Zhytomyr has launched the Entrepreneurship Lab, an innovative space combining a production workshop and a coworking area. The project aims to support local and relocated businesses, foster entrepreneurship, promote self-employment, and enhance professional education.
The production workshop is based at the Technical Innovation Vocational College, located at 5 Seletska Street. It provides access to modern equipment for working with wood, metal, polymer materials, and 3D modeling. Entrepreneurs, students, and self-employed individuals can manufacture products, develop ideas, and refine their skills in this space.
Additionally, the project includes the launch of a municipal coworking space at 19/2 Kyivska Street. This coworking hub offers a well-equipped office infrastructure, creating a comfortable environment for individual and team work, collaboration, experience sharing, and business meetings.
The space was established as part of the “Support for the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities” project, funded by the German government and implemented by GIZ and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.
“The opening of this production workshop makes it easier to start a manufacturing business, enhances its competitiveness, and helps train highly skilled workers who will be in demand in the labor market. Here, individuals can either create their own products or acquire a new profession and improve their skills, allowing them to work with state-of-the-art equipment right after training without the need for additional retraining,” said Halyna Shymanska, Secretary of the City Council.
“The Entrepreneurship Lab project aims to develop a sustainable business support ecosystem within the Zhytomyr municipal community. A key component of this initiative is the accessible production and office infrastructure, designed for entrepreneurs in both the B2B and B2C sectors who require modern solutions to bring their projects to life,” noted Borys Pakholiuk, Director of the City Development Agency.
At the production workshop, entrepreneurs can:
✔ Order material processing or manufacturing services
✔ Learn to work with modern equipment
✔ Independently create or refine their products
“This project offers unique opportunities not only for employment but also for young people to become entrepreneurs. They can learn to use modern equipment, explore its potential applications, and start their own businesses, becoming active members of the business community. We all dream of a strong economic Ukraine, and this project makes a significant contribution to achieving that goal,” said Valeriia Kolesnichenko, Regional Project Coordinator, GIZ Ukraine.
“Projects that support economic recovery and development are crucial because they contribute to the economic resilience of communities and, consequently, society as a whole. UNDP will continue to support the economic recovery of Ukrainian municipalities. I encourage the Zhytomyr community, especially its business sector, to fully leverage the opportunities provided by this new infrastructure, which is designed to be a hub for collaboration and co-creation,” emphasized Mustafa Sait-Ametov, Head of UNDP’s Regional Development Program in Ukraine.
The Entrepreneurship Lab is part of the “Support for the Rapid Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Municipalities” (SRER) program. The initiative is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine with the support of the ReACT4UA project (“Application and Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in Trade”), funded by the German government and carried out by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
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