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04 November 2021, 13:57
Entrepreneur from Melitopol opened a tailor shop thanks to a grant from UNDP within the EU4Business initiative
Today's story in the section #AASuccessStories is about an entrepreneur
from Melitopol, who, after being fired, finally decided to make her
dream come true and start her own business. Lidiya Khyla received the
grant from the UNDP program and the EU initiative EU4Business.
##AASuccessStories is a column on how Ukrainians in practice implement the Association Agreement with the EU and enjoy opportunities for cooperation with the European Union.
The story of small business of Lidiya Khyla from Melitopol started with the crisis. The woman was fired from the company she had been working for 19 years. Lidia says that dismissal made her seriously think about starting her own business, which she had been thinking about for a long time. “What do you think I did? I immediately went to dressmaking courses, and then to the Employment Center. I learned there about the grant competition from the UNDP program to start my own business”, the woman says (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek2dxzyN_N0).
Lidiya Khyla persuaded her friend to join and together the women began to plan and create a project, with which they eventually applied for a grant. They decided to sew bedlinen. Had consultations with the owners of recreation centres to find out if there will be a demand for their products. The women's business plan was drawn up in record time — in just three days. Lydia admits that she did not believe she would get funding. But her project won. So Lidiya Khyla received 142 thousand hryvnias to buy sewing equipment and start her own business.
As soon as the company started operating, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Its consequences did not go unnoticed for Lidiya’s business. “Quarantine has begun. All enterprises began to close due to COVID-19. Do you think our wings have dropped? Of course not. We started sewing masks. At that time I was pregnant, so I only shaped and ironed. Later, a second son was born and he inspired us to sew children's clothing. With difficulties, but with great love, we are developing a small business for a better future for our kids”, Lidiya says.
The birth of her second child, says Lidiya Khyla, gave rise to another area of her business - participation in the state “Baby Package” program. From the Ministry of Social Policy she got the list of documents to prepare, how to launch the payment service on the website, and Lidiya's workshop became the first in the city where young parents could buy kid's things under the “Baby Package” program.
In April, Lidiya's video about her business took third place in the Big Stories of Small Business contest. A series of videos tells about entrepreneurs from Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions who started their own business from a scratch. This social campaign has been conducted by UNDP and the EU for 5 years together with the Molodiya Festival. Lidiya's Khyla video took third place in the audience vote and received financial assistance to promote her business.
Learn how to start your business on the project website — startbusiness.com.ua Start a Business is a free platform that aims to show a real ways to start the business and tells how to minimize possible risks. The project is implemented under the UN Development Program with the financial support of the Government of Poland, the EIB and the EU.
Sources.
##AASuccessStories is a column on how Ukrainians in practice implement the Association Agreement with the EU and enjoy opportunities for cooperation with the European Union.
The story of small business of Lidiya Khyla from Melitopol started with the crisis. The woman was fired from the company she had been working for 19 years. Lidia says that dismissal made her seriously think about starting her own business, which she had been thinking about for a long time. “What do you think I did? I immediately went to dressmaking courses, and then to the Employment Center. I learned there about the grant competition from the UNDP program to start my own business”, the woman says (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek2dxzyN_N0).
Lidiya Khyla persuaded her friend to join and together the women began to plan and create a project, with which they eventually applied for a grant. They decided to sew bedlinen. Had consultations with the owners of recreation centres to find out if there will be a demand for their products. The women's business plan was drawn up in record time — in just three days. Lydia admits that she did not believe she would get funding. But her project won. So Lidiya Khyla received 142 thousand hryvnias to buy sewing equipment and start her own business.
As soon as the company started operating, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Its consequences did not go unnoticed for Lidiya’s business. “Quarantine has begun. All enterprises began to close due to COVID-19. Do you think our wings have dropped? Of course not. We started sewing masks. At that time I was pregnant, so I only shaped and ironed. Later, a second son was born and he inspired us to sew children's clothing. With difficulties, but with great love, we are developing a small business for a better future for our kids”, Lidiya says.
The birth of her second child, says Lidiya Khyla, gave rise to another area of her business - participation in the state “Baby Package” program. From the Ministry of Social Policy she got the list of documents to prepare, how to launch the payment service on the website, and Lidiya's workshop became the first in the city where young parents could buy kid's things under the “Baby Package” program.
In April, Lidiya's video about her business took third place in the Big Stories of Small Business contest. A series of videos tells about entrepreneurs from Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions who started their own business from a scratch. This social campaign has been conducted by UNDP and the EU for 5 years together with the Molodiya Festival. Lidiya's Khyla video took third place in the audience vote and received financial assistance to promote her business.
Learn how to start your business on the project website — startbusiness.com.ua Start a Business is a free platform that aims to show a real ways to start the business and tells how to minimize possible risks. The project is implemented under the UN Development Program with the financial support of the Government of Poland, the EIB and the EU.
Sources.