In the limelight: Some inspiring women entrepreneurs from Ukraine
#UnbrokenInnovation #WomenLeadersInUkraine #EntrepreneurialTriumphs #WarAndEntrepreneurship
Under the most trying conditions, Ukrainian businesses defy all odds. Can we imagine what are the difficulties they encounter in the face of war?
Putting up a brave front is what comes upfront. Despite the ongoing challenges posed by war, Ukrainian women entrepreneurs stand resilient at the forefront of economic growth. In 2022, amidst conflict, Ukrainian startups remarkably generated over $6 billion in revenue, showcasing a $542 million increase from the previous year.
As critical contributors, women founders continue actively expanding their businesses, venturing into new markets & securing funding, often navigating these waters without the presence of conscripted male co-founders and employees.
Notably, women led the initiation of 34% of new tech companies and 51% of all businesses established in Ukraine in 2023. Confronted with limited time and resources, these tenacious leaders step up and leverage AI technologies – to maximize efficiency in the pursuit of success.
Here, we delve into the extraordinary stories of Ukrainian women entrepreneurs, exploring the challenges they overcome amidst the ongoing war.
#UkraineEntrepreneurs #ResilienceInAdversity #WomenInTech #StartupSaga2022
> Alina Bondarenko, Co-Founder & CCO at Zeely
Zeely is a mobile-first growth-marketing app that drives more business revenue for entrepreneurs. Alina Bondarenko explains that in Ukraine, as in most other countries, small businesses play a crucial role in fostering new employment opportunities. However, Ukrainian small business owners now encounter significant challenges, such as lacking the ability to expand, having limited resources, lacking brand recognition, and insufficient reserves.
Fact is that Zeely helped more than 8,000 small and micro-entrepreneurs sell online from their phones to attract new clients and generate new revenue. Thanks to AI, business owners can build web stores on their phones with just a few user-friendly tools and run marketing campaigns that drive almost immediate results.
> Lidiya Terpel, Co-Founder of Skyworker.ai
Skyworker is a hiring platform connecting tech talent & developers to companies. Lidiya Terpel feels that Skyworker is like an AI copilot that recruits tech talent for companies. Its technology screens applicants to identify candidates who match each company’s needs, and also finds relevant talent beyond the platform. With AI, they bring needed talent onto the platform, qualify them, and set up interviews.
In Ukraine, many candidates lost their jobs and could not find new jobs, as few local companies are hiring. So, they felt the need to help them find foreign companies that offer remote work directly. “Thanks to AI, we can show companies around the world that there are many qualified professionals in Eastern Europe working at an affordable rate, especially in Ukraine,” she revealed.
> Maria Smerechuk, Co-Founder & COO of Mindly
Mindly is an online mental health platform that connects clients to licensed therapists. It is a mobile-first marketplace for mental health specialists – empowering people to live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. And what matters here is that AI is the only way they can make mental health therapy truly accessible to all. With the shortage of qualified therapists, and the relatively high expenses of therapy sessions, Maria Smerechuk unveils how AI can help scale and support the work of therapists in various ways.
> Anastasiia, Co-Founder, SPOGAD
Anastasiia is a Co-Founder of SPOGAD, which stands for “Speak Up, Plant a Garden Against Depression”. SPOGAD is a nonprofit organization that aims to help combat mental health issues such as depression, through community gardening and therapy. Anastasiia’s role as Co-Founder involves working with organizations to develop and implement programs, raise awareness, and sustain operations.
Recycling is the basis of the plan here. SPOGAD is a sustainable, circular and slow fashion brand handcrafted from 100% locally recycled plastic. Born into the war, the brand was founded by three women in Dnipropetrovsk oblast with backgrounds in social innovations, sustainable design, marketing, and writing. Their accessories are iconic objects that create stories with their owners, serving as artifacts, memories (in ukr: spogad), and the collective cultural heritage of Ukraine.
> Olga, Founder, Learning-Creative Laboratory (LCL)
Olga is the Founder of the Learning-Creative Laboratory (LCL), which is a company that provides educational workshops and courses on creative coding and interactive art. Their mission is – to empower people of all ages & backgrounds to learn about and explore these fields, and to help them develop their skills and passions in a fun and engaging way. As the founder of LCL, she has helped create a thriving community of users who share a love for learning and creativity.
Learning-creative laboratory (LCL) offers educational and consulting services in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The uniqueness of Olga’s project is – the combination of cognitive and creative components such as art therapy, music and visual facilitation with the individual approach to the audience and customization of content to the client’s needs.
Source:
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/women-founders-laying-the-
groundwork-for-ukrainian-economic-recovery/
https://garage48.org/blog/recovering-the-economy-on-a-grassroots-level-how-
women-in-ukraine-start-their-businesses-in-the-mi
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