Odesa region is ahead of Mykolaiv region in terms of the number of new sole traders: 775 compared to 158

A café in Voznesensk. Illustrative photo: NikVesti

In the first quarter of 2026, the number of sole traders in the Mykolaiv region increased by just 158. By comparison, the Odesa region saw an increase of 775 sole traders, whilst in the Kherson region their number fell by 224.

This is according to data from the OpenDataBot analytical platform, as reported by NikVesti.

The largest increase in entrepreneurs was recorded in Kyiv: +1,826 sole traders. Next came: Lviv region (+1,651), Dnipropetrovsk region (+1,450), Kyiv region (+1,159) and Odesa region (+775).

Conversely, the greatest decline in business activity occurred in frontline and temporarily occupied regions. The largest losses were in Donetsk (-479), Kherson (-224), Sumy (-204), Zaporizhzhia (-97) and Luhansk (-56) regions.

Growth and decline in the number of sole traders. Infographic: OpenDataBot

Across Ukraine as a whole, nearly 64,000 new sole traders were established between January and March 2026, whilst over 52,600 ceased operations. The number of new businesses exceeded those that closed by almost 11,300.

Entrepreneurs were most active in setting up businesses in the non-store retail sector — online via social media, marketplaces and messaging apps (+2,527). Growth was also recorded in education (+1,899), consultancy (+1,230), information services (+1,033) and property rental-related businesses (+862).

At the same time, the largest decline in the number of entrepreneurs occurred in retail trade at markets and from stalls (-2,531), non-specialised shops (-1,062), household goods repair (-291), freight transport (-126) and television broadcasting (-125).

It should be noted that in the Mykolaiv region, businesses are most often set up in the automotive trade and repair sector — this is where the largest proportion of enterprises in the region operates. Overall, the number of companies and sole traders increased by more than 2,500 over the year.