As a result of Russian aggression, at least hundreds of thousands of men were mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After demobilization, which is ongoing and will be much more extensive after the war is over, these people will face a number of problems, one of which is employment and adaptation to civilian life. One of the solutions to these problems is for the veteran to set up his own business, which will not only allow him to earn a living, but also to go through the adaptation period that awaits all those who have been demobilized as soon as possible, UNN reports.
This is also confirmed by the results of the research of the project "Strategy for the Transition and Integration of Ukrainian Veterans into Education and the Workforce" conducted by the NGO Ukrainian Marketing Association within the framework of the program "Vocational Education in Ukraine/Skills4Recovery", which is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Government of Germany.
The researchers conducted 33 in-depth interviews with veterans in Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Kyiv regions, as well as in the city of Kryvyi Rih. Their findings should help to develop a strategy aimed at comprehensively supporting former combatants in their successful reintegration into civilian life through a structured system of education, vocational training and psychosocial support, etc. Relevant Ukrainian government agencies will be able to develop effective policy recommendations to improve the adaptation of veterans to civilian life.
The study focused on the problems of veterans' integration into the labor market. One of the key topics was the possibility of starting a business by a veteran and how veterans see it.
Own business is an important aspect of veterans' integration into civilian life
The scale of the problem of veterans' integration into civilian life can only be estimated roughly at this point - the war is ongoing, and it is still impossible to predict how many people will serve in the army and on the front line.
However, some figures are known - despite the closed data due to martial law, as of January 1, 2024, the number of veterans in Ukraine was estimated at at least 900,000. So, we can safely say that after the war, the number will be in the millions.
Therefore, Ukraine will undoubtedly face a large-scale problem of integrating veterans into civilian life. The most important thing in this process will undoubtedly be the ability to earn a living for themselves and their families. And one possible solution to this issue is for veterans to start their own businesses.
All developed countries that have experience with military conflicts have developed ways to help demobilized veterans start a business. Ukraine, which has been at war, albeit in a limited format, since 2014, also has its own programs and experience in supporting veterans who decide to start their own business.
However, according to the interviewed veterans, these programs need to be improved, as they are often formal or do not quite correspond to the realities of life. According to the respondents, the mechanism for assisting veterans in starting their own business requires better consultations and education for start-up entrepreneurs, and it is highly desirable to involve experienced businessmen of various levels in these programs, who could mentor veterans and share their experience with them.
What veterans face when starting their own business
It is important to understand that veterans who decide to start their own business after demobilization do not always understand the many nuances they will face along the way. In particular, we are talking about the registration procedure itself, the need to interact with tax authorities, banks, local governments, etc.
The problem arises at the stage of choosing an organizational and legal form of activity - many people do not even understand the difference between an individual entrepreneur (IE) and a legal entity, not to mention the variety of forms of the latter. And then there is the process of obtaining various permits and other statutory procedures, which are quite difficult for an unprepared person to go through.
In addition, veterans talk about the need for a body or organization that would accompany them in their business at its further stages. First of all, it is about informing about changes in legislation, assistance with reporting, paying taxes, etc. This is especially critical at the initial stages.
It doesn't take a lot of brains to start a business. If you know how to make something, do it yourself, even if you sell socks, for example, you don't need much intelligence. But to start a more interesting business, we don't have all the education we need to do that. First of all, it's economic knowledge, and on the other hand, you have to keep up with changes in taxation. It's easier to have an organization or people who will accompany you. But it's hard to keep track of everything when you have a production process, people, and you're still running around thinking about some kind of development... Then you need an accountant, you can't afford an accountant at the beginning
Another challenge that came as a surprise to many after starting a business was that not all veterans have the necessary knowledge and skills to successfully manage their business. Survey participants who have faced such a situation say that they would greatly benefit from the opportunity to receive advice and support from governmental and non-governmental organizations, and experienced fellow veterans who have already gone through this journey. Among the possible options, veterans talk about the creation of veteran business incubators where they could get all the necessary advice and support.
However, according to the survey, only 6% of respondents have experience using government and public programs to support veteran entrepreneurial projects, including training resources and financial support. This means that the existing system of support for veterans aimed at helping them start their own businesses needs to be urgently reviewed and adapted to the realities of life.
What do veteran entrepreneurs need?
The survey on which this article is based cannot be statistical - the number of participants was too small to provide any statistical data. However, of those who took part, only 16% had business experience before mobilization. After demobilization, some of them returned to entrepreneurial activity, while others stopped or suspended their business.
I am a sole proprietor, my business is related to truckers. I service the electronics of cars and truckers. And you can see what is happening. Not only is there almost no transportation, and the borders are closed, but there is no point in developing in the direction of growth at all. Of course, we have ideas, and we have to maintain our specialty because of new technologies and so on. There are some thoughts, but it's still early. Let it all end
However, those who have resumed or continued their business activities unanimously say that they have noticed changes in consumer behavior and business models that could not have been predicted before the war began. Therefore, it is important for a veteran entrepreneur to be helped to develop an understanding of the new realities in order to adapt their business to the new situation.
Perhaps this problem will not be so important for those who have no experience in business and are taking their first steps in it - they do not have the background that their experienced colleagues have. However, start-up businessmen definitely need help with almost all other issues that businesses in our country face in the course of their operations.
If, for example, I decide to open a flower stand there, I need money for that. The start-up capital is small, but it should be enough to start something. But someone also has to explain how and what documents to fill out, tell you what's next: some kind of training, a course to explain to you where it's better, where to choose what. What kind of equipment is better to install, where to get it. It's not like you've been allocated money, you've gone to study, and you're trying to do it, and what happens?
Therefore, veterans talk about the need to create business incubators where they could receive support, advice and resources to develop their businesses. In addition, training at business incubators will help them develop their skills, discuss ideas with more experienced colleagues, and provide an opportunity to consult with business-successful mentors, etc. In addition to practical advice on financial control, resource management, logistics, reporting, marketing and communications, veterans in such an environment will receive something much more valuable - moral support and the example of other veterans who have managed to go from demobilization to building a successful business model.
Another obvious positive consequence of veteran-owned businesses is that veterans often prefer to hire their fellow veterans. As a rule, such veterans' groups contribute to the rehabilitation and adaptation of demobilized soldiers to civilian life and help them to survive all the psychological consequences caused by the war, much more successfully than standard psychological assistance programs.
Therefore, given the problems mentioned by the survey participants, one of the state's priorities in the area of post-war adaptation of veterans should be to help them set up their own businesses.