In April, Stanford Ignite Ukraine, a free educational program for 42 Ukrainian small and medium-sized business entrepreneurs, concluded, serving as a bridge between Ukraine and the Silicon Valley community, granting them access to the best educational and networking resources from the business world.
The Stanford Ignite Ukraine program was implemented by the CfE Accelerator, the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business with the support of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP).
The training began in February 2024 and lasted 4 weeks online and 3 weeks offline at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“Proactiveness and leadership are two key traits that are needed today both in business and in public administration. We saw that the program works effectively and significantly helps entrepreneurs in their development, paving the way for Ukrainian businesses to integrate into global production chains and foster globalization,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.
According to her, this year, one more enrollment is planned for the Stanford Ignite Ukraine program, and the start of applications will be announced later.
“We are happy to support initiatives aimed at fostering the development of Ukrainian entrepreneurship and, in the future, the creation of highly qualified and well-compensated jobs. Stanford Ignite Ukraine provides opportunities to launch new startups and expand production, while the innovativeness of Ukrainians continues to inspire the whole world,” Olesya Zaluska, Chief of Party at USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine, emphasized during the ceremonial completion of the first batch of the program.
The official event was attended by honored guests, including UCU Rector Taras Dobko, Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy Tetyana Berezhna, Executive Director of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Kateryna Glazkova, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development of UCU Sophia Opatska, Entrepreneur and Investor, Founder of the investment EFI Group company Igor Liski, program participants and others.
“I’m sure that participation in the Stanford Ignite Ukraine program and communication with prominent lectors of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and investors from Silicon Valley was a great opportunity not only to acquire new knowledge but also to share our experience and teach others on how to do business during wartime”, said Taras Dobko, Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
“We hope that the next set of the program will be even more extensive and will provide a new impetus for the development of business in Ukraine,” concluded Ivan Petrenko, Executive Director of CfE Accelerator and Managing Partner of Angel One Fund.
