On 20 May, a networking event entitled ‘Tools and Projects to Support Businesses in Frontline Regions’ took place in Zaporizhzhia. The event served as a platform for discussing the pressing challenges currently faced by businesses in frontline areas, as well as practical mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
The event brought together representatives of the authorities, business associations, international partners, entrepreneurs and experts. The event was held in a hybrid format — in person in Zaporizhzhia and online for participants from the Donetsk region and other regions.
The meeting was organised by the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the support of the ‘Partnership for a Strong Ukraine’ Programme.
Participants focused primarily on opportunities to support small and medium-sized businesses – state, regional and international programmes – as well as practical case studies of how enterprises operate in wartime conditions and approaches to maintaining economic resilience.
A key highlight of the event was the presentation of the findings of a study on the business needs of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. The study confirmed that the main challenges facing entrepreneurs today remain security risks, infrastructure destruction, energy constraints, funding shortages, staff losses, employee migration, logistical difficulties and limited access to investment.