On June 15, the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) conducted an online training for representatives of small and medium-sized businesses on the topic “Practical Usage of ChatGPT Tools for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.” Forty entrepreneurs took part in the training, some of whom havelearned about the possibilities of using artificial intelligence (AI)  for the first time, while others shared their experience.

Oleh Myroshnichenko, head of the USAID ERA business internationalization department, demonstrated how ChatGPT can perform text-based tasks, help promote business, generate ideas, and build analytical tables. He explained that ChatGPT is a dialog service based on AI that can be used for writing unique texts, psychological support, report generation, speech preparation, and business description development. This significantly saves time for the user.

Myroshnichenko noted further:

“ChatGPT is a useful assistant for business. In order to promote the company in the market abroad, the Chat can prepare a series of posts for a positive presentation of the company. But you should avoid general requests – for example, write an article about socks. It is desirable to give a specific task. You can have e-mails so that the text is optimally adapted to each client. You can ask AI to explain complex things using analogies understandable to the target audience – this helps to explain a complex topic. You can analyse competitors, partners based on information from their sites – in the case of using the paid version, the Chat can search for information on the Internet.”

The participants of the training asked about the use of the Chat in the context of copyright protection, and the possibilities of significantly increasing the productivity of the mental work undertaken by representatives of various professions.

USAID ERA plans to continue conducting such trainings which aim to teach small businesses to use new opportunities to strengthen their positions in the market, and to promote the products of Ukrainian manufacturers in foreign markets.

We bring to your attention the video recording of the first event on using ChatGPT https://youtu.be/CfcnXfnd6lk, which was held on June 1, 2023. We will provide the recording of the second event in due course.

On June 8, about 200 representatives of business, government, and international donor organizations took part in the First National Forum “Helping Businesses in Wartime: National and Regional Aspects”. The event was held with the assistance of the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) and the Reform Support Team of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

During the forum, four panel discussions were held, the speakers of which were the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Nadiia Bihun, the Head of the State Employment Service, and representatives of USAID ERA, the Reform Support Team, OshchadBank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the USAID Competitive Economy Program (CEP), the USAID  Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO), as well as relocated businesses, regional and local authorities from liberated territories (Kyiv and Sumy oblasts), and economic development agencies.

The Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Nadiia Bihun, spoke about the opportunities for business during the war, and announced a grant program where applicants cover 30% of the funds and the state – 70%. The program is aimed at creating new jobs. Thanks to state grants, businesses receive support, purchase equipment, and implement their ideas. The 5/7/9 program – one of the main lending programs, is also in effect.

“The Ministry of Economy analyzed how much money is returned to Ukrainians when they buy national products. It turned out that up to 40% of the product’s value is returned to Ukrainians in the form of taxes at various levels. We believe that despite the war, business will grow, strengthening our country economically,” Ms. Bihun said.

Chief of Party (COP) of  USAID ERA Timothy Madigan, in welcoming the participants to the event, spoke about the history of the creation of dialogue platforms. USAID ERA started these platforms in 2022 together with the Reform Support Team of the Ministry of Economy and already held 13 of them where important topics for business were discussed, including on relocation, payments, where to find personnel, how to export products, and how to get grants.

“Over 1,000 entrepreneurs joined us at these events over the past year, 60% of them were companies resettled from the east. The team also created an online grant calendar for business. I believe that we will continue to look for new ways to support and develop partnership, and together we will restore Ukraine,” Mr. Madigan said.

Participants of the first discussion panel were entrepreneurs who relocated their businesses from Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv oblasts. They talked about how they are working during the war, what was achieved and what challenges remain. The enterprise KramTechTsentr from Kramatorsk is now working in Dnipro, the company AGK Ukraina from Rubizhne resumed its work in Lviv Oblast, and the plant Kontakt from Druzhkivka moved to Vinnytsia. Businesses were looking everywhere for safe conditions to continue work, and then began to join grant programs, to purchase equipment, and strengthen their capacities. For most manufacturers, the remaining problems still include finding personnel, the reservation of employees liable for military service, the inability to go abroad to find partners, and the complicated procedures for submitting grant applications to various programs.

The participants of the second panel discussion talked about state and non-state business support programs: the Erobota grant, public procurement and the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in them, procurement through Prozoro Market, export opportunities, and the need for demining of many territories, and how businesses can join.

“There are 2,500 sappers in Ukraine, and 1,500 of them work at various sites every day. Machines are needed to speed up demining (agricultural land, critical infrastructure). Now there are 15 , which is very few. Kharkiv Oblast is critical now, and Kherson Oblast is next. The work of sappers is difficult, there are not enough of them, anyone can become one. That is, these are business opportunities. Government and donor money will be allocated for this. According to experts, demining Ukraine requires USD 37.5 billion and a lot of time. This requires a lot of equipment. All this will have to be bought, now we are looking for equipment all over the world,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi, a specialist on coordinating humanitarian demining in the UN Development Program.

The speakers of the third panel discussion talked about what local and regional authorities should do to support businesses. Representatives of local authorities of communities from Kyiv and Sumy oblasts shared their experience of recovery after liberation. They discussed what local and regional authorities can do to support businesses, how to find a consensus, and which tools of participation of authorities and business support institutions are already used in communities.

Trostianets Mayor Yurii Bova shared his recipe for community recovery, noting that it is close cooperation between business, government, and the community.

“There was an outflow of people and businesses from the occupied territories. After the liberation, we faced a huge threat: how to return the businesses. What about looted enterprises, looting, how can an investor come here? The first thing the government should do is to provide businesses with security guarantees: to protect the territory, to show foreigners that the city is safe, that people are returning, public transport is running, and schools are opening. After that, businesses will return. Not a single business left the city that was under occupation, where the losses reach USD 100 million, and everyone returned. The entire infrastructure is working, the entire team of the city government is open to communication with businesses. So, the investment climate is created by the local government. In Europe, investors ask the government to show them a school and a hospital, and then make a decision on investment, ” Mayor Bova said.

The participants of the fourth panel talked about the grants that are available for businesses today, the specifics of submitting grant applications and fulfilling the conditions of various grant providers. The USAID ERA team created a grant Ecalendar for businesses, which is a compilation of all current grants, that is constantly updated and is convenient to use from ones phone.

Yuliia Zhovtiak, Director of the State Employment Service, spoke about the grants that small businesses can receive. This amount is up to 250,000 hryvnias, provided that two jobs are created. The main condition for returning the grant is payment of taxes for three years. New grants are also available for veterans or their family members.

“The employment service teaches businesses how to prepare high-quality grant applications either free of charge or at a small cost. We consider this business support program to be effective because entrepreneurs have already paid more than 70 million hryvnias in taxes for the period of its validity from July 2022,” said Ms. Zhovtiak.

Kateryna Rigg, Head of the Small and Medium-sized Business Development Department of EBRD in Ukraine, presented businesses are being supported today.

“The EBRD, with the financial support of donors, flexibly responded to business needs during the full-scale war – introduced new products and adapted existing programs. There are grants for consulting projects where the business engages local consultants. Starting from July 2022, the compensation has been increased from 50% to 85%. These can be strategies, marketing, information technology and other areas. We also support business participation in international exhibitions, and  more than 40 small enterprises have created new sales channels and partnerships during the year since the beginning of the war. There are grants for relocation from war-torn areas within Ukraine after February 24 as companies are looking for safe conditions to continue work. We have received more than 300 applicationsand are evaluating them to support the relocation. We are introducing professional development training, in particular, training in corporate management for women, because there are many men at the front, and they are taught cyber security, migration from Russian software. I advise businesses to make sure to use these various support programs.”

During the networking sessions at the event, the businesses established contacts and the organizers were asked to continue such dialogue among businesses and those institutions and organizations that support its work. It was this platform that helped some of the participants get grants, loans, relocation payments, make reservations for employees, learn about how to get involved in various opportunities and continue to work during the war.

On June 7, the conference “Insourcing the Reconstruction of Ukraine: How to Involve Ukrainian Manufacturers of Building Materials in the Reconstruction Process,” organized by the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), was held in Kyiv.

Representatives of government, businesses, donor organizations, and the banking sector took part in the conference to discuss the possibilities of restoring Ukraine through the maximum involvement of Ukrainian construction companies and to introduce donors and international financial institutions to manufacturers of construction materials who are seeking resources to increase their capacities to meet the construction needs.

The event was prompted by a study conducted by specialists of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Industry Expertise to find out the potential of the construction industry of Ukraine and the possible participation of manufacturers of construction materials in the reconstruction process. The most important conclusion is that Ukrainian companies can produce 90% of all construction materials.

The Director of Economic Growth, USAID Mission in Ukraine, Christopher Abrams, in addressing the participants of the conference, said that USAID supports the reconstruction of Ukraine’s economy, which should not only be restored but also become better after restoration.

The Head of the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Mustafa Nayem, spoke about the importance of such a study. He noted that it showed that compared to other countries where there have been wars in recent years, the Ukrainian construction sector had preserved its potential, which must be used for economic recovery.

“Ukrainian manufacturers have potential, relevant experience, and standards, but now they do not have relevant orders, because the war continues. At the same time, it is important to realize that Ukraine does not produce some materials (cement, glass) or there is not enough of them, so we will be forced to import such construction materials”, said Mr. Nayem.

Director of the State Enterprise Ukrainian Industry Expertise Volodymyr Vlasiuk presented the results of the study conducted by his company.

“We tried to estimate the amount of construction materials that will be needed. As of November 1, 2022, the recovery needs amounted to $62 billion. For people to return from abroad, they need housing and work. Buildings will be rebuilt according to new projects and standards. That is, the destroyed “Khrushchivka”-type houses will be rebuilt in a new way. The recovery period generates a great demand for construction materials. Before 2022, 95% of construction materials were consumed in Ukraine. The construction materials sector is viable, there are personnel, although many people are now mobilized, defending the country at the front. The biggest challenges are access to loans, energy stability, and low consumer activity in the construction market. We do not produce glass, and there is not enough electrical equipment (panels), and cement. But 90% of construction materials can be produced in Ukraine. For this, it is necessary to combine the external economic efforts of diplomacy, the efforts of the sector in establishing contacts with donors, to create equal conditions for the competition of producers from Ukraine and Europe – all this will support the Ukrainian economy”, believes Mr. Vlasiuk.

The executive director of the UkrTsement Association Liudmila Kripka spoke about the need for maximum localization of the production of construction materials, and this will create jobs for people. She noted that currently, there are nine plants in Ukraine, eight of which are working, producing cement. Further, products supplied to Ukraine can cross the border without hindrance, but Ukrainian producers do not have this opportunity, and in other words, conditions for producers are non-competitive.

“The capacity of Ukrainian cement producers is 13 million tons per year. In 2021, they produced 11 million tons. Enterprises are ready to increase volumes. About 1 million tons are exported. We offer to support producers with preferential loans, to allow obtaining certificates on the basis of European ones. An independent laboratory is also needed, because usually these are laboratories at enterprises,” said Ms. Kripka.

The Head of the Association of Elevator Operators of Ukraine Serhii Horishnyi spoke about the challenges and opportunities for the production of elevators. He noted that currently, there are three elevator- producing factories in Ukraine that cover 50% of the need, and that more are needed, as these are all jobs.

“We need to ‘Ukrainianize’ the production of elevators, including its components. We import some components, because Ukraine does not produce them. There are ready-made elevators, but sometimes they are of dubious quality, much cheaper than Ukrainian ones. I draw attention to the responsibility of developers, becaus elevators need maintenance, because it is related to the safety of people who use them every day. As producers, we need cheap loans, specialists who will work in production, direct communication of all parties – both from the government and donors”, Mr. Horishnyi emphasized.

During the event, special attention was paid to financial resources for the development of the industry. The participants emphasized that it is necessary to involve both Ukrainian and international banks in this process, to make loans on preferential terms, so that manufacturers could pay them back in a timely manner, and this does not force them to increase the prices of the final products they manufacture.

Deputy Director of USAID ERA Brian Milakovsky summarized the event:

“We heard about the need for access to  finance by  Ukrainian manufacturers, because they are not equal for Ukrainian and European companies. Ukraine’s international partners should focus on this disparity in access to financing, which prevents Ukrainian manufacturers from strengthening their role in the country’s reconstruction. The question of the development of the workforce and its improvement is very important, so that it is not a shadow workforce, but officially employed people for whom employers pay taxes. We will continue to work to combine the efforts of interested producers and contribute to the economic recovery of Ukraine, because the sector has the potential to achieve this.”

The conference participants will draft their proposals into one document and plan to further communicate with interested parties (manufacturers, diplomats, donors) in order to draw the attention of the global community to the fact that Ukraine can handle the production of a large volume of construction materials in order to restore the economy after victory is attained.

With the assistance of the USAID Economic Resilience Activity, the premiere of the film series of six documentaries “Cities and their Heroes” was held in Kharkiv. The goal of the project is to show thetruth about the heroism of the Ukrainian people and the transformation of an ordinary person into a real hero. As part of the project, documentary films about Ukrainian cities and their residents, as well as a thematic photo exhibition with the works of leading Ukrainian photographers, will be shown throughout Ukraine.

In the film, anactress of the Puppet Theater Olena Ozerova tells the story about the creative fighting spirit of Kharkiv. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Olena has exchanged her cozy apartment for the premises of the theater, which has turned into a humanitarian center.

The film “Cities and their heroes” was presented at the YermilovCentre in Kharkiv. The audience watched it in complete silence, many with tears in their eyes. The heroine of the film, Olena Ozerova, did not hold back her emotions either.

“When I watched the film, I recalled the period of the first months of the full-scale war. It is good that we will have such a memory of those events that cannot be forgotten and cannot be forgiven. We must fight on,” Olena said after the show.

The director of the film, Olga Hibelinda, noted that Kharkiv is a very symbolic city for her:

“This is a very proud and very sincere city. In our film, I wanted to convey precisely these features of it. I am proud of Kharkiv and the people who live there.”

Denys Bloshchynskyi, the initiator of the project “Cities and their Heroes”, noted: this project is primarily about humanity.

“The heroism of Ukrainians is our extraordinary ability to remain human in any circumstances. In our project, we talk about such heroes. Real modern heroes are now born in a moment – sometimes accidentally, situationally, but they become the ones who take responsibility. They just do it. They protect the Human Being in themselves. And it is this Human Being who wins this war,” says Bloshchynskyi.

During the week leading up to the premiere, a photo exhibition of photos from various Ukrainian cities affected by the Russia’s invasion – city landscapes and individual objects, as well as photos of city residents who played an important role in protecting their region from the Russia’s invaders –  was held in Kharkiv.

The heroes of the photo exhibition from Kharkiv were, in particular, a musician, a poet and a volunteer Oleh Kadanov, Tetiana Pylypchuk from the Kharkiv LitMuseum (Literature Museum), Kharkiv’s most famous guide Maksym Rozenfeld, a producer and a volunteer Meriam Yol, a cook Mykyta Virchenko, an artist Mykola Kolomiets, and other townspeople who were transformed by the war and became  real heroes.

In the project “Cities and their Heroes”, in each of the 6 cities of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Bashtanka, and Ivankiv, a hero was chosen for the documentary film about the city. Each film reveals its own page of volunteering, efficiency, and love for one’s country by Ukrainians.

The film has already been presented in Bashtanka, Okhtyrka,  Ivankiv, and Kharkiv. Then, the project will be shown in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kyiv and Lviv.