The first winners of “CREATE!” — a $1 million grant program for women entrepreneurs from the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, KSE Foundation, in partnership with Oschadbank JSC — became the director of a foundry and mechanical plant in Pokrovsk, the founder of a cosmetics brand in Dnipro, the owner of a cheese factory in the Rivne region, the co-founder of a furniture company in Kyiv, and the founder of a wedding dress brand in Chernivtsi.
The goal of the “CREATE!” project is to support Ukrainian women engaged in small and medium-sized businesses in production and processing. Each of the grantees will receive funds (the maximum amount is $15,000), which they can spend on the purchase, delivery and installation of production equipment, as well as, no more than 30% of the grant, on the purchase of software and training.
According to the results of the program, the organizing committee received more than a thousand applications from Ukrainian businesswomen, and the first winners were:
Darya Tolstyh is the founder of the Moon&Rune cosmetics brand in Dnipro. The grantee strives to make Ukrainian cosmetics famous worldwide, so its production already has international quality and safety certificates, cosmetics are not tested on animals, and each jar can be reused.
The winner plans to use the grant funds to buy a reactor to produce cosmetics. Thanks to the equipment, it will be possible to manufacture larger batches of goods and automate and scale the production process.
Halyna Lukashuk is the owner of the dairy farm “Molochna Ferma” in Gilcha Druga village, Rivne region. At the beginning of a full-scale war, the entrepreneur faced the problem of selling milk, which is how the business turned from a raw material into a manufacturing one. Currently, the cheese factory produces about 40 dairy products, from cheeses and kefirs to sour cream, yogurts, and butter.
The entrepreneur plans to spend the grant funds on business automation equipment: a cheese factory pasteurizer, a butter churn, and a machine for forming butter.
Natalia Krevelya is the co-founder of the furniture company Manka Studio in Kyiv. The company specializes in custom-made furniture for private and commercial facilities: more than 1,300 pieces of furniture (kitchens, wardrobes, etc.) were produced last year alone.
Since the entrepreneur aims to create an entire production cycle business, the received funds will bring her realization closer: thanks to a new painting chamber and a drilling and jigging machine, the company will expand the production and assortment of furniture facades.
Iryna Kotapska is the founder of the wedding dress brand KOTAPSKA, Chernivtsi. Today, Grantees’ collections are available in more than 250 wedding salons worldwide, and brides from all continents have become customers.
The wedding industry constantly changes assortment, so the winner will use the grant money to purchase a system for the automated design of sewing products and modern sewing equipment. This will reduce the time spent fulfilling orders and improve the quality of products.
Nataliya Zavhorodnya is the director of the private enterprise “Krasnoarmiyskyi Foundry and Mechanical Plant” in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. The company is engaged in the production of pumps, pumps, compressors.
With the grant, the entrepreneur will order a milling machine and, with its help, master new business areas: she will be able to independently manufacture models and molds, increase production volumes, and reduce the cost of production.
The names of the following winners of the program will be announced gradually.
The “CREATE!” grant program started at the end of April. The Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF, formerly Western NIS Enterprise Fund) invests in funds for the project’s implementation. The fund supports initiatives to promote reforms in Ukraine and transformative projects.