Project Kesher Ukraine and The Women’s Opportunity Fund
Project Kesher Ukraine (PKU) and its humanitarian sister organization, the Women’s Opportunity Fund of Ukraine (WOF-UA) are at the forefront of responding to the wartime needs of Ukrainian women and girls and reaching women with critical information and life-saving resources. Embedding fully in the communities in which we provide assistance allows PKU to meet immediate needs, without duplicating the efforts of other NGOs. Less than 1% of international aid to Ukraine has been allocated to women and girls, and PKU and WOF-UA are hard at work advocating for this demographic.
Gendered Humanitarian Aid
WOF-UA has distributed 250 e-bicycles to Ukrainian healthcare workers, mostly women, supporting 100,000 monthly home visits to patients, with 40 more e-bicycles to be placed in 15 more communities this month. It provides essential equipment to maternity wards, including a CPAP system to the Dnipro Clinical Hospital, saving the lives of 10 premature babies each month. Recently, they’ve seen a surge in requests for hygiene kits for pregnant women and new mothers, humanitarian packages for those injured by the war, and generators to help women cope with Russian attacks on the Ukrainian power grid. It has a program providing women with laptops, computer training, and staffing agency support to get them remote jobs. To date, they have helped 113 women, have funding for the next 100 and have the capacity to support 1,000 women in becoming employed and self-sufficient.
Expanding Small Business Grants
WOF-UA has conducted eight rounds of grantmaking, totaling $322,000, to support 150 small women-owned businesses in Ukraine. Through these grants, women and their families become self-sufficient (82%), their businesses hire more displaced and unemployed women (90%) and grantees give their products/services back to the community as part of their personal philanthropy (100%). With the knowledge learned from this grantmaking, WOF-UA has diversified from primarily geographic grantmaking and is now also focusing on grants to small agricultural producers (agriculture is the largest part of Ukraine’s economy), eco-friendly home gardening, and organic production, as well as women-owned craft businesses producing environmentally friendly, high-quality products. WOF-UA has funding for about 150 grants in 2024-25 and, with additional funding, has the capacity to support as many as 1,000.
Svitlana Gerasimova, founder of HALATMD, faced enormous challenges after war forced her to leave behind her employees, suppliers, and production facilities in Kharkiv. Determined to rebuild, she reestablished her business in the Kyiv region, using her expertise to develop innovative, breathable medical fabrics designed for long hospital shifts. With funding from Project Kesher, she expanded production, secured contracts with private clinics and pharmacy chains, and won the Brovary UWE HUB competition for Ukrainian craft producers. Now, HALATMD is not only thriving but poised for international growth, demonstrating the resilience of Ukrainian women entrepreneurs and the transformative power of strategic support.
Anastasia was recently named in Forbes Ukraine’s list of 250 promising small and medium-sized companies shaping the country’s future. She and her husband run VSKLO, a high-end glass production brand. Despite relocating twice due to the Russian invasion, they expanded their business with WOF-UA’s support, which funded essential new equipment in 2023. Reflecting on her experience, Anastasia shared, "I participated in many grant programs, but with WOF-UA, it was quick, easy, and pleasant. The fund created a warm community, with everything thought out logically and stress-free."
Displaced by the war, Iryna Abalmaz, the owner of the Little Mariupol coffee shop, relocated to the Ukrainian City of Dnipro and turned to WOF-UA for a grant. With a small grant, Iryna purchased and installed a bar counter and furniture for her first coffee shop. She has been so successful that she has been expanding her business - and recently opened her fourth cafe.