Pochatok 2 by UN Women: free education and grant programme for women in agriculture with UAH 100,000 business vouchers and a UAH 270,000 top award

Pochatok 2 is an educational and grant initiative created for women entrepreneurs who are launching or expanding businesses in agriculture and food processing. The initiative is carried out under the UN Women Ukraine Strategic Note 2025-2029 and receives financial backing from the governments of Austria, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Finland, France, and other partner nations.

The programme provides structured training, expert mentorship, and non-cash business vouchers totaling UAH 4.2 million. Funding includes 39 business vouchers valued at UAH 100,000 each, alongside a top award voucher worth UAH 270,000 for the winner of the Grand Pitch Day.

Applications are accepted online until November 8, 2026, at 23:59. Selected participants will progress through introductory online modules before competing for intensive bootcamp placements and direct voucher assistance.

What is funded

The programme provides funding via business vouchers rather than direct cash disbursements. Support is distributed through the direct payment of pre-approved goods and services that align with each recipient’s customized business development plan.

Eligible expenditures include equipment acquisition, specialized packaging, business certification, digital solutions, and energy efficiency upgrades. Participants may also request coverage for other mutually agreed goods and services essential to stabilizing or scaling operations.

In addition to production and operational costs, the project supports logistical access during in-person training. Select participants may receive transportation vouchers, and offline venues feature dedicated children’s corners to assist mothers balancing family care with business education.

Who can apply

Assistance is open to women who run individual farming initiatives, manage micro-enterprises producing food, or lead small and medium-sized enterprises in the agrarian or food processing industries. Aspiring entrepreneurs holding a concrete business idea in these sectors are also eligible to participate.

Geographic eligibility focuses on women who live and operate, or plan to launch an enterprise, in eight target regions: Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Kharkiv oblasts. Internally displaced women from Donetsk Oblast are eligible regardless of their current residential location within Ukraine.

The call accommodates businesses preparing for expansion, integration into national retail chains, or cross-border trade with European Union markets, as well as household farms seeking formalization.

Conditions and requirements

The program begins with an introductory stage consisting of four thematic online sessions open to all enrolled applicants. From this group, 200 participants will be shortlisted for an advanced intensive track based on their participation, business stage, sector alignment, motivation, and verified vulnerability factors.

Advanced participants must undergo an assessment using the Digital Maturity Compass tool to obtain tailored development roadmaps. They then complete nine practical training modules, supplemented by individual mentoring and psychosocial support, delivered either online or offline through Diia.Business centers in Dnipro, Kyiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, or Kharkiv.

Practical tip. Make sure your business proposal explicitly identifies how planned voucher expenditures, such as equipment purchases or certification, will resolve operational bottlenecks, particularly in energy efficiency, digitalization, or export readiness for the EU market.

How to apply

Applicants must register their participation through the online application portal prior to the deadline on November 8, 2026. Early registration ensures full access to the preliminary online learning sessions scheduled across October and November 2026.

Following the advanced bootcamps running between December 2026 and February 2027, trainees submit finalized business plans for expert evaluation. The process concludes in early 2027 with a study visit to Ivano-Frankivsk and the Grand Pitch Day, where ten finalists present their projects for the primary UAH 270,000 voucher award.

Applications are submitted on the donor’s page: pochatok2.com.