In late May, the “Walnut House Academy,” a social enterprise accelerator school for civil society organizations, held a training session in Lviv. The session lasted four days and gave participants the opportunity to learn more about how to establish a sustainable and customer-focused social enterprise.
The training was attended by Natalia Gorbenko, co-founder of the “Shchedryk” Charitable Organization, and Timur Zakirov, a representative of the organization. The training was held in person and brought together participants from various regions of Ukraine—Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv Oblasts.
The training was implemented as part of Phase I of the project “Expanding Civil Society Capacities for Ukraine’s Sustainability and Recovery” (“Impulse”), carried out by the International Renaissance Foundation in cooperation with the Eastern Europe Foundation with support from Norway (Norad) and Sweden (Sida).
The training consisted of several modules:
• Strategic marketing and value proposition development;
• Positioning social initiatives and brand development;
• Creating a product focused on customer needs;
• Leadership, teamwork, and human capital development;
• Customer experience, service, and building trust in the product;
• the ESG approach and principles of sustainable development;
• measuring social impact and the theory of change;
• pitching and presenting business ideas;
• preparing grant applications for social enterprises;
• developing partnerships and exchanging experiences between organizations;
• practical introduction to models of successful social entrepreneurship.
In addition to deepening their knowledge of social enterprise, our representatives had the opportunity to explore the historic part of Lviv. On Vyshyvanka Day, Nataliia Horbenko and Timur Zakirov, along with all training participants, wore vyshyvankas and took photos on Market Square and near the monument to King Danylo—as a symbol of unity and national pride.
At the end of the training, participants also enjoyed a walking tour titled “The Art of Living and Dying, or What the Tombstones of Lychakiv Cemetery Don’t Tell Us” led by historian, journalist, and tour guide Handzuna Hoshko.
“Participating in the Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator School gave the team at the Shchedryk Charitable Organization the opportunity to gain practical tools for developing their own social initiatives and strengthening the organization’s resilience. Knowledge of strategic marketing, team collaboration, customer experience, and social impact will help in creating new areas of activity that combine social value and financial sustainability. The training also provided an opportunity to establish new partnerships and exchange experiences with organizations from different regions of Ukraine,” noted Timur Zakirov.