Story
By:
  • Yuliia Homonets | Communications Assistant

Kyiv, Ukraine — Arina and her mother, Natalia, welcome us to their car repair shop, where works are in full swing. The car repair service is a family business that they founded in Donetsk region before they were displaced.   

“We are internally displaced. My mom and uncle moved to Kyiv back in 2014 and managed to move some of the equipment under fire. I joined them later, in 2020. Since then, we have been developing our business here,” Arina says. 

Arina and her mother Natalia in their car repair shop in Kyiv. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

Each family member has their own responsibilities: “My uncle runs a car parts store, my mom handles bookkeeping, and I run the repair shop: I oversee admin side, communicate with clients, mechanics and contractors, and order supplies,” Arina says. 

Despite gender stereotypes, Arina feels confident in her environment. With eight years of experience, she is as knowledgeable and skillful as her colleagues from other workshops. While Arina lacked knowledge of the industry, this has developed over time: 

“But over the years, I have learned a lot and now I feel in my element. I have an understanding of how cars work, and I can explain to customers the specifics of the repair: what needs fixing now and what can wait,” says Arina. 

Arina has been successfully running a car repair service for eight years and building the family business. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

Thanks to an IOM grant, the family purchased new equipment for the workshop: balancing stands, tyre fitting machine, trolleys, small tools, and hired two new employees. 

Thanks to a grant from IOM funded by KfW, Valeriia was able to rent a space for offline psychotherapy sessions. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

We met with Valeriia, a psychotherapist with seven years of experience and an internally displaced person, in her office in the centre of Kyiv. 

“I am from Donetsk. When the war broke out in 2014, I was graduating from university in Kyiv and could not return home. Part of my family remained in the east and we were cut off from each other, but with the start of the full-scale invasion, everyone fled to Kyiv,” says Valeriia.

Valeriia usually conducts 18-20 therapy sessions a week. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

For years, Valeriia’s practice was part-time and online-only. Thanks to an IOM grant, Valeriia was able to rent an office, covered several months of rent, purchased furniture, lighting, books and other necessary things for her office. 

“I've been practicing psychotherapy since 2018, but only in November this year was I able to make it my full-time job, which is what I've always dreamed of. I did it thanks to having an office for in-person sessions,” says Valeriia. 

Yulia has turned her hobby into a full-time job and plans to develop her business. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

Yulia welcomes us into a small workshop where she makes wool, cashmere, and silk knitwear. Besides her, there is another worker here, Liudmyla. The two of them use hand-operated machines to make hundreds of pieces of craft clothing a month.   

In 2014, due to the war, Yulia and her family fled to Kyiv from Luhansk, eastern Ukraine. 

“Before the war, I worked in a bank. In 2014, we fled Luhansk, and I lost my job. It was hard to find a new job, so I decided to spend more time on my hobby — knitting. Later, it became my full-time job and now I am very happy that I could not find a new job in the bank then,” says Yuliia.

Yulia's knitwear is in demand on international marketplaces: in December 2024, she received 1000 orders on Etsy. Photo: Yuliia Homonets/IOM

With the grant from IOM, Yulia bought new equipment, lighting for her workshop, yarn and supplies, and hired an assistant. 

“The quality of our work has increased significantly. The old machines were made back in the 90s, and the new ones have more features, for example, allowing us to create patterns,” says Yuliia. 

Microbusinesses received assistance in the form of grants of EUR 7,000 to purchase equipment, rent premises, and create jobs. The support is part of the “Livelihoods+” project funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank KfW. In total, over the three years of the project, IOM plans to support 150 microbusinesses and 90 small businesses in Kyiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.  

Seven businesses supported by IOM are participants in the loan programme funded by KfW through the State Fund for Youth Housing. The business grant initiative enhances the creditworthiness of youth through entrepreneurship, as they participate in KfW's housing loan programme. 

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production