FACE OF FAITH: the finalists of the listing have been announced
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FACE OF FAITH by Marie Claire Business features 50 stories of women who started, rebuilt, and saved businesses in the first year of the full-scale war.
These women are striving to create a better future for the economy of Ukraine. Despite facing challenges such as looted and destroyed production lines, they work hard to restore them. Even after bombings, they search through the rubble to salvage sewing equipment so that they can continue creating designer pieces that gain worldwide recognition. In addition, they bring together children from all over the world, and even from bomb shelters within the country, to participate in mathematics competitions. These women are innovative, productive, and inspiring!
In total, there were more than 4,000 participants, 130 structured questionnaires, 50+ hours of in-depth interviews, 75 shortlisted participants, and 50 finalists in FACE OF FAITH.
FACE OF FAITH takes the form of a list and does not include any ratings. The finalists included in the list are not necessarily the most popular brands or the most invested projects. Each story that is proposed showcases a tale of faith and struggle, risk-taking, first results, ambition, and a confident outlook toward the future, no matter how difficult it may seem.
FACE OF FAITH is supported by the teams that help Ukrainian women entrepreneurs not only at the level of the defined strategy of the institutions headed by them but also at the level of existing development programs.
“Supporting women’s leadership, ensuring equal employment opportunities for all genders and ages, fighting against discrimination, and promoting women’s entrepreneurship are crucial components of our economic policy. Currently, women earn 18.6% less than men, and we are working to reduce this pay gap to 13.6% by 2030.
Last July, we launched the eRobota program, which offers the opportunity to receive up to UAH 250,000 for developing or starting a business. The winners of the program were almost 11,000 Ukrainian men and women, with a total of UAH 2,500,000. Most of the grant recipients were women. The same trend was observed in the case of grants for veterans and their spouses, where almost half of the 227 winners were women.
It has been observed that the majority of recipients of study vouchers are women. Out of all 18,000 voucher recipients, almost 13,000 are women and have already availed themselves of this opportunity. In the upcoming year, such programs are expected to gain further momentum. We hope that this initiative will serve as a catalyst for the development of entrepreneurship, and more women-owned businesses will emerge, contributing to the sustainability of our economy.”
“The full-scale war has had an adverse impact on the economic status of women. The separation of families, the absence of childcare facilities, the shutting down of schools, and the restricted access to social services have resulted in a surge of domestic and unpaid care work. The high inflation rate and limited employment prospects, particularly in rural regions, have led to an increase in poverty among women.
Since the full-scale invasion began, UN Women has launched various initiatives to enhance the economic status of women. These initiatives include the Women For The Future program, which provides assistance in retraining and employment, the online academy “Dream and Achieve” for Ukrainian women displaced in Poland and Ukraine, the educational grant program “Pochatok”, and the Centers for Women’s Support and Development which aim to improve access to psychological and social support and restore economic security for women.
UN Women hosts annual events like the Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo and Women’s Economic Empowerment Congress. We also implement the Women’s Empowerment in Business initiative, which trains the private sector on implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).”
“Despite the ongoing challenges of the full-scale war, women entrepreneurs in Ukraine are actively working and developing their products. Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of women working in the tech industry in Ukraine, with the percentage of women in the industry tripling. Furthermore, the number of female specialists in IT is growing at an average rate of 15% annually.
Currently, nearly a quarter of Ukrainian startups are managed by women. We observe a constant growth of women’s entrepreneurship within the Ukrainian Startup Fund’s framework of startups.
For the last five years, Wtech, an international community for women leaders in the tech industry, has been working towards expanding opportunities for women's entrepreneurship. This is a positive trend, and by the end of 2023, participants have formed a network in over 20 countries. This is just the beginning of this process that started in Ukraine. Wtech Global is now influencing an international network of business connections to promote the development of women’s entrepreneurship and strengthen the influence of women around the world.”
“Starting from the beginning of 2023, every second business in Ukraine is owned by women. Our organization provides a platform for women to develop their skills, exchange experiences, and network with other entrepreneurs. The U&WE Hub project was initiated in response to the war in Ukraine, which caused many women to lose their jobs or businesses or relocate. Currently, we have four hubs that operate both online and offline. Over the course of 14 months, our training program has helped over 700 Ukrainian women pursue entrepreneurship, develop their business ideas, and create a detailed launch plan.
We are proud to share that during our program, 30% of women who previously did not have a business registered it. Our partners this year were the Hamburg School of Business Administration, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, and EY. We will be launching a fourth stream in February 2024, which means that our community is going to grow even more and become more effective in supporting one another. If you are interested, get involved!”
The 50 finalists of FACE OF FAITH are the most proactive participants of the listing that need media support today. However, our Marie Claire Business partners will continue to highlight inspiring stories of women in business and careers.