxfam». It was attended by representatives of the authorities, Mykolaiv deputies, officials, well-known businessmen, international partners and graduates of the training programmes.

Since 2023, «Shchedryk» together with «Oxfam» has been implementing a number of initiatives to support the population of Mykolaiv region, including training, retraining and grant programmes. According to the co-founder of the organisation, Oleksandr Mosin, more than 25,000 people have turned to them through the Help Centre since the start of their activities.

«The war forced us to change our daily lives and places of residence. The history of this project began in 2023, when the first meeting with representatives of «Oxfam» took place. Mykolaiv was then under daily shelling. We started communicating with partners, community leaders, and people who had fled their homes. «Oxfam» was the first organisation to initiate an Assistance Centre together with us in a situation of instability, and to start implementing grant and retraining programmes. It was a pilot project that grew into a two-year journey,» said Mosin.

Nataliia Horbenko, co-founder of the organisation, addressed the participants of the event, including start-up businessmen. She noted that «Shchedryk» plans to start a community of entrepreneurs who can seek free assistance in legal, accounting and tax aspects of their work in the future.

«Yesterday I read the sad statistics that in Mykolaiv region, one thousand individual entrepreneurs closed down in the first five months of this year. This means that this thousand entrepreneurs lost hope and did not receive the necessary support. There are many factors that forced them to close. We are working to improve these statistics,» said Nataliia Horbenko.

Over the past two years, 142 people have undergone vocational training and retraining. The programme included professions in demand by the market and people: baker, manicurist, web designer, tailor, bus, trolleybus and tram driver. Another group of students mastered argon arc welding.

Another key project was business planning and small grants. It took place in four stages and involved 160 people who completed two weeks of training. 83 participants received grants for the development of their own businesses totalling €331,700.

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