In the midst of a most challenging environment, Ukraine has been able to maintain a solid physical infrastructure for entrepreneurship, according to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Global Report, entitled 25 Years and Growing.
Despite the conflict, a record number of experts for a GEM National Expert Survey participated in the National Expert Survey (NES) for Ukraine in 2023, a significant achievement given the conditions under which this research was undertaken. Ninety-one experts provided a range of perspectives on Ukraine’s Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs).
Four of Ukraine’s EFCs were scored as sufficient or better: Entrepreneurial Education Post-School (10th among all GEM-participating economies), Commercial and Professional Infrastructure, Social and Cultural Norms in support of entrepreneurship, and Physical Infrastructure.
Entrepreneurship has a reasonable profile in Ukraine, with nearly three out of five adults knowing someone who had recently started a business, nearly one in two seeing good opportunities to start a business locally, and almost three in five considering themselves to have the skills and experience to start their own.
A creditable one in five adults in Ukraine were already starting or running a new business last year, again, despite challenging conditions. One in 20 were Established Business Owners, implying that one in four adults in Ukraine were involved in running a new or established business even in the midst of the upheaval caused by conflict with Russian invasion.
"These findings form the bedrock of robust social support for entrepreneurship," stated Aileen Ionescu-Somers, Executive Director of GEM. "It is truly remarkable that, even amidst harrowing circumstances, the GEM Ukraine Team actively participated in our research this year, offering such invaluable insights."
Opportunities for improvement
Six conditions were rated as poor (less than 4.0) with Government Entrepreneurial Programs scoring the weakest. The overall score of 4.3 puts Ukraine at a respectable 29th of 49 economies in the GEM National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI).
Unsurprisingly, Ukraine had the highest proportion of adults reporting that their household income had fallen in 2023 among 46 economies, at just over seven in 10.
National experts assessed the quality of social support for women entrepreneurs, and their access to resources compared to men. Social support came in at 4.4 (ranked 14th), but a very poor score resulted for comparative access to resources (3.3 and ranked 48th).
The Ukrainian government has taken steps to support entrepreneurship during the current conflict. Initiatives include the “Affordable Credits” program that provides finance to businesses in the de-occupied territories, and that has expanded the program to include arms and energy production, while also offering new loans to agricultural enterprises.
Join the GEM Ukraine webinar on March 21 to learn more.
About GEM
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a consortium of national country teams, primarily associated with top academic institutions, that carries out survey-based research on entrepreneurship around the world. GEM is the only global research source that collects data on entrepreneurship directly from individual entrepreneurs! GEM’s Adult Population Survey (APS) provides analysis on the characteristics, motivations and ambitions of individuals starting businesses, as well as social attitudes towards entrepreneurship. The National Expert Survey (NES) looks at the national context in which individuals start businesses.
In numbers, GEM is:
- 24 years of data
- 150,000+ interviews a year
- 120+ economies
- 370+ specialists in entrepreneurship research
- 150+ academic and research institutions
- 150+ funding institutions
GEM began in 1999 as a joint project between Babson College (USA) and London Business School (UK). The consortium has become the richest resource of information on entrepreneurship, publishing a range of global, national and 'special topic' reports on an annual basis. More information is at www.gemconsortium.org.
Media Contact
Kevin Anselmo, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Tel: +1 919 260 0035 / kanselmo@gemconsortium.org