War cannot stop Ukrainian entrepreneurial spirit, and in fact, the development of Ukrainian businesses is essential to ensuring the country’s future and post-war recovery.
For this reason, the Promprylad Foundation and Berkeley Haas Business School have partnered to create a unique program for Ukrainian entrepreneurs, recently completing its second program.Promprylad firmly believes that entrepreneurship is not an innate talent, but something that anyone can learn.
“It is crucial to bring a framework to Ukraine from a place where entrepreneurship is rooted in the culture and has been cultivated for centuries,” said Ivanna Pohlebnyak, director of Promprilad’s Center for the New Economy.
While entrepreneurship is central to people’s identity in the United States, “in Ukraine we still feel the pressure of stereotypes inherited from the Soviet Union, when it was considered undesirable to stand out, run your own business or discuss profits,” Porevnyak added.
The first session of the international program will be held in summer 2023, and the second session, “Berkeley Spring at Promprylad”, recently concluded. A total of 202 participants from all over Ukraine have taken part in the program so far. Participants come from various fields, including IT, marketing, art and design, non-profit organizations, and sports technology.
Based in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Promprylad Foundation is part of the impact investment project Promprylad.Renovation, which has transformed an old factory into a hub of the region’s creative and innovative economy. Promprylad Foundation is committed to developing sustainable solutions for Ukrainians and to creating a positive social and economic impact on the country through support for further education and innovation.
The ultimate goal is to set an example that can be emulated and expanded in other cities. Since the start of full-scale Russian aggression in 2022, Promprirad has focused its efforts on ensuring that Ukrainian people, organizations and businesses can continue to work and develop despite Russia’s brutal war.
The partnership between the Promprilad Foundation and Berkeley marks the first institutional collaboration between Berkeley’s business school and a Ukrainian organization. The program was specially developed by Berkeley staff and combines several courses taught at the California university. The courses are taught by experts with experience working in startups and international companies, some of whom have co-founded companies.
Ukrainian participants not only gain practical knowledge from the course instructors, but also have the opportunity to network with mentors and other students. For Tamara Khotra, manager of the Ungvarsky Thermal Resort in the Zakarpattia Oblast, the program was “like a breath of fresh air.”
“This training was very timely for me as our company is going through a period of change, transformation and growth,” says Hotora. “I now know the importance of asking questions of customers and listening more than talking. I have come back with a great network and a different way of thinking.”
Previous participants in the program have included the owner of an app for diabetes patients and the partnerships manager of a more inclusive employment platform that aims to help people such as veterans and internally displaced people find suitable employment.
Of the 15 projects announced last year, six have continued to grow and have evolved into start-up companies.
One example is Spline Art, a platform for investing in contemporary Ukrainian art, which became profitable within a year of launching its programs.
This year’s program saw 14 teams pitch their ideas and projects after three months of intensive training and collaboration. The entrepreneurs’ bold ideas were evaluated by a jury of business leaders, educators, and startup mentors, including Berkeley lecturers Gautier Vasseur and Rhonda Schroeder, Kyiv Institute of Economics Dean Timofey Brikh, and Promprilad’s Center for the New Economy Director Ivanna Porebniak. The jury evaluated and offered advice on projects ranging from a small water purifier to a device for the visually impaired.
“The Berkeley at Promprilad program continues to support a generation of promising Ukrainian entrepreneurs who are important to the Ukrainian economy,” said Vassour, who also serves as program director.
“In these challenging times, it’s inspiring to see what true resilience means, and we hope that the team of instructors we’ve assembled have inspired them as much as our participants have inspired us,” he added.
Thanks to donor support, the course fees for Ukrainians who participated in both the summer 2023 and spring 2024 programs have been significantly reduced from $8,000 to $1,700. This year, 10 veterans and 16 students were able to study free of charge thanks to the support of donor Ukrainian-Moldavian-American Enterprise Fund.
The Berkeley at Promprylad program shows that even in challenging times, different partners can come together to create an environment where creativity and international collaboration can flourish. The positive impact of the Berkeley at Promprylad curriculum will be seen for years to come. Several projects from last year have continued to grow and have already become successful start-ups.
