Entrepreneurship Development for Conflict-Affected Rural Population – We Prosper

This project aims to improve the economic prosperity for women and the most vulnerable and marginalized people living in rural Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (similar to provinces). These oblasts have been the sites of fighting in the ongoing Donbas War. Given this context, the project works to promote an economic transition from relying on humanitarian assistance, to building a functioning market environment that ultimately enhances the economic prosperity of 1,500 conflict-affected rural entrepreneurs, including 1,205 women, from five rayons or areas within the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The project focuses on at least three women-led value chains (i.e. berry/horticulture, dairy/farmyard livestock, and honey), as well as grain, a prominent agricultural product in the Ukraine. To generate economic opportunities for the targeted population, the project also supports the creation of two market-oriented cooperatives. These cooperatives aim to be associated with, and supported by, the Union of Cooperatives Gospodar. Project activities include: (1) providing training to the targeted groups on best agri-food production, agribusiness financial and credit management practices; (2) introducing economic-support programs focused on the ability to meet market needs of quality, volumes and seasonality of products; (3) strengthening of post-harvest and value-added operations; (4) introducing credit mechanisms for small-scale local businesses to stimulate new and promising women-led entrepreneurship initiatives; and (5) introducing the cooperative model, which aims to allow targeted groups to not only increase their united power by developing new collective market-distribution channels, and adapted services to support sustainable agriculture production, but also act as a powerful vehicle to strengthen their collective voice, challenge gender barriers to women’s participation in the economy.