From Impact Pioneers to SI Ukraine Cooperation Programme: Strengthening Ukraine’s Innovation Ecosystem

“I’m sincerely grateful to the Swedish Institute and our partners for supporting innovation and Ukraine as a whole,” says Iurii. “This support empowers our talent, strengthens the economy, and gives us energy and resilience in the broader fight against Russian aggression.”

Iurii explains that participating in Impact Pioneers gave him a strong push in understanding how real, systemic change can be created at home — particularly when it comes to building a climate tech ecosystem inspired by Sweden’s example.

“A standout value was the opportunity to connect with key players in the Swedish ecosystem, as well as with participants from all over the world,” he says. “We actively shared experiences and approaches, and these conversations sparked a deep, big-picture understanding of which best practices can be borrowed — and how international insights can be adapted to the Ukrainian context, where I am building the startup ecosystem.”

From idea to implementation: SUSTAIN‑UA – launching Challenger Sustainability Accelerator in Ukraine

Iurii says that Impact Pioneers provided practical tools for turning ideas into concrete, actionable projects. One such result is SUSTAIN‑UA Challenger Sustainability Accelerator for Ukrainian Startups, a new initiative he developed during the programme. Iurii adds that Ukrainian ecosystem needs high quality specialised acceleration support and this project offers international acceleration for Ukrainian startups leveraging Sweden’s experience and building upon successful track record and strong brand of  Challenger Accelerator implemented by Civitta in Ukraine since 2021.  

While taking part in Impact Pioneers, Iurii had the opportunity to present and refine the concept and to secure support from the Swedish Institute, to implement the project in partnership with The Innovation Growhouse Stockholm (THINGS), a Swedish organisation with extensive experience in running similar programmes.

“We are inviting Ukrainian startups and innovators working in sustainability-related sectors such as green technologies, energy, mobility, construction, and more,” Iurii says.

The programme will select 15 teams, comprising over 20 participants. These teams will gain access to workshops and seminars led by top mentors, industry experts, and investors, as well as individual mentoring, networking opportunities, and a final pitch at a Demo Day. In addition, thanks to THINGS wide network, participating teams will be matched with corporate clients in Sweden and across Europe and introduced to European investors, bridging the gap in access to capital for Ukrainian startups.

“By the end of the programme, we expect participating teams to have developed or refined their business strategies, connected with international investors and corporate clients, and to be ready to scale their innovative solutions globally,” Iurii says. Best teams will visit Tech Arena and have a chance to meet with investors, clients and the main ecosystem players in Sweden. 

Strengthening the textile sector through U-TEX

In addition to the accelerator, Iurii’s organisation Civitta is running another project that has also received funding from the SI Ukraine Cooperation Programme.

“The second project, U-TEX, is designed for small and medium-sized enterprises in the textile sector and is implemented in partnership with the University of Borås,” Iurii explains. “When we developed the concept, we already had significant experience supporting Ukraine’s textile industry through another initiative, W4TEX. This new programme is a natural continuation of our efforts.”

U-TEX will invite ten organisations to take part in a comprehensive capacity-building programme. Participants will engage in 12 online sessions, a three-day in-person bootcamp, and a four-to-five-day study visit to Sweden, where they will meet local stakeholders and potential partners.

Ukraine’s most pressing needs — and Sweden’s role

By the end of February, it will be four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Iurii describes everyday life under these conditions as a series of extremely urgent, high-stakes challenges.

“Alongside global challenges, we are forced to devote enormous resources to defending our territory and, especially during winter, to covering basic daily needs,” he says. “Recent Russian attacks on major cities such as Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv left people and businesses without electricity, heating and water for several days, with temperatures dropping to minus 15 to minus 18 degrees Celsius.”

Despite this, Ukrainians continue to work, support the military, medics and volunteers, and maintain their mental resilience. From this perspective, Iurii highlights three areas where support is most critical.

1. Security and defence
   “Developing modern defence solutions is essential not only for protecting Ukraine, but also for the security of Europe as a whole,” Iurii says. “Sweden’s support in defence, including technological cooperation and strategic agreements, is extremely valuable and demonstrates a long-term partnership between our countries.”
2. Entrepreneurship and innovation
   Equally important, according to Yurii, is the continued development of entrepreneurship and innovation, which keeps Ukraine’s economy alive during wartime. Small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and tech companies create jobs, retain talent and lay the groundwork for post-war recovery.“There is enormous untapped potential for collaboration with Sweden in areas such as innovation, climate tech, deep tech, research commercialisation, joint R&D projects, accelerator programmes and soft-landing opportunities for Ukrainian startups,” he says.
3. Institutional and ecosystem development
   The third critical area is institutional and ecosystem development, including knowledge exchange, market access and stronger collaboration between business, research and government. “Sweden’s experience with systematic, standards-driven approaches to innovation and sustainability is particularly valuable for Ukraine at this stage,” Iurii concludes.