Daria Voevoda (center), CEO of Spend with Ukraine sees more women starting companies
What will happen to Ukraine’s startup ecosystem when the war ends and the country - hopefully - cements its position as a free and independent European nation? Behind the scenes, there’s a lot of interest from investors and entrepreneurs across Europe. It’s thought that in areas such as defensetech and govtech, Ukraine’s startups are well-positioned to address an international customer base. One manifestation of the growing interest was the recent launch of 1991 Ventures, a London-based fund aiming to tap the potential of Ukraine and the whole CEE region.
But something else is happening too. As is often the way during times of war, women are playing increasing role in the maintenance of a functioning economy. More pertinent to this column is a rise in the number of female entrepreneurs.
According to figures published by UN Women, women led the creation of around 10,000 startups in 2023 around half of Ukraine’s businesses are female-founded.
But what does that look like on the ground? What does an entrepreneurial ecosystem look like at a time when a ground war is waging in the East of the country and air attacks can happen anywhere at any time? I spoke to two Ukrainian entrepreneurs to find out.
Daria Voevoda is CEO and co-founder of Spend with Ukraine, a not-for-profit online marketplace created to encourage international buyers to engage with and purchase from Ukrainian entrepreneurs.
“We have about 245 companies in nine categories, “ she says. “Most are for the business-to-consumer markets but we also have B2B and B2G (business-to-government).”
The site is having some impact. Spend with Ukraine’s own figures suggest that partnering businesses have seen increases of 10% to 20% in international sales since joining the platform, with web visits up by 20% to 250% depending on the company. But it’s early days. The site was responsible for relatively modest revenues of $0.5 million over the first two years. Voevoda expects this to grow.
Women Stepping In
As Voevoda sees it, women are playing an increasingly vital role in maintaining an entrepreneurial culture.
“We have fewer and fewer men,” she says. And there is a lot of female ambition. Women are starting businesses and they are also running businesses that were originally started by men.”
It’s not simply a question of women starting or maintaining companies because men - are away at the front. Voevoda believes that women are providing a different way of doing business. “I believe that female entrepreneurs are more flexible and they have more soft skills,” she says. More tangibly perhaps, since the start of the invasion female entrepreneurs have found it easier to travel outside Ukraine to promote products and attend trade fairs elsewhere in Europe.
There is a considerable amount of variation. Ukraine’s female-led companies range from Fuelfinance - a Ukrainian/American fintech company that has raised $1 million in venture finance to fashion brand Kseniaschnaider and clothing company, Oliz, which sells collections based on traditional designs. Voevoda acknowledges that many of the brands marketed through Spend with Ukraine are in the arts and crafts sector while there is also interest in sustainability, green energy and fashion.
The Impact Of War
Arguably the war has played a part in kick-starting entrepreneurial activity by women. Certainly, that’s the experience of Khrystyna Oliyarnyk, founder Oliz, a company that sells clothes and accessories in traditional Ukrainian styles.
As Oliyarnyk explains, the inspiration for the business was a collection of scarves from all over the country owned by her grandmother. These designs formed the basis for her own creations which are designed by artists to celebrate the culture of Ukraine. “I wanted to make modern clothing in modern designs,” she says. Everything started with my grandmother’s art.”
The catalyst for starting the business was 2014 Russian incursion that ultimately led to invasion in 2022. Suddenly aware that life could be all too short, Oliyarnyk was spurred on to follow her own ambitions, rather than pressing on with a previous career in law. “Once you realize you can lose your life at any time, you have nothing to fear. Once you have an idea you get started. War has encouraged women to become true to who they are.”
Oliyarnyk sold a traditional scarf to a friend for $900 enabling her to start making scarves. Today she has a production facility in Kyiv and in addition to the clothing available on the Oliz site, the company has launched a charitable collection of shawls to raise money for Ukraine.
Like Voevoda, she feels that war has changed the entrepreneurial landscape. “Men and women are equally responsible for the prosperity of Ukraine,” she says.
There have been enormous challenges. Air attacks continue to disrupt production, making it very difficult to stick to plans and schedules. “There have been periods when there has been no power,,” says Oliyarnyk. “Now the situation is much better.” Since speaking to Oliyarnyk, however, the country's power infrastructure has been subject to another damaging wave of missile attacks.
In terms of the logistics of shipping products, the internal postal service has continued more or less uninterrupted since the start of the invasion. In terms of the international market, delivery companies such as DHL also operate. This has proved important. “Since the start of the war we have decided to focus on international markets,” says Oliyarnyk. "The U.S. is particularlty important."
International trade is difficult but certainly not impossible. As I was writing this piece, a received a release from Tivoli, afurniture designer and manufactuer founded by sisters Vladyslav Lisovskyi and Alla Lisovska. The company currently exports its Ukraine-themed designs to 22 markets
The Confidence issue
Confidence may continue to be an issue. As Voevoda points out, working with international partners is important in terms of both investment and collaboration. But the appetite for partnerships has been dampened by all the uncertainties surrounding the conflict and its outcome. This is something that Russia’s authorities have taken advantage of. “There has been a lot of propaganda,” says Voevoda.
Voevoda is hopeful that Ukraine’s brands can repeat the success of countries such as Estonia, Lithuania and Poland in promoting their startups and entrepreneurs to a wider audience and she would like to see Spend with Ukraine playing a part in that. “My dream would be to arrive at Kyiv Auirport and see a sign saying “spend with Ukraine” greeting arrivals.
Equally important, she sees the role played by women in Ukraine’s ecosystem continuing to grow. “I think in the future, the bigger part of Ukraine’s companies will be run by women,” she says.
In the meantime, there is work to be done. Ukraine's GDP is down about a quarter lower than it was in 2021, even after a recovery last year. Entrepreneurs are part of the solution, but the challenges are enormous.
