Victoria Maslova left her herbal cosmetics factory in the Ukrainian town of Bucha on the first day of the Russian invasion and fled to Poland with her mother and three younger brothers when rockets began hitting a nearby airport.
After a month, they returned to Ukraine, determined to continue the production of the herbal cosmetic brand "Vesna".
"We love Ukraine. We wanted to return to our country and work here," Maslova (24), who started the business seven years ago with her mother Ina Skaržinska (44), told Reuters.
To recover from the economic shock caused by the war, the Ukrainian government is pinning its hopes on the entrepreneurial determination of people like Maslova, along with the return of millions of refugees and large-scale international financial aid, writes Reuters.
After the chaotic withdrawal of Russian forces in April from Bucha, a town near Kiev now infamous for its occupation that left the bodies of civilians littering the streets, Victoria's mother returned to the factory. The store was ransacked and in disarray, but she salvaged some of the equipment and loaded it into a truck. They started a new business in relatively quiet Lviv, about 450 km west near the Polish border.
Five months later, Vesna products are sold in more countries than ever, including Poland and Lithuania, and Maslova recently signed a deal to produce goods for a private label in the United States. All the time, the company donates skin and hair care products, with the label "You are our hero", to women and men fighting on the front.
Experts believe that the war, due to which millions of Ukrainians have been displaced within the country, and almost eight million outside its borders, could continue for a long time. That is why the government is trying to stabilize the economy and find employment opportunities for those who were forced to leave their homes and jobs in the east and south of the country.
The economic front is no less important than the military one
It is expected that the economy will decrease by more than a third this year, but Economy Minister Yulija Sviridenko expects that with the reopening of companies, there will be stabilization of production and growth of as much as 15 percent in 2023. And he hopes that in ten years the GDP will more than double compared to the pre-war level and reach 500 billion dollars, with the help of foreign investments and accession to the European Union.
"We always say we have two fronts: one is a military front and the other is an economic front," Sviridenko told Reuters in the basement of the imposing Soviet-era building that is the seat of the Ukrainian government, where sandbags are crammed into the corridors and windows. "The economic is not less important than the military".
Small and medium-sized enterprises are key to the government's efforts.
Economic activity was frozen across the country after the war began, but restaurants, retail stores and even nightclubs have now reopened in Kiev, Lviv and other unoccupied cities, even in Zaporozhye, near the besieged nuclear power plant, Reuters reports.
The Ministry of Economy helped 700 companies to relocate from the frontline area, of which 480 have already resumed their work, said Sviridenko. Those businesses are benefiting from the return of around three million refugees, which is boosting demand, while money is flowing back into the economy from renewed exports, including three Black Sea ports.
To help displaced companies start anew, the Ukrainian Investment and Trade Facilitation Center in Lviv offers companies free office and production space, which is a valuable help.
The World Bank and the European Union recently estimated that the war has caused nearly $100 billion in damage, and Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure continue. Reuters points out that this is why the state and entrepreneurs like Maslova are faced with a daunting task.
Ukraine is also facing increasing budget problems, despite a freeze on debt repayments agreed this month by Western state creditors and private creditors in August. She is looking for foreign aid, but she also needs private capital for reconstruction.
Reuters points out that all investments will require security guarantees and strong accountability, given what the German Marshall Fund called Ukraine's "history of corruption" in a report last month.
Economic experts from Ukraine, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other donors will discuss some of these issues at a reconstruction conference in Berlin on October 25. The IMF on Friday approved $1,3 billion in additional emergency financing for Ukraine that could boost support from other donors.
"Brave companies, brave people"
Irina Titarchuk, who runs an investment center in Lviv, helps displaced business owners access resources, including government microcredits and loans of up to $68.000, and the U.S. Agency for International Development funds for women-owned businesses that helped Maslova get back on her feet.
"These are brave companies and brave people who didn't leave everything behind and go abroad, but decided to start over," Titarchuk said. She reminded that many firms recorded an increase in income in 2014 when they moved away from Russian markets after the annexation of Crimea.
"Now even more markets are opening up for them", she said and noted that she was approached by numerous companies in Britain looking for "Made in Ukraine" products in particular.
Close to the front line, the town of Mykolaiv, 800 kilometers southeast of Lviv, is regularly under artillery fire. Here, Julija Konovalova patiently waits for the fighting to stop, eager to restart Fresh U & Detox, her once successful healthy food delivery business.
Konovalova remained when more than half of the population of Mykolaiv fled. She donated her supplies to the military when the war began, and in recent months has been coordinating food aid for the World Central Kitchen.
“I still have all the equipment. Now I'm waiting for the war to end, then I'll start again," said this former hotel manager. "We just have to survive".
Near the Russian border, fierce fighting has driven three-quarters of its two million residents out of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Rockets damaged Yevgeny Safonov's wine bar in Kharkiv, but he is already scouting new locations in safer cities and wants to eventually return to Kharkiv.
"Our investors are interested, even now," he says. “I know you think I'm brave or stupid. But our planning horizon is a matter of days. You never know what tomorrow brings."
Search for investments
Minister Sviridenko acknowledges that Ukraine faces major challenges, but says she and other officials are looking for investment wherever they can, citing estimates that every $10 billion invested will increase GDP by five percentage points.
Her ministry is studying 50 requests from the US, Germany, Britain and Poland that were submitted after the launch of a new investment portal "Advantage Ukraine" on the New York Stock Exchange last month that predicts $400 billion in investment opportunities, but says it is too early to give details.
Andy Hander, who heads the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, says the Ukrainian economy is showing "phenomenal resilience," with internet and banking services working better in war-torn Kiev than in parts of Europe where peace reigns.
The group's latest poll, published this Sunday, found that 77 percent of its 600 member companies believe the war will end in 2023, and all but two percent plan to continue doing business in Ukraine.
Julija Zavalniuk had a small flower farm "Villa Verde" about 40 km west of Kiev, which was heavily damaged by the Russians four days after the start of the war. She originally considered moving to Slovakia, but decided to temporarily relocate to Lviv while selling plants to continue paying her wages and covering the basic costs of the business.
"Now is the time for us - the small entrepreneurs," she told Reuters. "We have to be the most creative, oriented towards services and quality to produce goods, sell them and pay taxes".
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