On January 8-10, enpact, in partnership with Civitta, organized the Ecosystem Builders Track Bootcamp near Lviv, Ukraine. Fourteen representatives from six business support organizations (BSOs) in the Volyn region, including Novovolynsk, Volodymyr, and Lutsk, attended the offline event.
The bootcamp followed two online training sessions conducted in December, during which participants explored key concepts and completed preparatory assignments. The in-person gathering was designed to build on these sessions by providing practical insights and guidance from experienced professionals in relevant fields.
Over three days, participants addressed specific challenges, refining their approaches and discussing essential topics tailored to the needs of their organization. Their goal is now to carry these insights into their organization to develop their operations and provide further, more comprehensive support to the local business ecosystem.
Day 0
On January 8, participants arrived at the boot camp venue near Lviv. After welcoming keynotes from enpact and Civitta representatives, they worked together to set the rules for the event and shared their expectations for the upcoming days. They were keen to connect, share experiences, improve communication with partners and clients, learn social media strategies, explore ways to monetize their services and understand fundraising techniques. They also wanted to discover new ideas for providing services, tools to enhance their work, and ways to improve teamwork.
Once expectations were set, participants took part in networking activities. These exercises encouraged them to share more about themselves, uncover shared experiences, and discuss their professional journeys. Each participant also introduced their organization, highlighted the services provided by their respective BSOs, and showcased the current initiatives that they offer.
Day 1
After the opening remarks, participants attended the first workshop, “Services for Business Support Organizations (BSOs): The Example of the Diia. Business Entrepreneur Support Center in Poltava“, led by Alyona Goncharenko. She shared insights about her organization’s work, detailing its expertise, activities, and operating conditions in Poltava, a city in central Ukraine.
In the following two sessions, Alyona discussed strategies for monetizing services and exploring alternative income sources for BSOs, drawing on examples from her organization’s experience. She also covered methods for effective external communication with potential clients, stakeholders, local authorities, and businesses.
Throughout the workshops, participants engaged actively, seeking advice from the speaker, sharing the challenges faced by their BSOs, exchanging perspectives and describing the specific conditions in which they operate.
Next up, Liudmyla Kryzhanovska, the speaker for the theoretical session “Raising Funds: Opportunities for BSOs”, guided the participants on selecting donors and developing effective fundraising strategies. She emphasized the importance of marketing and communication in BSO operations, explaining various communication tools, how to implement them, and methods for collecting and utilizing data within organizations.
Liudmyla also shared her experiences engaging with donors in Ukraine and internationally, offering practical insights on building connections and maintaining relationships.
The third and final workshop of the day, led by Sergiy Kornylyuk from Civitta, focused on developing project concepts. Participants worked in groups on practical tasks and prepared and presented pitch ideas for potential open calls.
After the presentations, Sergiy and the other participants provided constructive feedback to help refine each team’s ideas and offered tips for better preparation for open calls.
The day concluded with everyone sharing their key lessons and takeaways.
Day 2
The final day of the workshop arrived with fresh snow and fresher insights. In the first session, Sergiy Kornylyuk discussed how to prepare program applications effectively. He emphasized the importance of clear communication and highlighted the key aspects: complete and structured coverage of the topic following the program objectives, drawing up a realistic budget, identifying the target audience, and providing quantitative data to support your application. Sergiy also encouraged participants to stay in touch after the bootcamp for feedback and support as they refine their current applications. At the end of the workshop, participants presented their pre-assigned homework to the group and received feedback during the workshop.
Yaroslav Zhydyk, an Associate Partner at Civitta, delivered a lecture on “Project Management and Reporting”, covering key aspects of organizing and executing projects. He explained how to establish a workflow system, structure a project, develop and plan its concept and budget, form a team, and set a timeline.
Yaroslav also addressed participants’ questions on ensuring a project stays on track, monitoring progress, preparing reports for donors, understanding why projects sometimes fail, and using tools for effective project management.
The final workshop, “Communications and Brand Development”, was delivered by communications expert Nadiia Pototska. She explained how to use effective communication to build influence and tailored her approach based on the participants’ introductory speeches at the start of the session.
Nadiia introduced the fundamentals of communication, discussing how to challenge stereotypes, build loyalty, understand target audiences, and establish a strong reputation. She also highlighted the importance of an NGO leader being recognizable and maintaining a positive reputation.
Participants engaged in a group exercise to define their target audiences and stakeholders. After presenting their findings, Nadiia provided detailed feedback, explaining how to communicate effectively with specific audiences. She also discussed established brands among BSOs, explored the emotions and perceptions these brands evoke, and emphasized that a strong brand should have a guiding philosophy that shapes its work. She underscored the importance of planning communication steps and developing a comprehensive strategy.
At the end of the bootcamp, participants shared their main lessons and key takeaways. They also agreed to continue cooperating to explore the specific challenges facing their BSOs and find ways to enhance their work.
The ‘Just Transition through Entrepreneurship’ Project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project is implemented by the non-profit organization enpact. The Ecosystem Builders Track is implemented in cooperation with Civitta.