On 28 February 2024, veterans, members of the Ukrainian Parliament, representatives of the Government, experts and entrepreneurs discussed strategies and policies to support veteran entrepreneurship at all levels in Ukraine. The discussion was held as part of the key Veteran Business Forum “Supporting Veteran Entrepreneurship: From National to Regional Perspective”.
The initiator of the Forum and moderator of the first session of the Forum on the topic: “State Strategy for Veteran Business and Policy” was Taras Tarasenko, the member of the Ukrainian Parliament, member of the Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights Protection. In his opening remarks, he noted the following:
“The experience of the United States of America, Britain, and Israel shows that veterans are proactive members of society, they can open super-startups, successfully run their own businesses, and even lead corporations. I wish we could create such conditions for veterans in Ukraine.
Our team, consisting of Ukrainian MPs, the legal and veteran community, has already drafted a relevant bill. We also involved the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Veterans Fund in this work. This is the draft law “On Veteran Entrepreneurship”, reg. №10258.
Its philosophy is as follows. Ukraine is currently at war. The army is the main employer. But after our victory, the state will face the task of making sure that the main investment is in combatants. So that each combatant can regain his or her economic independence after giving up his or her health and time to protect us.
We have also provided maximum opportunities for veteran business development. The way is open. Now it's time to vote both at the Committee and in the Parliament.
I believe that soon all communities in Ukraine will compete for veterans to open their businesses.
From my experience, I can say that there is a clear synergy in the development of a comprehensive veterans' policy. Veterans' business and entrepreneurship are one of its components.”
Soon, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights will consider the draft law on veteran entrepreneurship under Reg. №10258.
The Veteran Business Forum “Supporting Veteran Entrepreneurship: From National to Regional Perspective” was held with the support of the Support to Civil Society Organisations in Ukraine programme, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and implemented by Crown Agents in partnership with International Alert and in cooperation with Crown Agents in Ukraine.