The USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA) has provided nearly $52,000 in construction materials to help Novovolynsk, Volyn Oblast create a new business center to support entrepreneurs in the community.
USAID ERA provided materials such as windows, doors, water pipes, tiles, putty foam, insulation, cables lamps and more. With these materials, along with labor financed by the Novovolynsk City Council, new windows, tiles, partitions and a water heater were installed in the 1960s-era building where the new Novo Business Center is located. USAID ERA also purchased a generator to help the center continue its operations during power cuts, and equipped kitchen and bathrooms.
Renovation began in February 2024, and the City Council plans to furnish the center with furniture and office equipment provided through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In addition, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) developed a strategy for the center focused on networking, attracting grant funds for businesses, and training entrepreneurs. The center plans on officially opening in December of this year.
“There are 3,900 business representatives in our community; almost 800 are enterprises, and the rest are small businesses, that is individual entrepreneurs who produce something or provide services,” said Mayor of Novovolynsk, Borys Karpus. “We hope that this business center will become a good platform for the establishment of public-private partnerships and ties between the local government and local businesses.”
The center will host a co-working space, and specialists will be available to help small businesses with preparing grant applications to attract financing, prepare their taxes and other services.
“We have already ordered a step-by-step action plan for the development of this center from a company in Lviv,” Mayor Karpus explained. “On behalf of the community, they are ready to form a policy to promote the development of business. I believe that this center will fulfill this role and become self-sufficient in the long run.”
Residents of the community and internally displaced persons (IDPs) will be able to use business center services free of charge. Currently, about 60,000 people live in the community; 4,000 of them are IDPs.