The Association of ATO Veterans – Entrepreneurs presented their updated strategy at the CEO Club Meeting. Volodymyr Shevchenko, co-founder of Veterato Coffee brand and MIM-Kyiv’s MBA student is a co-founder of the Association. 

Serhii Poznyak, founder and CEO of FGK Financial supports veterans projects through investment mechanisms. He launched this line of business when he was still in active military service. When he was presenting the new Association’s strategy 2024 he paid special attention to the veterans’ community expansion and enhancement of their mutual support. 

“Promotion of entrepreneurship among veterans is one of our top priorities. We are launching programs aimed at the accessibility of education, finance, business growth, cooperation, and networking. Veterans are doing business to sublimate their war experiences and feel needed. We can call them forerunners of the elite because they are ready to be in charge. They proved that when they went to war to defend their homeland. Now they need to join their forces to support each other and to encourage entrepreneurship. Not all of them are ready but we believe that they should become one of the drivers of the national economy,” Serhii Poznyak said. 

Oksana Kolyada, former Minister of Veterans’ Affairs and current project manager of “Area of Opportunities” said that there were nearly 500 000 war participants or veterans. Only 10% of them are socially active. 

“Those are people who incorporated into business and social fabric. They are financially independent. Only 200 or so veterans run businesses in Ukraine,” Oksana shared her findings. She thinks that those who succeeded need to build up their networks and support the entrepreneurial efforts of other veterans. 

Ihor Kravchenko, co-founder of Alatyr-Invest, member of the board of the “Come Back Alive” fund is a good example. He is also MIM-Kyiv’s SE MBA student. He thinks that values are crucially important for veterans’ businesses. 

“We do not have the definition of the veterans’ business yet. It is values that make veterans’ businesses different from other ones. Veterans – entrepreneurs have already shown what they could do for the country. Stewardship and commitment help to be successful,” Ihor explains.