"Women are born with an entrepreneurial steak at the genetic level - a willingness to take responsibility for their children and their families. Our goal today is to inspire participants, to make them believe in themselves, in their strengths and opportunities, to find like-minded people." That was the message from Elvira Sevostiyanenko, the president of the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking at the opening of the ‘Business4Women’ forum organised under the EU4Business initiative in Mariupol on 18-19 October.
The forum was organised under the EU4Business initiative by the Kramatorsk Business Support Centre, with the participation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Donetsk Chamber of Commerce.
In an opening speech, the General Consul of Greece in Mariupol, Eleni Gheorgopoulou stressed the importance of such events not only for women, but also for men and society as a whole.
During the first session of the Forum, local and international speakers spoke about:
- the economy of the future, innovation and innovative models of entering markets by new companies;
- the role of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, innovators and inventors in the world;
- the growth trends of global markets.
The second session saw representatives of public organisations and business associations take part in a discussion about the role of public and business associations in the development of women's entrepreneurship.
They talked about the activities of women's business associations, the practice of stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship in Donetsk region, and proven practices in the development of entrepreneurial initiative among women.
Discussing current financial support programmes for business, participants were informed about the EBRD's instruments for SME development under the EU4Business programme, the Ukrainian Donetsk Kurkul programme and other SME support programmes.
The ‘Business4Women’ forum also saw the announcement of the winners of the competition, ‘Why do I choose my own business?’ The winners of the competition were Valentina Gartovina (in the Production category), Oleksandr Klimenko (Services), and Anna Matviyenko (Family Business).
The second day of the forum saw a discussion panel on ‘Opportunities and Challenges on the Way of Entrepreneurial Activity of Women’ and in parallel a master class on ‘Resolving Disputes and Conflicts without Access to Court’.
The Business Forum finished with two master classes on Partisan Marketing and ‘How to evaluate your business idea’.
The Kramatorsk Business Support Centre is part of the EU-funded Network of Business Support Centres, which aims to improve the competitiveness and bankability of Ukrainian SMEs through the provision of business advice and capacity building. It also supports BSOs in 15 regions of Ukraine in setting up a network of EU4Business Business Support Centres (BSCs). At least 30,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs benefit from the project.