Credit Agricole Bank supports the award for Ukrainian female entrepreneurs "Created by Women"

A competition for female entrepreneurs "Created by Women" has been launched in Ukraine with a prize fund of UAH 150 000 for business development. Credit Agricole Bank consistently supports the competition to encourage women's entrepreneurship and award the best project. This year, Maryna Myrun, Head of Capital Markets Division at Credit Agricole, is a member of the professional panel of judges that will select the winner of the competition.

“Supporting women’s entrepreneurship is an investment in the future. Female leaders implement cutting-edge ideas, create jobs, and change the world around them. The “Created by Women” competition opens up new opportunities for talented entrepreneurs and inspires all of us to achieve even greater goals,” noted Maryna Myrun.

Attracting customers and additional investments is among top 10 challenges for Ukrainian female entrepreneurs. They also face the difficulty of getting loans to start and expand their business.

“Created by Women” aims to address these issues by providing women with grants of UAH 100 000 to UAH 150 000 for business development, as well as other opportunities to scale and strengthen their business. The competition aims to recognize female entrepreneurs who are cultivating their businesses in times of war and uncertainty, to dispel prejudices about “women’s” kinds of activity, to empower them, and to inspire them to believe in themselves.

"Created by Women" was rolled out on February 17 and will be held for the seventh time this year. This is a social non-profit project of the CCIFU, and participation is free of charge. In addition to funds, the winner will receive consulting support and membership in the CCIFU, finalists will have the opportunity to participate in pitching training, and all contestants ‒ in digital communication training.

In 2024, 61% of newly-created private enterprises in Ukraine were headed by women, compared to 51% before the full-scale invasion. However, the majority of enterprises owned by women remain small-sized: 79% are microenterprises, 14% are small enterprises. Moreover, a third of these companies have an annual turnover of less than UAH 100 000.

“These women have found the strength to engage in entrepreneurship, despite the war and the daily challenges caused by it: air raid alerts, blackouts, economic uncertainty. They take over the business of their husbands who started serving in the army to defend the country, create jobs, support their families and actively participate in the national economy. Moreover, many of them add a social aspect to their business, helping to build a better future for everyone. We are proud to be able to support them with this award,” says Maud Joseph, General Director of the CCIFU.

“I am very delighted to lead the “Created by Women” award for the second year in a row. This is not only a crucial symbolic step, as the award provides a specific opportunity for many female entrepreneurs to present their projects and receive assistance in their implementation. The support and mentoring from the leaders of French companies are extremely important not only for the participants themselves, but also for all of Ukraine, which has been resisting an unjust war for almost 3 years, while simultaneously building its European future”, highlights Gaël Veyssière, Ambassador of France to Ukraine.  

Recast Plastic, Olha Lekova’s company, the winner of “Created by Women” 2024, produces furniture for shelters from recycled plastic. Thus, this solves not only the issue of comfort in shelters, but also environmental pollution. According to statistics, after arranging a safe space, 30% more people go down there during air raid alerts. The company has already equipped shelters for 2 000 Ukrainians.

“Thanks to the award, I not only registered my trademark in Ukraine, applied for European and American certification, but also received contracts that exceed the monetary equivalent of the award,” says the entrepreneur.

Over the entire time of the existence of “Created by Women” more than 1000 women have become its participants with the total amount of prizes constituting more than UAH 1 550 000.

In order to participate in the grant competition, you need to fill out an application on the website https://womanccifu.com, and provide a set of documents, namely a presentation, a short video about the project, as well as an official registration document by March 23, 2025.