A mini-hotel, a family cafe, and meals for the military: 10 entrepreneurs received up to UAH 100 thousand for their own business

The Do Your Own with Kurator competition for HoReCa to support businesses that suffered during the war or are being developed by the military has announced the winners.  The organizers, the MHP to the Community Charitable Foundation and the Kurator brand, will finance their business projects for a total of UAH 1 million, UNN reports.

Veteran entrepreneurs, internally displaced persons, and businesses affected by Russian aggression took advantage of the opportunity to finance their food projects through the Do Your Own with Kurator business idea competition. Among 86 applications from all over Ukraine, the organizers selected 10 winners, each of whom received up to UAH 100 thousand to develop their own business.

"During our Do Your Own with Kurator competition, we received exceptional applications that demonstrate the courage of our people and their readiness to restore the Ukrainian HoReCa business. The winners were projects from Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava and Dnipro regions. Such competitions and initiatives help to develop local businesses and support communities. Moreover, both the winners and the participants gained useful experience and knowledge during training and consultations that will help them in the future," commented Tetiana Volochai, Director of the MHP for Communities Charitable Foundation.

The best ideas include unique and original catering establishments, family cafes, mobile coffee shops, and even a mini-hotel based on a restaurant:

• Lunchburger restaurant by Khlibna Kyshenya. By participating in the Do Your Own competition, the business was previously able to relocate from Sloviansk to Dnipro. Now the restaurant will be able to expand into a chain.
• Ready-to-eat meals in retort packs. The idea is aimed at providing food to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and civilians affected by Russian aggression. The creator of the project plans to donate 10% of the profits to charity. 
• Roadside cafe "Vodoley". During the full-scale invasion, Russian invaders occupied the territory and looted the place. After the de-occupation, the owners decided to restore the business on their own, but they needed help to fully restart it. The cafe will soon reopen its doors.
• "Family Cafe. The winner of the family cafe idea serves in the Armed Forces and dreams of restoring the establishment, which is now possible.
• A shawarma kiosk. A coffee shop in Borodianka was also damaged by the war: now the owner plans to turn it into a shawarma kiosk that will create new jobs. 
• TeaKava coffee and tea club. An institution in Irpin will be developed. The couple of a volunteer and a veteran will provide local residents with a variety of soft drinks. 
• Caramel Kava. A stationary coffee shop will be transformed into a mobile cafe that will treat our defenders with warm drinks.
• Liberty. In 2023, the owner opened a Liberty coffee shop in the village of Kuchakiv. And now the establishment will scale up. 
• A mini-hotel based on the restaurant. You can now stay overnight at the Kapusta restaurant.
• "Myasko from Mom". The idea of an entrepreneur from Kyiv region who will offer customers meat products of her own production.

New, restored or relocated businesses will contribute to community development and provide jobs. 

"The mission of the Kurator brand is to be a driver of the HoReCa industry through its products and projects, including social initiatives. We aim to motivate others to develop their own businesses and create business assets in small towns and villages. And with the Do It Yourself with Kurator project, we have definitely succeeded. After all, the criteria by which we selected the leaders included the sustainability of the idea, its economic component, job creation, social impact, and, most importantly, the involvement of the military and people who have been relocated and are now starting their lives over. All the winners of the competition meet these criteria. This proves that we have businesses ready to work, develop and participate in the country's recovery," says Natalia Shadchneva, Head of MHP's HoReCa Development Center.

The contest experts noted the high level of thoughtfulness of the business ideas. Restaurateur and chef Volodymyr Yaroslavsky said: "I am glad to be a part of such an important project in our time. In fact, all the winning cases are worthy of attention, and I would like to highlight a couple of them. Well-thought-out concepts: "Lunchburger" and Ready-to-eat meals in retort packs for the military - it's clear that people have tried, thinking about development and scaling. Another project that caught my eye was Myasko from Mom. The way it was described, in what words and with what soul - I think it's a great concept created by good people. I congratulate the winners and will follow their development, and I ask those who were not lucky enough to receive a grant this time not to be upset and to continue their work."

Detailed descriptions of the winning projects can be found on the official website of the competition: https://doyourbusiness.com.ua/.

The competition was open to business ideas from HoReCa entrepreneurs (restaurants, hotels, catering). Representatives of Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses from 13 regions of Ukraine, including Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovs'k, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions, were eligible to apply. 

Reference: 

"Do Your Own is a business idea competition for entrepreneurs in small towns and villages. Since 2020, the winners and participants of the competition have created dozens of new businesses in the agricultural sector, light and food industries, green tourism, and more. In 2022, the competition supported 74 microbusinesses worth UAH 6 million, and this year - 80 microbusinesses worth UAH 7.4 million. In addition, 10 Ukrainian veterans and their families won the #Worth Doing Your Own contest, organized by MHP for Community in cooperation with the Ukrainian Veterans Fund of the Ministry of Veterans, and received from UAH 500 thousand to 1.5 million to start and develop their own agricultural business. The total budget of the competition amounted to UAH 6 million.

"MHP for Communities is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that was launched in 2015. Its main mission is the comprehensive development of communities. The geography of its activities 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.

KURATOR is a brand of product solutions for the HoReCa community (restaurants, hotels, catering) developed by MHP. It has a flexible range of products for different types of establishments, business models, staff qualifications and the number of cooks. The KURATOR brand produces more than 100 types of processed products, including chicken, beef, and various culinary solutions. The entire range is created with understanding and compliance with the needs of professional kitchens.