Accelerator for women entrepreneurs” within the “Dream & Achieve” educational program

“Dream and Achieve” is an educational program launched in November 2025 that aims to provide Ukrainian women affected by the war with entrepreneurial and digital skills to improve their living conditions, strengthen economic integration, and enhance financial security. 

The program provides an in-depth understanding of how to build an online business from scratch or transition from offline to online, develop your own brands, and find your target audience, new customers, and markets. 

The format combines online and offline activities: interactive learning with homework assignments, mentoring support from 15 highly qualified mentors from leading international companies and startups, practical workshops, and a final event in Kyiv with a presentation of business projects. 

Participants will have access to 14 training modules covering starting their own business, online presence and website creation, brand development, online marketing, social media marketing, marketplace sales, entering international markets, customer service, social entrepreneurship, financial planning, the art of collaboration, mental health, resilience, and digital security and cyber hygiene. The best businesses at the end of the program will receive financial support in the amount of UAH 40,000 to develop their activities.

The “Dream and Achieve” educational program is implemented by the Impact Force public organization in partnership with UN Women, with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development, and the national project Diia.Business, with financial support from the Government of Sweden.

Eligible to participate are Ukrainian women who:

• are citizens of Ukraine whose place of residence was registered in Ukraine as of 24 February 2022;
• are over 18 years old and have at least complete secondary education;
• have been affected by the war (internally displaced women, single mothers, women with disabilities, women veterans and family members of veterans, and other vulnerable groups);
• have fully or partially lost their source of income/employment or are at risk of losing it;
• have a business idea or an existing business that requires development and digitalization;
• are ready to study, pass the technical selection and participate in all stages of the program.

Priority is given to participants from the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine (including occupied territories and areas near the front line).

• Participation in the program is free of charge for participants.
• The best women entrepreneurs based on the training results will receive financial support of 40,000 UAH to develop their businesses.

The program supports the following areas of participants’ activities:

• creating their own online business;
• strengthening an active online business;
• transitioning an offline business to online;
• developing branding and marketing, including social media and online advertising;
• entering new, including international, markets through marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, etc.);
• building a business financial model and planning;
• developing social entrepreneurship and integrating social impact into the business;
• enhancing skills in collaboration, customer service, mental health, resilience, and digital security.

The program is implemented in stages:

• november 2025 – February 2026: launch of the program; independent study of training materials in an interactive and convenient format; selection of 80 finalists for the next stage of the program;
• march 2026: advanced training and mentoring support, development of comprehensive business plans for participants’ enterprises;
• april 2026: final program event in Kyiv with presentations of participants’ business projects.

• go to the “Dream and Achieve” program page and review the conditions;
• click the “Register / Start learning / Sign up” button and proceed to the “Dream and Achieve | Learning Assistant” Telegram bot;
• fill in the application form (including with the help of the AI chat-bot) and provide the necessary information for the technical selection;
• pass the technical selection based on the formal criteria (age, citizenship, education, alignment with the target audience);
• complete the first-stage learning tasks through the AI chat-bot;
• wait for the announcement of the 80 finalists, complete the intensive training and mentoring sessions, and prepare and present the business plan at the final event of the program in Kyiv.

The selection criteria consist of two stages:

Stage 1. Technical selection:

• age: participants must be over 18 years old;
• gender: participants must identify themselves as women, regardless of their sex at birth;
• citizenship: participants must be citizens of Ukraine whose place of residence was registered in Ukraine as of 24 February 2022;
• education: participants must have at least complete secondary education.

Stage 2. Final selection by the jury committee:

• vulnerable status of those affected by the war – priority for internally displaced women, single mothers, women with disabilities, women veterans and family members of veterans;
• loss of income / employment – priority for applicants who have fully or partially lost their source of income/employment or are at risk of losing it;
• preliminary needs assessment – priority for applicants with the highest level of need and readiness to participate, who already have a business idea or an existing business that requires development and digitalization;
• regional representation – ensuring balanced representation of different regions of Ukraine, with additional weight given to displaced persons from Eastern and Southern Ukraine.