I thought that only "our own" people win grants: how a pastry chef from Kyiv region started creating Ukrainian pasta

Artem Rozkokokha, the winner of the "Do Your Own" social initiative contest, has started a pasta business, UNN reports, citing a special project by the MHP-Hromada charity fund "What's Up?"

Details

Artem Rozkokokha is from the village of Baryshivka in the Kyiv region. Since the age of 16, he has been studying confectionery with MasterChef 2 winner Liza Glinska, attending her master classes, working in the kitchen, and investing all his earnings in online education. 

Before the full-scale war, Artem worked abroad, but returned to Ukraine when the Russian invasion began. For a long time, he wondered what he would do next, until his friend, the head of a local charity, Nadiya Sluchai, told him about a grant from MHP-Hromada.

The guy was convinced that he had too little experience to present his idea well - a culinary project called Ukrainian Macaron, where he would make delicious foreign desserts (tarts, moti, macarons), but with his own decoration and labeling to make them available to Ukrainians in small towns and villages.

But he decided to do it anyway. First, he received training from the foundation - he learned how to create a business strategy and draw up a business plan.

After the training, Artem filled out a form on the foundation's website, where he described his business idea, although he didn't really expect to win.

"A few years ago, I thought that grants were won only by 'their own': godfathers, brothers, and brothers-in-law, and it was impossible to get through. When I received a call from the foundation and was informed of my victory, I was silent for the first minute and could not believe it. But when I found out how many interesting businesses had won the Do It Yourself competition over the past two years, I changed my mind," Artem recalls. 

Artem Rozkokokha received almost UAH 70,000. Thanks to the grant support, the guy purchased an expensive Bosch oven, a Bamix blender, and a powerful waffle maker.

"If it wasn't for the grant, I wouldn't have been able to buy such expensive equipment. And now I use top-of-the-line equipment and can create even more desserts with it. Before the project, I used to cook 100 pasta in 4-5 hours, and now I can make the same amount twice as fast," he says.

Currently, Artem creates desserts for weddings and other festive events, and supplies his confectionery to 8 catering establishments and 3 shops in the Brovary district. 

The pastry chef advises people who want to start their own business not to be afraid to find an expert and ask for advice. For Artem, such a person is Liza Glinska, whom he is grateful to for her training and support. When he completed the course with Lisa, she reposted his desserts on her social media with an audience of half a million people. Lisa's followers wrote to Artem asking how he made this or that dessert, so eventually he decided to start his own training.

The pastry chef posts his desserts on TikTok and has already created his own course and launched it at the end of last summer. Now people from Ukraine and abroad are studying with Artem online. 

In addition, the guy tries to support the military with his confectionery business: he participates in auctions with desserts and sends goodies to the front. He says that he prepared his desserts for a big auction where volunteers raised 160,000 hryvnias for the Armed Forces. Then 5 cakes were sold for 10,000 UAH. 

We would like to add that a new season of the "Do Your Own" contest from MHP-Hromada has recently started. Entrepreneurs can receive up to UAH 100,000 to develop their own business. The Foundation plans to support up to 80 initiatives in 13 regions of Ukraine. Applications are accepted until April 9, 2024.

To participate in the grant competition, you need to:

1. familiarize yourself with the general information about the competition; 

2. download the application form on the website;

3. save it to your own Google drive or computer;

4. fill out the registration form on the website, where you should describe your project or business idea, indicate the desired amount of grant required for its implementation, share how you plan to use the grant funds, and enter your personal data;

5. attach an application form in pdf format to the form filled out on the website.

"One of the most important criteria for selecting any grant competition is to have a clear business model and understand the demand of the target audience. Describe in detail how you see your business, and indicate what need your community has for your service. The more numbers, statistics, and indicators you provide, the easier it will be to assess the potential of your idea," says Volodymyr Panchenko, Head of the National Projects Department. 

Help

MHP-Hromada is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that started its operations 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.