Ukrainian NGO Impact Force launches business accelerator to strengthen economy of Ukraine
Impact Force, a Ukrainian NGO, powered and supported by SILab Ukraine and numerous Ukrainian and international partners, launches a business accelerator Impact Business for Ukrainian entrepreneurs who are committed to recovery efforts in the most impacted areas of Ukraine’s economy.
Impact Business, presented at discussion “Social innovation movement as a key for just, sustainable and equitable recovery of Ukraine” at Palantir Pavilion on World Economic Forum on January 17, is an in-depth acceleration program created for the active businesses registered in Ukraine that will contribute to the post-war recovery of Ukraine and create positive and lasting social impact with an estimated increase of $250+ mln towards the GDP of Ukraine over 5 years.
This pilot program will support 25 Ukrainian businesses working in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, cybersecurity and other industries that aspire to incorporate social impact as part of their strategy. The larger goal of the pilot is to build a strong ecosystem encouraging more businesses driven by a social mission to reinvest profits into creating positive social change as well as fostering a social impact economy in post-war Ukraine.
By joining the Impact Business acceleration program and meeting its criteria, successful applicants will get access to live lectures, workshops and studies focused on incorporating social impact into their strategy as well as general business growth topics and advisory support from world known experts, coaches and mentors, as well as access to investors and global tech resources.
According to the results of the program, the two enterprises with the best results will have the opportunity to get/encourage financial support of up to 20,000 euros per team.
Financial support will be provided in the form of smart grants from the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund and within the “Collaborate for Impact” project, which is funded by the European Union and implementing in partnership with EVPA.
The potential of the Ukrainian sector of social entrepreneurship is very significant, because volunteerism and social entrepreneurship are in the blood of Ukrainians. Ukraine is a kind of beehive, in which the extraordinary self-organization of people surprises the world, and horizontal connections make it possible to quickly and efficiently solve complex challenges at unprecedented scale. This was evident both during the Maidan and after the beginning of the Russian aggression.
“We strive to nurture changemakers and build an ecosystem that is passionate about a brighter future for Ukraine. By launching Impact Business we want to empower a new breed of entrepreneurs in Ukraine, foster social entrepreneurship and help social innovators navigate the challenges and make their impact louder and more visible” — Nina Levchuk, co-founder at Impact Force NGO.
“Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed our vision of the role of business in society. It is already clear that the business cannot work according to the old rules: I sell a product and make a profit. Ukraine needs recovery, and therefore business must become responsible and not only generate profit, but also bring qualitative changes. Social influence should be one of the key indicators of the development of every business. The recovery of Ukraine in various fields will require quick innovative solutions with a large social impact. That is why an important component of the acceleration program will be a focus on social impact, technologies for its formation and measurement.” — Alena Kalibaba Co-founder SILab Ukraine & СЕО Ukrainian Social Venture Fund (USVF)
Impact Business Accelerator Program, initiated by Impact Force NGO, is powered by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office and national project Diia.Business, supported by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the WEF Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship, academics and alumni from the University of Cambridge, in partnership with SiLab Ukraine, MovingWorlds.org (backed by SAP, Unilever, and EY, among others), Netguru, Tech To The Rescue, Phineo and LCF Law Group, leading Ukrainian Social Society organizations.