Success stories

Crisis as a recipe for success: How two Ukrainians save customers up to 30% on fuel
Ukraine
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15/10/2020
Every entrepreneur has a recipe for how to start and grow a successful business. For Ivan Semenyuk and Andriy Pavlikovsky from Vinnytsia, a city in central Ukraine, this recipe is somewhat unusual: invest money and effort during a major crisis. They started their business, GPS PRO , in 2014 in the midst of political and economic unrest. And in April 2020, during the Covid-19 quarantine, they...
How an EU project turned a Ukrainian town into a dream place for its citizens
Ukraine
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27/08/2020
The numbers are relentless when it comes to the proportion of Ukrainians living in cities and rural areas in unified territorial communities (UTC): in the last 10 years countryside has lost 16% of its population. Young people go in search of a better life in big cities like Kyiv and Dnipro, or they go abroad as migrant workers. Their reasons are normal and predictable: low income potential in...
LisLis story: how the Ukrainian toy producer entered the European markets
Ukraine
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12/08/2020
3D designer from Lviv Oleksandr Shestakovych had been doing object design for several years when he came up with an idea of a toy business. Back in 2018, little did he know that in only 2 years he would be a worldwide exporter of wooden toys thanks to a seria of trainings by the Business Information Support Center (BiSC) in Lviv, supported by EBRD together with the EU4Business Initiative of the...
Improved SME statistics for evidence-based SME support in the Eastern Partnership
11/08/2020
With support delivered by the OECD under the EU4Business initiative , Armenia and Ukraine have improved their statistical systems and started to produce internationally comparable indicators on the structure and performance of the SME sector. This will allow Armenian and Ukrainian governmentsto implement appropriate policy measures to support SME development and monitor their impact on the SME...
Docs in beekeeper suits: EU team helps the Dolyna hospital
Ukraine
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03/07/2020
When a pandemic changes business plans and individual lives, it’s no surprise that one of the projects under the EU M4EG or Mayors for Economic Growth programme being implemented in the small western Ukrainian town of Dolyna has temporarily turned into a charity. At the end of March, the team of a Pioneer project supported by the EU under the auspices of the EU4Business initiative, began helping...
COVID lockdown benefits Ukraine’s Biggest Aquapark
Ukraine
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03/06/2020
When a pandemic hits and your business is one of the key types forced into complete lockdown, how do you cope with the quarantine at your sports and aqua-entertainment complex? Do you lay off your employees? Do you look for other ways to cut costs drastically? That’s how some companies might respond. But not Lviv’s Pliazh Aquapark. The 12-year old Pliazh Aquapark in Lviv is not only the biggest...
When rivals become partners: 1 million masks, 12,000 protective outfits, 60 days
Ukraine
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19/05/2020
Three Western Ukrainian participants in a cluster development programme supported by the EBRD and the EU4Business initiative re-oriented production to help with the pandemic—and saved jobs, too. During the two months of Ukraine’s quarantine and lockdown, three garment-making clusters in Western Ukraine were able to achieve this: 100% of jobs saved, 1 million protective masks and 12,000 protective...
Cluster project in Ukraine helps provide 10,000 express COVID-19 tests
Ukraine
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28/04/2020
In early April, 10,000 express COVID-19 tests arrived in three oblasts of Western Ukraine—Vinnytsia, Ternopil and Khmelnytskiy. The whole process—from the search for a test to delivery—was handled by six small businesses that are part of a cluster of bridal wear manufacturers called Podillya Wedding Group. The cluster was launched in 2018 with the support of EU under the EU4Business initiative,...
Rapid coronavirus response in Ukraine: from blouses to face masks
Rapid coronavirus response in Ukraine: from blouses to face masks
Ukraine
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17/04/2020
Santa Ukraina swiftly switches manufacturing following EBRD and EU support Hundreds of fashionable dresses, blouses and skirts are the garments that textile producer Santa Ukraina usually manufactures and ships to European retail brands every day. But the coronavirus has transformed its work: “We realised very quickly that now was the time to act,” explains Evhen Dyrdin , CEO of Santa Ukraina. “...
EBRD and EU support eco-resort in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains
Ukraine
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05/11/2019
Business and IT improvements prepare TAOR Karpaty for expansion Nestled in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine , the TAOR Karpaty lodge opened its doors to the public six years ago. Hiking, fishing and many more outdoor activities attract tourists and families seeking to escape their busy lives. “It’s time to return to nature – that’s our motto here,” explains hotel director Olena Sozanska. “Our...