How Ukrainian women support the business environment

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, thousands of Ukrainian women have joined the Armed Forces, started active volunteering and are helping the state on various fronts, including the economic one. Using the YC Market tool, YouControl R&D Сentre experts analysed the impact of women on supporting multiple business sectors in Ukraine during the war year by continuing the operations of existing companies and opening new ones.

Areas women most often choose

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations (USR), most women-owned companies (legal entities) as of March 1, 2023, are in the tourism sector. There are 7,600 such companies registered in Ukraine or 51.7% of the total travel agencies. Educational activities took second place. 3.5 thousand companies in the education sector are owned by women, which is 49.3% of the market. The third place went to companies in the Real estate activities sector. Women own 26.6 thousand companies in this sector, accounting for 42.7% of the market.

Instead, the most unpopular sector among women is water supply and disposal – 1.3 thousand companies, 20.1% of the market. The construction sector is slightly better, with 22.4 thousand women-owned companies (26.3% of the market). The IT industry is among the top 3 not very popular areas under the control of business women: 6.9 thousand women-owned companies represent 26.4% of the IT market.

Geographic distribution of businesswomen companies

In total, 30.6 thousand companies (legal entities) with women as beneficiaries are registered in Ukraine. That is 32.8% of all companies registered in the country. We considered the share of women-owned companies to compare the distribution by region.

The most “popular” region for women-owned businesses is the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, with 11,000 companies registered there (companies could have been registered before the temporary occupation) which is 37.8% of all companies represented in the region. According to the Unified State Register, these companies are not in the process of dissolution, so de jure, their affiliation corresponds to the place of registration.

The partially occupied Donetska oblast ranks second, with 15,200 women-owned companies, 36% of all businesses in the region.

Mykolaivska, Odeska and Zaporizka oblasts are third, fourth and fifth in percentage distribution, with 35%, respectively.

The most significant number of registered companies is expectedly in Kyiv – 94.8 thousand companies with women owners are registered in the capital, but this is 31.2% of the total number of registered and operating companies in the city, which is below the national average.

The lowest share of companies is in Sumska oblast, where women own 30.5% of all companies in the region.

The impact of the full-scale invasion

russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused irreparable damage to our country. Recently, we talked about how the dynamics of new businesses in Ukraine changed after February 24, 2022. The impact of the war year has also affected the dynamics of women starting new companies: it has decreased by 4.4% compared to 2021.

In terms of sectoral distribution, between February 24, 2022, and February 24, 2023, the education and healthcare sectors were the most noticeably replenished with new players: the presence of women-owned companies in each industry increased by 4.1% and 7.8%, respectively, compared to the average share in the economy.

The education sector moved to the top spot, with 95 companies created by women over the year, which is 53.4% of the market. The healthcare sector took second place – 49.3% (113 companies). The top companies in terms of the share of firms founded by women were also in the Media and Entertainment industry.

The increase in the presence of companies in these sectors can be attributed to the growing demand for companies in these sectors. Education has become a necessity in the current environment due to the destruction of state educational institutions by the occupiers in the regions where the fiercest fighting occurs. The healthcare sector is one of the most urgent today for obvious reasons – due to active hostilities and regular massive missile attacks throughout the country, the need for healthcare has increased significantly.

The significant increase in the share of newly established companies in the film production industry is also fascinating. Undoubtedly, the rise in the number of companies in this sector is directly related to the need to convey the actual state of events in Ukraine to the world through film production. 33 companies founded by women accounted for 42.9% of the total market.

Tourism suffered the most significant losses: the share of women-owned companies naturally decreased by 14% compared to the usual average for this sector.

Our team could have prepared this study for March 8. However, despite the calendar date, brave Ukrainian women defend their rights on different fronts daily. Undoubtedly, the economic one is one of them. Ukrainian women are admirable for their resilience and contribution to supporting and developing the business environment to bring our joint victory closer.