We affectionately refer to social entrepreneurship in educational institutions, such as schools, boarding schools, and colleges, as "StudBiz."
We introduce social entrepreneurship at a very early age, if not at the DNA level. Thanks to various projects, dozens of Ukrainian schools have discovered talents, which you can learn about on the studbiz.in.ua portal. We are now looking for new secondary education institutions that will open social enterprises.

4 years
The project will end in August 2028.

10 student business hubs
will be established based on youth centers and organizations.

30 schools
will undergo training and establish social enterprises.

20 vocational schools
will strengthen themselves through social entrepreneurship.

1,000 teachers
will participate in various events and projects.

8,000 students
will participate in workshops and events organized by the project.

GENERAL GOALPromote the active participation of young people both in democratic life and in labor markets, thereby contributing to sustainable and smart growth, social cohesion and the reduction of inequality.
SPECIFIC GOALPromote social school entrepreneurship among young people and develop the career management, digital, and green transition skills necessary through an innovative SSE educational concept involving local, regional, and national representatives of civil society, authorities, and entrepreneurs.

Result 1: The necessary foundation for the development of successful SSC in Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia was laid by providing capacity to representatives of civil society organizations and youth centers as competent trainers, developing training materials, and creating an online portal for SSC.
Result 2: An SSE education program with potential for national and international expansion was implemented in schools across Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia, resulting in the creation of at least 24 SSE programs and 100 young people completing short internships at social enterprises.

Result 3: Best practices from local pilot programs are disseminated at the national level in all four countries through awareness-raising activities and published materials, as well as through the integration of the SSE model into curricula and/or local school systems in Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia (based on the successful Ukrainian experience).

Result 4: Permanent national and transnational networks of SSE and partnerships have been established, and an annual award for the best SSE in Ukraine has been established.

Result 5: Youth affected by armed conflict (those who have experienced the violence of war and psychological and social trauma) have gained skills and knowledge to improve economic and social resilience in their countries through access to project-developed online courses on social and green development skills and psychological support.

● Teenagers aged 14-18 and their parents

● General secondary education institutions

● Vocational and technical education institutions

● Representatives of public organizations, youth centers, and schools
● Small and medium-sized enterprises, businesses, youth clubs

● Representatives of regional and national authorities

● Five youth centers will become hubs for the development of the SSE in their regions/communities

● Each youth center selected through an open competition will receive:
training for two trainers on the ToT program;
practical experience in the form of workshops for students in schools;
additional practical experience in running a school in the creation of a functioning SSH;
grant support in the amount of €2,000;
mentoring support for the development of the SSE program within the framework of the MC's activities.

Our organization's successful Ukrainian experience will be shared with the project's partner countries: Georgia, Moldova, and Armenia.

An information campaign was conducted to select youth centers that would become SSE hubs. As a result of the information campaign, we received 142 applications from schools to join the project and 26 applications from youth centers.
A jury consisting of five people, three representatives of the project team and two independent experts, selected the project participants based on a number of criteria.Fifteen schools and five youth centres were selected and sent their representatives – curators of future SSE – to participate in the trainer training programme.Selected youth centers:
● Public organization “Youth Organization ”Smart Youth,“ abbreviated Smart Youth● Volyn Youth Center● Public Organization ”Center for Public Activity “Peremoha”● aWARe Zone Youth HubCommunal institution “Youth Center of Chernivtsi ”Youth Residence"


Selected schools:● Ternopil Secondary School No. 10● Slavutych Secondary School No. 1 of the Slavutych City Council of the Vyshhorod District, Kyiv Region● Secondary School No. 3, Truskavets● Novopil Lyceum, Novopil Village Council● State Vocational and Technical Educational Institution “Sumy Higher Vocational School of Construction and Design”● MUNICIPAL INSTITUTION “VINNYTSIA LYCEUM No. 2”● Separate structural unit “Volyn Vocational College of the National University of Food Technologies”● Vyazivka General Secondary Education Institution of I-III Levels of the Vilshanska Village Council of the Zvenyhorodsky District of the Cherkasy Region● Varash Lyceum No. 2 of the Varash City Council● Tysiv Lyceum of the Bolekhiv City Council of the Ivano-Frankivsk Region● Kamianets-Podilskyi Lyceum No. 10 of the Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council● Academic Lyceum named after the Shemet brothers of the Lubensky City Council of the Lubensky District of the Poltava Region● Supporting institution “Dyadkovytsky Lyceum” of the Dyadkovytsky Village Council● Educational Complex No. 141 ‘ORT’ in Kyiv● Communal institution “Poltava General Education School No. 38 of the Poltava City Council of the Poltava Region”


Two modules of the trainer training program were conducted. Twenty-five representatives of schools and youth centers participated in both modules.

Fifteen seminars on the topic of SSH were conducted in 15 schools. Three hundred and six participants took part in the seminars.

1. The project team prepared for the launch of the project in Ukraine and announced the start of accepting applications from youth centers. Applications were accepted until May 20, 2024.

2. The team received applications from 40 youth centers in 16 regions of Ukraine.

3. On June 7, the competition committee selected eight winners, and the results were announced on June 10.

4. From the end of June to the beginning of July, cooperation agreements were signed with eight civil society organizations (partners of the selected youth centers) and eight project coordinators from the youth centers.

5. From July 9 to 12, the project team organized and conducted the first offline training for representatives of the selected youth centers in Lviv. The second training was held in Kyiv from August 20 to 23.

6. Two training modules were prepared and implemented for the eight youth centers, with 16 participants registered (two from each center).

7. A mentoring support program was launched. Mentors gave a presentation to the youth centers and began consultations on setting up social enterprises.

8. Five seminars on social entrepreneurship, communications, and marketing were held for project participants in July and August.

9. A business plan template was developed and provided to project participants, who are representatives of youth centers, to help them develop business plans for their own enterprises.

✔ Individual expert assessment of specific business needs and development of a plan for rapid and focused support.

✔ Assistance in altering the business's strategic focus and reorienting it, if necessary, in order to adapt to the conditions of operation during and after the war.

✔ Access to financial assistance and expert support to implement the business recovery plan and achieve business goals. Each of the selected participants will have the opportunity to receive approximately $10,000 for the development and support of their own business. The final amount of financial assistance will be determined individually for each enterprise.

✔ Business consulting and mentoring services are provided to ensure ongoing support for youth enterprises in implementing their recovery plan and managing their finances. Each enterprise will be assigned a mentor who will collaborate with them for a minimum of two hours per week for a period of four months.

Invited experts will advise each business for a minimum of one hour every two weeks for a period of four months. The mentoring and expert support will cover the following topics (though the list is not exhaustive):
→ financial management
→ sales and marketing
→ risk management
→ market entry
→ logistics
→ supply chain management
→ general management
→ communications, innovation, and digital technologies
→ business/organizational development and business sustainability
→ strategic planning, financing, etc.
✔ Based on the experience gained in working with the first group, we have set new limits for mentoring and expert support for participants in the second group, namely:
Each enterprise received 24 mentoring consultations, 4 expert consultations, and 8 individual consultations to assist in developing business plans and completing documents for obtaining financing

✔ Familiarization with other existing financial opportunities for business support

In April 2023, a campaign was launched to select participating enterprises to participate in the Program.
As part of the information campaign, publications about the second stage of the program were posted on the resources:● Гурт, ● Телеграм-каналі “Твій космос можливостей”, ● Простір,  ● Інстаграм, ● На сайті Програми “Мріємо та діємо”, ● На сторінці Програми “Мріємо та діємо” у Facebook. 
We received 111 applications from Ukrainian companies.

The commission selected 15 companies:
1. To Ta Torba - Individual Entrepreneur Sofia Futerko
2. WONDER - Individual Entrepreneur Kateryna Yermolenko
3. ChocolifeBox - Individual Entrepreneur Anzhelika Vitalievna Dashenko4. Gola Grechka, packaging-free shop - Individual Entrepreneur Sofia-Yulia Anatoliivna Sydorenko5. TM Anzy Home - Individual Entrepreneur Anna Vitalievna Zmiivska6. Sunrino Massage Studio - Individual Entrepreneur Irina Vasylik 7. Future Farm Vertical City Farm - Individual Entrepreneur Mykola Kysleiko
8. NUB WORKSHOP - Individual Entrepreneur Oleksandra Masyutkina
9. DobroDiy Gift Shop for Social Entrepreneurs
10. Online cinema Titr - LLC “KYIVMUZIKFILM” - founder and director Kirill Marikuts11. Individual entrepreneur Molchanova Yevgeniya Igorevna
12. Individual entrepreneur Sirman Olga Mikhailovna
13. Your jam - jam and sauce studio - Individual entrepreneur Stetsenko Yaroslav Valentinovich
14. Art Dance Studio Anna Trofimchuk - Wellness Studio Daria Belova - head Anna Trofimchuk
15. She Flowers - Individual entrepreneur Viktoria Shymko

The mentoring and consulting program ran from May 2023 to May 2024.
In total, Round 2 provided 322 mentoring sessions and 199 expert consultations, including:
139 expert consultations in the following areas:
strategic business planning;
business model development;
negotiations;
financial analysis;
marketing;
branding, communication channels
legal issues (reporting, taxation, contract drafting, specifics of foreign economic activity)
and 60 consultations on preparing documents for obtaining financing, during which the specialist provided support and managed the process of developing a business plan, project description, and project budget

Nine joint workshops were held on the following topics:
September 5, 2023, on “First steps to export.”

A total of 25 participants took part in Round 2:
6 participants were men and 19 were women
12 were local residents and 13 were IDPs
21 were urban residents and 4 were rural residents.

The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is an international non-profit organization specializing in international education and development.
Making Cents International (MCI) is a dynamic social enterprise that has been increasing economic opportunities in developing countries for over 12 years. Currently, more than 130 projects have been implemented in over 60 countries around the world.

✅Working with program experts to conduct an expert assessment of specific business needs and further develop a business plan.

✅Experts will help develop a detailed grant support budget and description of activities to receive material support. 
✅Assistance in changing the focus of the business and reorientation (if necessary), adaptation of the business to the conditions of operation during and after the war

✅Access to financial assistance and expert support to support the business recovery plan and achieve business goals. Each of the selected participants will have the opportunity to receive approximately $10,000 for the development and support of their own business (the final amount of financial assistance will be determined individually for each enterprise).

✅Business consulting and mentoring to ensure ongoing support for social youth enterprises in implementing their recovery plan and managing their finances. Each enterprise will be assigned a mentor who will work with them for at least one session (1-1.5 hours) per week for six months. Invited experts will advise each business for at least 12 sessions (1-1.5 hours per session) throughout the program.

The selection of companies participating in the program lasted until August 31, 2023.

The selection of participants for the program was announced as part of an information campaign. Among other information channels, an article about the program was prepared and published in the authoritative media The Village.

On August 10, 2023, a Q&A session was held to answer key questions about the Program with the participation of Valeria Sergienko, IREX Grant Manager,
Inna Lubynets, MCI Ukraine team leader, and Artem Kornetskyy, head of the School of ME (the session was viewed by 150 people as of August 5, 2023).

The deadline for submitting applications to participate in the Program was August 31, 2023. A total of 60 applications were received, which were forwarded to the technical evaluation stage (verification of compliance with minimum eligibility requirements) prior to the selection of fifteen finalists by the competition committee.

● The deadline for submitting applications to participate in the Program was August 31, 2023. A total of 60 applications were received.

● The jury selected 16 social youth enterprises to participate in the program.

● A competition was held for the position of GESI expert to implement the tasks approved by the GESI Plan.

● On October 4, 2023, an introductory online meeting was held with the selected program participants to detail the next steps, outline the program stages and conditions for participation, introduce the partner organizations involved, etc.

● On October 14, 2023, a one-day offline kick-off meeting was held with 15 (out of 16) selected teams of social enterprises in Kyiv. To ensure the high quality of the event, a presentation was prepared for the participants, as well as a separate presentation about the participants' enterprises to help them get to know each other.

● A template for a report on the results of the assessment of enterprises' needs was developed, individual interviews with authorized representatives of enterprises were conducted, on the basis of which reports with assessments of each of the 16 enterprises were prepared, as well as recommendations for development and specific recommendations on the selection of mentors and expert consultations that would best meet the business needs of the enterprise.

● Individual development plans were developed for all 16 enterprises participating in the project.

● Mentors were selected according to the individual business needs of the project participants. Mentors were selected for each of the 16 enterprises participating in the project. To detail the expectations of mentors in the project, a corresponding memo was created for mentors and communicated to the mentors involved.

● As part of the mentoring support program, 340 mentoring consultations were provided, as well as 84 expert consultations, 45 of which were dedicated to gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in social entrepreneurship and were conducted by expert Andriy Zhuk.

● Nine thematic workshops were held as part of the training component.

● Thanks to expert support, the project participants began developing business plans and documentation packages to obtain funding, taking advantage of 60 consultations on financing.

● As part of the project's communication campaign, an article about five social enterprises participating in the project was published in the popular specialist media The Village. The Village was selected as the service provider for the preparation and publication of these articles through a tender process.
● ● 08.05.2024 - First publication entitled “What is social business and why does Ukraine need it: looking at the basics of social entrepreneurship.”

● 05.06.2024 - Second publication entitled: "Not privileges, but opportunities. Why Ukraine needs to develop a law on social entrepreneurship.“

● 18.07.2024 - Third publication on the topic ”Cast aside your fears or face them head on": here are two social businesses that their owners launched on their own. From small home-based businesses to successful enterprises with motivated teams“ - about the social enterprises ”Pani Halushko“ and ”Marichka cosmetics,“ which became participants in the ”18:35: Social Edition“ project for social youth enterprises and the Mriemo ta Diemo program.

● 24.07.2024 - fourth publication on the topic "From skateboards to hand knitting: stories of four social businesses that are breaking stereotypes. Is it true that social businesses are not profitable?" - about the finalists of the Social Enterprise Vbrani Lady Di atelier Social Workshop WoodLuck and One True.

● 19.08.2024 - fifth publication on the topic “What will Ukrainian social business be like in 30 years” - about the history of social entrepreneurship, its current state, and prospects.

● As part of the finalization of the project results, materials on the success stories of the project participants were collected. In particular, stories about the achievements of the following enterprises were collected: Yapomoga, Vbrani, Reklamnyy Tsekh, Shalena Golka (individual entrepreneur Yashchenko), One True, Pani Galushko, WoodLuck, and Marichka Cosmetics.

● The results of the communication campaign were summarized. The total reach was 1,060,252 people at the end of the project.


The implementation of gender equality and social inclusion principles was incorporated into the methodological component of the project and implemented throughout the project.

The Social Impact Award Ukraine project provided young entrepreneurs with access to the necessary resources, including mentoring, counseling, and networking, to successfully implement their socially innovative ideas.

At the end of June 2024, 10 innovative business ideas aimed at solving specific social problems were searched and selected.
Selected ideas:● FreedomWalk: A web-based application that will allow you to create accessible routes with real-time data updates. The application will also be a platform for social interaction between people.
● ECOpellet: A project to create pellets from agricultural waste aimed at producing an environmentally friendly fuel material by processing agricultural waste
● The Anthill: "The Ant Farm is an educational center where teenagers explore different professions and acquire useful skills in a playful way.
● Trapeza to you: A project for students and staff of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. There is a cafeteria on the university campus, but there is always a long line. My project will deliver food to students in reusable containers.
● Camp "Life Start": The project helps adolescents with mental health problems and problems in project activities.
● Employment Platform for War-Affected Communities in Ukraine: In Ukraine, 15 million people have employment problems. Our project launches a platform for veterans, disabled people and IDPs, connecting them with employers to reduce unemployment, fight poverty and promote socio-economic reintegration.
● HomeGarden: A project that will offer ready-made kits for growing plants at home, along with an app for phones that will make the process more entertaining.
Fablub: A workshop for making creative products on a 3D printer (based on a school printer).Goal: support the Armed Forces, earn money for lectures for students that will help in adult life. In particular, lectures on financial literacy, networking, etc.
● Artishok. Podcasts: Artishok. Podcasts is a project of conversational audio content about healthy and proper nutrition based on scientific research. It is a kind of healthy podcast room where every Ukrainian will understand how to improve the quality of their life.
Organization: The idea is to create an event company that will organize social events and unite social businesses at the community level and promote them in society.
In the course of the project implementation, 8 workshops were held to improve the skills of the participants. A jury consisting of 8 qualified experts was formed to evaluate the projects.

SAP. SAP is one of the world leaders in the enterprise applications market, helping organizations of all sizes and specializations to manage their business more efficiently. SAP entered the Ukrainian market in 1995. In Ukraine, its customers include more than 250 government organizations, as well as enterprises in the oil and gas, energy and metallurgical sectors. SAP takes an active part in the development of Ukraine's national IT staff by cooperating with the country's leading universities under the global University Alliance program.

SiLab. SILAB UKRAINE is a professional platform for the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovations, popularization of impact investing, and building social partnerships.

Ukrainian Social Venture Fund. The Ukrainian Social Venture Fund invests in and supports social enterprises whose business models are based on achieving social and environmental change. The Fund was founded by an initiative group that includes School of ME, ChildFund Deutschland, WNISEF and SiLab Ukraine.

The last two podcasts premiered on February 26-29, 2024.
A playlist of podcasts telling viewers about Crowdfunding, its tools, and success stories is available on YouTube. The videos are translated into sign language, so they can be interesting and accessible to a wider audience. Podcasts are also available on other platforms (Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google podcasts).

Active work on the course lasted from June to December 2023. The first three modules of the course were published on December 13.

Target audience: viewers and users of the Prometheus platform, anyone interested, representatives of CSOs, volunteers, activists interested in developing their own CSOs or SEs by attracting additional resources.


The course can be accessed at: https://prometheus.org.ua/course/course-v1:Prometheus+PROCF101+2023_T3 

After the incubation program, team members held 14 workshops on crowdfunding in communities.

In total, 145 new participants attended the workshops in communities, and there were 27 views of the video workshop from the Mriyu Zhyty Charitable Foundation.

1. In partnership with the NGO “Youth Platform,” on September 7, 2023, we participated in the final selection of 11 youth centers.
2. In the fall of 2023, an information campaign was conducted to select youth centers to participate in the program with the aim of creating social enterprises based on them, which are posted on the selection page, on the platforms Velyka Idea, Hurt, Hromadska Prostir, as well as on social networks Facebook, Instagram, Telegram channel for youth opportunities Your Cosmos of Opportunities, and the Facebook page of the implementing partners - NGO Youth Platform.
3. Workshops were held for Upshift participants:

4. An expert opinion was developed and approved, detailing the mechanisms for creating youth centers with entrepreneurial activities.
5. A detailed guide was created to familiarize and assess the potential of participating teams.

6. To ensure an objective selection process, instructions were developed for the jury and an expert commission was formed, which included representatives of leading organizations in the field of youth policy and social entrepreneurship.
7. As a result of the information campaign, 33 applications were received from youth centers. After preliminary selection and detailed analysis of the applications, the expert commission selected 15 teams to participate in the project.
8. Between November 13 and 24, 19 interviews were conducted with youth centers that made it to the shortlist based on the commission's selection results to clarify details and assess the teams' potential.
9. From January 18 to 19, 2024, the first training module for participants of the youth center incubator was held as part of the program. The event was attended by 28 representatives of 12 youth centers, who were carefully selected based on the results of their applications.
11. From February 19 to 21, 2024, the Second Training Module for participants of the youth center incubator was held as part of the program.
12. On February 22, 2024, a design session entitled “Social Entrepreneurship as an Effective Mechanism for the Financial Sustainability of Youth Centers” was held for project participants. In addition to participants from youth centers, the session was attended by representatives of public and charitable organizations, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, executive authorities, and the military administration. In total, there were 63 registered participants from 16 regions of Ukraine.
Based on the results of the design session “Social entrepreneurship as an effective mechanism for the financial sustainability of youth centers,” we prepared conclusions. During the event, an expert opinion on the topic was presented, current problems in entrepreneurial activity based on youth centers were verified, and ideas and proposals for possible solutions were sought from key stakeholders. The session was attended by representatives of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Ministry of Education and Youth of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, local authorities, and youth centers established on the basis of public associations and municipal institutions.
13. From March 27 to 29, 2024, the third training module for participants of the youth center incubator was held as part of the program. A total of 23 participants registered.
14. Thanks to the training modules and regular consultations with mentors, 13 youth center teams successfully developed their business ideas and detailed business plans. The teams are actively working to implement their projects.
15. In April 2024, a pool of experts was prepared for the Youth Center teams.
16. An online meeting was held on grant funding. During the meeting, representatives of the School of ME and ISAR “Yednist” discussed the grant application process in detail and answered all participants' questions. Twenty-two representatives of youth centers received comprehensive information on the next steps within the project.
17. To start the process of preparing funding applications, the project team developed and provided a business plan template for youth centers to fill out.
18. In June, criteria and a methodology for assessing the dynamics of program participants' skills were developed. According to the assessment results, all 12 youth center teams that participated in the survey developed at least one skill. Accordingly, the percentage of teams that developed skills is 100%.
19. In June 2024, the project teams developed 12 business plans, which are part of the funding application.

The project achieved the following results:
Completed training - 12 teams in the incubation program.