The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine is pleased to thank all territorial communities of the Rivne and Sumy oblasts, which expressed their interest to cooperate with the “Economic Empowerment of Women as a Response to the COVID-19 Crisis in Ukraine” project through submission of the application forms. The joint pilot project is being implemented by UNDP together with the International Labor Organization (ILO).

UNDP in Ukraine congratulates the applicants with the opportunities to boost professional growth throughout the targeted capacity building activities for local authorities and businesswomen from members' communities. Businesswomen will be able to apply for e-commerce training for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shortly. Women who are about to start their own business will be invited to apply for the targeted training based on the ILO methodology "Start Your Business".

Additional support in finalizing local development documents – strategies and plans, will be provided to four territorial communities based on the results of calls for expression of interest. These communities are invited to cooperate throughout the project implementation cycle:

·       Goshchanska territorial community, Rivne Oblast;

·       Rivne territorial community, Rivne Oblast;

·       Trostyanets City United Territorial Community, Sumy Oblast;

·       Konotop territorial community, Sumy Oblast.

Background:

In 2021, UNDP and ILO initiated a joint pilot project, "Economic Empowerment of Women as a Response to the COVID-19 Crisis in Ukraine". The project aims to contribute to a sustainable recovery of living standards of the COVID-19 crisis-affected population in Ukraine by promoting and supporting the economic empowerment of women through improving relevant institutional frameworks and increasing economic opportunities to improve women’s livelihoods. During the pilot phase, the project is to be implemented in two target regions of Ukraine – Rivne and Sumy oblasts. Both regions represent a significant number of women entrepreneurs working in the field of small and medium business.

The main activities of the project’s pilot phase will focus on deepening policy dialogue to empower women at the national and regional levels, improving the capacity of local governments to empower women through local programmes and providing women entrepreneurs with in-depth knowledge to transform their businesses into more sustainable ones.