Developing Ukrainian-founded businesses in Estonia

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ChallengeEstonia is a country that offers a progressive business environment with an efficient and compatible infrastructure. There are special programmes run by the state institutions like Enterprise Estonia, Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund or Settle in Estonia that introduce those who want to start an enterprise to the main steps in this field. However, there has been little support in business creation and development for specific social target groups -  under-represented and disadvantaged populations. These groups experience a lack of entrepreneurship skills and in general find it more difficult to integrate to the labour market. Throughout the past year Estonia has experienced many changes, one of them being an unprecedented inflow of Ukrainian refugees. This disadvantaged group finds it especially hard to integrate to the labour market due to adoption process to the Estonian environment and also the language barrier. Objective and expected change: This project addresses the labour market barrier by supporting Ukrainians in their own entrepreneurial journey so that they would not have to be dependent on others. Providing entrepreneurial skills to Ukrainian migrants ensures their self reliance to enter the Estonian labour market. Therefore, the main objective of the business development programme is to expand the range of already available entrepreneurship and SME development trainings by focusing on the target group - refugees from Ukraine, who have founded a business in Estonia or have prior entrepreneurial experience when living in Ukraine. The programme will be adjusted to the needs of the target audience and offer them more opportunities to integrate to the labour market. The project benefits local governments as it eases their burden on providing social support to the target group. Activities The main activities of the project are a business development programme, study visits and cultural events. The business development programme lasts for 4 months (14 weeks) and consists of bi-weekly physical training sessions. Each training session is a 1-day workshop that includes presentations on the selected topics from experienced trainers, 1-on-1 mentoring and time for individual and peer learning sessions. The programme will have a total of 8 sessions. The initial indicative topical focus of the sessions is: Kick-off. Management and strategic thinkingSocial impact and social business models Branding and marketing Digitalisation and IT toolsAccess to financePitching training and presentation skillsDemo day. Two business development programmes will be held simultaneously, one in Tartu and the other in Central or North-East Estonia.  The kick-off and demo days will be held jointly while other workshops will be held in their main locations. Both programmes have 12-15 participants, with the project reaching a total of 24-30 Ukrainian-founded enterprises. In addition, the main programme is supported by study visits. Eight visits to business hubs, R&D; centers, or specific enterprises will be organized monthly (4 in both geographic locations) for the participants of the business development programme. The visits will introduce the target group to the Estonian entrepreneurial environment and will put the participants in contact with relevant stakeholders with whom they could form future collaboration avenues. Lastly, the project also organizes cultural events to the participants and their families to better integrate them in the local society and culture. These events take the form of local excursions intended to build community and share Estonian culture. Additionally, the site visits and cultural events are also an excellent chance for the participants to network among themselves as well as with local actors in the business and culture ecosystem.  Outputs and main beneficiaries The main output of the programme will be the development of 24-30 Ukrainian-founded SMEs in the programme area (Central, South and North-East Estonia). The business owners will acquire new skills and knowledge about the ways to implement and further develop their enterprise in Estonia and therefore increase their resilience, competitiveness and growth potential - all of which are important to ensure the founders socioeconomic well-being. The knowledge that the target group will receive will be a long-term asset that is helpful to making further steps on their entrepreneurship path as well as life in Estonia. The sustainability of the training programme will be ensured by its replicability and evaluation - it will be a blueprint for further initiatives for supporting the entrepreneurial journey of disadvantaged groups.

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