10 winners of the Do Your Business with Kurator competition from Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, and Cherkasy regions received their awards and spoke about their business initiatives that impressed the judges, the process of their creation, and plans for scaling, UNN reports.
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Among the contestants were the following ideas: "MeatCo from Mom" - a medic, mother of two soldiers of the Azov battalion, one of whom was killed by the enemy, started cooking and sending food to the front. "Ready Meals in Retort Packs, which provides soldiers with home-cooked meals in retort packs, and Family Cafe, whose owner is a soldier from Kyiv region who provided assistance to refugees in his cafe during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.
The Do Your Business with Kurator contest was organized by the Kurator brand and the MHP-Gromada Charitable Foundation for the HoReCa industry (restaurants, hotels, catering).
At the awards ceremony, the winners of the competition were able to talk to renowned chefs and listen to a lecture by Andriy Magaletsky, founder of RESTETIKA consulting company, on life hacks and tips for opening a restaurant.
A total of 86 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses took part in the competition, including veteran entrepreneurs, internally displaced persons, and military personnel who developed their businesses and whose businesses suffered from Russian aggression. The organizers allocated a total of UAH 1 million for grants. Each of the winners will receive up to UAH 100 thousand to develop their own business. With the funds provided, entrepreneurs will be able to start a new business and scale or relocate an existing one.
In addition to a cash prize, the winners received diplomas, certificates from the Kurator brand for the purchase of products, access to the B2B portal, and a ticket to the next Ukraine HoReCa Masters event.
It is important to note that this is not the end of the journey, as the winners will be supported by the organizers and experts of the competition in implementing their business projects and will be provided with professional assistance.
A cooking class was also organized for the contestants so that they could appreciate the benefits of Kurator's improved products. Under the guidance of professional chef Roman Makovetskyi, the participants cooked chicken mitballs with marinara sauce and mashed potatoes with truffle. And they realized that the main advantage of the modified products is time savings, which means process optimization and business benefits.
The judges of the competition were very selective in choosing the projects. The winners' business ideas met the main requirements of the competition organizers, namely: innovation, job creation, and socio-economic impact for the community. The top ten winners are as follows:
1. The Vodoley family cafe is located in the village of Ivankiv. In 2022, enemy troops looted it and took away expensive equipment. Now the owners are starting to restore it.
2. "Lunchburger" from TM "Khlibna Kyshenya". Winning the "Do Your Own" competition in 2023 made it possible to relocate the business from Sloviansk to Dnipro, and winning the "Do Your Business with KURATOR" competition made it possible to scale this project.
3. A mini-hotel based on the Kapusta restaurant. The restaurant promotes ancient Ukrainian culture and cuisine. The owners are looking for recipes of ancient Ukrainian dishes and offer them to their guests. They plan to build a mini-hotel nearby, promising modern design, free breakfasts, and good service.
4. TeaKava coffee and tea club. The military man and his volunteer wife opened the doors of their coffee shop in Irpin two months before the full-scale invasion, and the premises were severely damaged during the fighting. Thanks to the grant, the owners will be able to restore and scale the project.
5. "Meat from mom". A medic, mother of two soldiers of the Azov battalion, one of whom was killed by the enemy, started cooking and sending food to the front. This gave her the impetus to set up her own smokehouse. Now the entrepreneur wants to scale the project.
6. "Family Cafe". In the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, a soldier from Kyiv region provided assistance to refugees in his cafe. Currently, the cafe is not functioning, but the owner plans to restore it.
7. Ready-to-eat meals in retort packs. The idea of the project is to provide military personnel and civilians affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation with home-made meals in retort packs.
8. Shawarma kiosk. During the fighting in Borodianka, the contestant's coffee shop was heavily damaged - windows were smashed, the premises were damaged by shrapnel and bullets. Now the owner plans to turn it into a shawarma kiosk, which will create new jobs.
9. Caramel Kava mobile coffee shop. A mobile coffee shop is an innovative business concept. The goal is to turn a stationary coffee shop into a mobile one, thus enabling the military to warm up and cheer up.
10. Liberty. In 2023, a resident of the village of Kuchakiv opened a coffee shop to meet friends and family, and now plans to scale up.
HelpHelp
"MHP-Hromadas is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that started its operations in 2015. Its main mission is the comprehensive development of communities. The geography of its operations includes 12 regions of Ukraine: more than 700 towns and villages.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Foundation has been systematically supporting people in the war zone, Ukrainian defenders and rescuers, communities, hospitals and maternity homes, charitable institutions that care for orphans and the elderly, as well as people who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the war.