According to polls, 64% of Ukrainian defenders consider opening their own business after the war ends. The relevant statement was made by Head of the Association of ATO Veteran Entrepreneurs, Commander of the Special Forces Sniper Platoon of the Kulchytskyi Operational Battalion Serhii Pozniak.
In wartime conditions, as noted by Pozniak, people quickly get used to making independent decisions and taking responsibility for their own lives and the lives of fellow soldiers. Therefore, for many veterans, it will be difficult to return to wage labor.
“According to surveys, 64% of Ukraine’s defenders want to become entrepreneurs after the war. At the front, they acquired the necessary skills that could be used in business. Even at the level of a platoon commander, a person makes decisions during combat that even successful civilian entrepreneurs would never dream of,” Pozniak said.
In his words, there are hundreds of thousands of people currently at the front who already have or had their own businesses. According to the surveys by the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, 13% of all servicemen at the front are entrepreneurs.
“In accordance with the forecasts of the Ministry of Veterans, after the war we will have from 5 to 6 million combatants. Let’s take into account the optimistic scenario: 13% of 5 million is about 650 thousand entrepreneurs. If each of them creates at least one job, we will immediately fulfill the dream of more than one Ukrainian government about 500 thousand new jobs. At least 1.3 million people will have something to do after the war. That is, a third of 5 million veterans will be settled in civilian life,” Pozniak emphasized.
In his opinion, if these people are given access to financial resources, such as grant assistance and cheap lending (in particular, through state support for veteran financial services), veterans will easily add 1% to GDP. (Ukrinform)