Vantaa inspired and trained Ukrainians to employ themselves as private entrepreneurs
During spring 2025, Startup Refugees organized private entrepreneurship training courses in Russian for new Ukrainian entrepreneurs. These courses consisted of a webinar series and a crash course on entrepreneurship, which aimed to support new entrepreneurs in the Vantaa area.
The training courses were carried out as part of the Get Work project, in close cooperation between Startup Refugees and the Vantaa Skills Center. At the heart of the operating model of the City of Vantaa’s Skills Center was the municipality’s strength—the ability to produce services that meet the needs of its residents.
In order to achieve notable results, large investments were made in targeting the activities. Even the materials for the training courses were developed and tailored to meet the special opportunities of the Ukrainians living in Vantaa.
Information about becoming an entrepreneur in Finland and satisfied participants
A total of 46 people interested in private entrepreneurship took part in three interactive workshops, where they got to learn about the requirements for entrepreneurs, establishing a beauty care business in Finland and light entrepreneurship.
The entrepreneurship crash course program consisted of four targeted parts, with the aim of providing participants with the key information and tools for researching and starting their own business in Finland. The feedback survey showed that the participants were fully satisfied with the training.
Many participants used the training courses to start their own business
Several participants took action and gained the prerequisites for starting their own business. Of the participants, Lesia became a light entrepreneur and Natalia started drafting a business plan. Oksana became interested in registering her own trade name while simultaneously carrying out an internship at a hairdressing salon.
Julia has secured a space for her business and completed her business plan. Next, with the support of the course teacher, she will apply for a Startup grant and register her business. We congratulate all participants for their progress on their paths to entrepreneurship!
Our key strength as a municipality is producing local services
Tailoring the activities and materials had a huge impact on our Ukrainian participants gaining the best benefits and information from the training and progressing with their business plans. With the successful entrepreneurship training courses, it was also clear that the municipality has considerable opportunities to produce well-targeted services for its residents that genuinely meet their needs.
As a municipality, Vantaa has good preconditions for producing new local services, as we know our local services and the service field. This is the very goal at the heart of the national employment services reform in which municipalities have the responsibility to act as employment authorities, and in which we now see success in Vantaa.
