British Council Ukraine, as part of the Creative Enterprise Ukraine program, is holding a competition for participation in trainings that will take place in February 2017 in 4 cities of Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

Applications are accepted until January 8, 2017. The application form for the competition can be downloaded here: http://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/creativeenterprise/application.

Considering creative entrepreneurs as the drivers of the modern economy, building connections between creative people and consumers and contributing to the economic and cultural development of societies, the British Council has joined forces with the British agency for business development and technological innovation Nesta and developed three-day trainings, where entrepreneurs will be able to gain knowledge and skills that will help develop an idea or startup into a sustainable and powerful business. The program is conducted in partnership with creative hubs in various cities of Ukraine. The local partner of the trainings is PwC.

PwC organizes an additional - fourth day of training for participants, dedicated to the local context and the basic conditions for doing business in Ukraine.

The trainings are designed for people working in creative and cultural businesses/startups in the following areas: publishing, design, fashion, architecture, visual arts, music, theatre/dance, film, radio/TV, photography, video games, digital media, festival management, creative spaces, IT solutions for cultural/creative initiatives, crafts.

The content of the trainings is based on the Creative Entrepreneurs’ Toolkit developed by Nesta and the British Council (http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/media/uploads/files/Creative_Enterprise_Toolkit_2016_Books_1-4.pdf?_ga=1.75001104.324835465.1481218447). The training developers expect that during/as a result of the program, participants will be able to:

• define a portrait of their consumers: understand their purchasing power and ways to access them;

• better understand their personal values ​​and entrepreneurial ambitions; learn to maintain a balance between their hobbies and talents and economic motives;

• form a clear mission that summarizes their aspirations in business; understand what will be the success of their business;

• understand the relationship between business, consumer expectations and product/service qualities;

• explore the different types of relationships needed in four key business areas: Generator, Performer, Distributor and Consumer;

• learn more about pricing strategies; identify the key elements needed to establish a connection with consumers; understand the important role of finance in controlling business activities;

• develop their own cost plan for the initial stage of the business; learn about cash flow and financial management.

Participants can be entrepreneurs who have already implemented their creative idea and have 2-3 years of business experience, as well as people at the initial stage who have an idea and are just planning to turn it into a sustainable creative business.

The program was launched in Ukraine in 2015. In the first edition, 94 creative entrepreneurs from four cities in Ukraine participated in the trainings, among whom 20 participants received grants for the further development of their creative businesses. You can learn more about the supported projects at the link: http://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/creativeenterprise/case-studies.