On February 18, 2026, a seminar “Opportunities for the development of startup ideas and small entrepreneurship in the Sumy community” was held at Sumy State University. The event brought together scientists and students of Sumy State University interested in the development of startup ideas, as well as representatives of city authorities and business experts to discuss practical opportunities for the development of innovations in the Sumy region.
From the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration, Kubatko O.V., head of the project “Digital Transformations for Ensuring Civil Protection and Post-War Economic Recovery in Conditions of Environmental and Social Challenges” (No. d/r. 0124U000549), and students of groups E-52, PTB-31 and PTB-31-4 took part in the event.
Coordinator of the Sumy State University Startup Center « New Generation » Andriy Piven presented the updated infrastructure for the development of the university’s startup projects, which ensures a continuous innovation process even in the face of security and energy challenges.
Special attention during the seminar was paid to financial support instruments in the Sumy community.
Kateryna Bozhenko , Head of the Department of Trade, Entrepreneurship, Industry and Consumer Protection of the Department of Inspection Work of the Sumy City Council, spoke about the Startup Competition in the Sumy Community, where projects that are registered or plan to register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC in Sumy can receive up to UAH 200,000 in support. Ms. Kateryna also gave examples of funded projects that will be the winners of the competition from 2023-2025.
Oleksandr Dmytrenko , project manager of the Business Association “4Business”, spoke about the areas of activity of the association and practical cases of support for Sumy entrepreneurs. It is important that the “4Business” association provides real assistance and consulting , invites experienced trainers and experts to train on relevant topics for entrepreneurs. A recognizable area of activity of the association for all Sumy residents is organized fairs of craft producers of the Sumy region. The Startup Center of SumDU plans to continue its activities for 2026–2028 , which provides for:
- Development of cooperation with participants and partners of the network of startup schools – incubators – accelerators;
- Individual and group work with teams and preparation for pitching and participation in all-Ukrainian and international competitions;
- Conducting a series of hackathons and workshops ;
- Startup formats Pitch Day for investors and Demo Day to attract new students.
