Soldiers who have served in the Ukraine war often face challenges transitioning to civilian life after their service. As war veterans, they struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and find it difficult to reintegrate into society. Opportunities for them to find meaningful work are limited, leaving many unsure of how to move forward. While some veterans manage to reinvent themselves through entrepreneurship or other pursuits, such success stories are rare. The impact of the war on Ukraine's economy has been significant, leading to the closure of many businesses and prompting young people to seek opportunities abroad. Both young war veterans and internally displaced persons (IDPs) require specialized support and assistance to navigate these challenges. By providing them with access to business and professional development skills, we can help them build brighter futures. Unfortunately, funding options for young veterans and IDPs looking to start their own businesses are scarce in Ukraine.

Soldiers who have served in the Ukraine war often face challenges transitioning to civilian life after their service. As war veterans, they struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and find it difficult to reintegrate into society. Opportunities for them to find meaningful work are limited, leaving many unsure of how to move forward. While some veterans manage to reinvent themselves through entrepreneurship or other pursuits, such success stories are rare. The impact of the war on Ukraine's economy has been significant, leading to the closure of many businesses and prompting young people to seek opportunities abroad. Both young war veterans and internally displaced persons (IDPs) require specialized support and assistance to navigate these challenges. By providing them with access to business and professional development skills, we can help them build brighter futures. Unfortunately, funding options for young veterans and IDPs looking to start their own businesses are scarce in Ukraine.

Therefore, this project aims to address this gap by supporting business incubation for these individuals. The goal of the project is to empower 60 young veterans and IDPs with comprehensive training on business planning, with 10 of them receiving grants to kickstart their ventures. For the remaining participants, the project will assist in fundraising efforts to launch their businesses as well as provide opportunity for wider public to get entrepreneurship skills via various products and publications produced by the Project. Additionally, the project will ensure that veterans and IDPs are informed about the various resources and support available from both national and international stakeholders.

The project holds immense significance for the growth and prosperity of both the state and regions of Ukraine. It is dedicated to empowering vulnerable groups such as young veterans and IDPs by integrating them into the realm of business, thereby unlocking their economic potential. To kickstart this transformative journey, the project team will embark on conducting 300 interviews to identify 60 exceptional and driven individuals who will be invited to a dynamic 5-day hackathon. This immersive experience will encompass a range of activities including training sessions, interactive business games, creating business incubators, engaging with renowned entrepreneurs, and crafting innovative business plans. Following the hackathon, personalized consultations with business coaches will be provided to each participant, guiding them through the process of developing business plans. The top 10 participants will then be selected to receive grants to bolster their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Throughout the project, an extensive information campaign will be launched to keep veterans, IDPs and youth informed on both how to build entrepreneurship skills by various podcasts and publications as well as on the various resources and support available from both national and international stakeholders. This campaign will be aimed at informing as many people as possible about the project, to make as many stakeholders as possible interested in the project, to attract more veterans and target audience.
For veterans, we will make informational posts about news in areas that will concern the life of veterans, business in Ukraine, grant opportunities, job opportunities, vacancies that we will find. So it will be an informing, the media campaign is aimed at communication with the media and coverage of the SMM sub-list.
Additionally, project experts will delve into legislative analysis, regulatory scrutiny, and policy formulation to enhance the landscape for veteran and youth businesses in Ukraine. The project will also facilitate networking opportunities for participants, connecting them with key industry events and conferences both locally and internationally. This platform will serve as a springboard for showcasing innovative business ideas and potentially securing funding for promising projects. By nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of young veterans and IDPs, the project aims to foster a culture of innovation, and business skills development.

1. 300 participants will take part in competence development activities focusing on entrepreneurship.
2. With experts couching and support 60 business plans will be developed.
3. 10 project’s participants who developed the best business plans receive a financial support to implement the business plans.
4. 100,000 people will be reached via media campaign on topics of entrepreneurship and support for veterans. media campaign will be on support to veterans on providing knowledge what services are targeted for them and on the entrepreneurship skill.
5. Targeted policy research on best international practices of rehabilitation of young veterans and IDPs though entrepreneurial activity will be prepared.
6. At least 3 round-table discussions with Ukrainian and international partners to present policy research will be conducted.