Resilient Initiatives for Self-Employment "RISE"

Estonian Refugee Council - is an international humanitarian organization working on the ground to address the needs of the ongoing crisis. By creating and developing their own business, project participants provide themselves with a stable source of income, create new jobs, and contribute to the recovery and development of the Ukrainian regions' economy.

Since 2019, Estonian Refugee Council, in cooperation with partners, has been implementing entrepreneurship support programmes in Ukraine. For more than five years, these initiatives have been helping Ukrainians demonstrate resilience during the crisis. By developing their own business, project participants provide themselves with a stable source of income, create new jobs, and contribute to the recovery and development of the Ukrainian regions' economy.

Estonian Refugee Council is currently implementing a comprehensive online programme "Resilient Initiatives for Self-Employment (RISE)". The purpose of the programme is to support the startup or expansion of their businesses that can generate a stable income.
The RISE programme includes the following components: business training, mentoring support, and business grants.
1. Business trainings will be implemented in partnership with the Ukrainian company LLC "Webpromo". Within the framework of this component, about 573 participants from among those who have business ideas or already have an existing micro-business will receive knowledge within the framework of business trainings. The online training programme consists of a series of trainings and simultaneous mentoring support from experienced specialists in the following areas: financial planning, marketing, branding, legal aspects of doing business, development of a business plan and formation of skills for public presentation of business ideas. Within the framework of this component, programme participants will receive assistance in developing business plans or expansion plans for existing micro-businesses. Programme participants with the most promising business plans will receive access to the following two programme components.
2. Comprehensive business mentoring, which is aimed at helping in the implementation of business plans and business development plans. The duration of such online support will be up to four months. It will cover key aspects of entrepreneurial activity, including: finance and planning, branding and marketing, legal aspects of doing business, self-presentation skills, development of psychological resilience, networking, etc. The consultations will be conducted by experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts, who will provide practical advice and individual support to programme participants.
3. Business grants for the most promising business plans. This assistance will be directed towards the purchase of assets (equipment, tools, etc.):
- to participants with the most promising business plans to support the launch of a new business up to $2,000 (in hryvnia equivalent at the NBU exchange rate);
- to participants with the most promising business plans to expand an existing micro-business up to $5,000 (in hryvnia equivalent at the NBU exchange rate) to expand their business.
The programme is designed for two categories of participants affected by the conflict in Ukraine:
- people with business ideas;
- existing micro-businesses in need of support (individual, family, those with up to 10 employees).
Mandatory conditions for participation in the Programme:
> Citizenship of Ukraine and permanent residence of programme participants in the territory of Ukraine.
> For programme participants with existing micro-businesses, it is mandatory to have a registered individual entrepreneur at the time of applying for participation in the programme.
> The place of business, location of production facilities, location of the office, and provision of services in one of the following regions: Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy regions.
> The programme participant is the founder or owner of the business.
>Absence of legal obstacles: the applicant is not in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy and has no tax debts. Employment (if any) in accordance with the requirements of official labor legislation, absence of criminal or corruption proceedings against the manager or ultimate beneficial owners of the business.
1) Verification of the Application with the Programme requirements. Verification of application with the technical requirements of the competition (confirmation of the applicant’s location in the programme areas, availability of all supporting documents, correctness of the completed application etc.). Applications that have not passed the eligibility check will not proceed to participate in the business training component.
2) Assessment of business plans and development plans. The selection of the most promising business plans will be carried out by an expert jury. The following will be assessed: business potential, realism and relevance of the business plan, action plan, list of necessary assets, financial forecast and presentation of the business plan.
3) Signing of the grant agreement.
The programme provides for the development of their own business, programme participants must:
- make efforts to provide their households with a stable source of income;
- implement business plans and business development plans created during the program following the action plan.
Important! The grant is provided free of charge on a non-refundable basis, subject to the intended use, as stipulated in the Grant Agreement between the Estonian Refugee Council and the recipient of the assistance.
The current application period ends at 23:59, August 13, 2025.

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The programme is implemented with funding from the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA/USAID).

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At the Estonian Refugee Council (ERC), we value your feedback and take complaints seriously. Our Complaints and Feedback Mechanism (CFM) ensures that beneficiaries, staff, partners, and other stakeholders can share concerns about our programmes, commitments, and conduct in a safe, fair, and transparent manner.

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