Over 11 million UAH for the development of youth projects: join the national business incubator Youthquake
18 / 8 / 26
The program will unite over 1000 participants from all over Ukraine, who will work in approximately 320 formed teams. Schoolchildren aged 13–17, as well as students and youth aged 18–25 who want to try their hand at entrepreneurship, test their own idea in practice, or are already working on their first product, can join.
The total fund for financial support of Youthquake is 11,075,000 UAH. Based on the results of training, an interim pitching session, and the final Grand Demo Day, 40 teams will receive support.
It is important for Ukraine that young people not only use technology but also understand how to create their own products and solutions based on it. This requires practical experience: the opportunity to work on a real project, make mistakes, test, receive feedback from specialists, and see the results of their work. The Youthquake program provides such experience from school and student years. This is an opportunity to form a strong human resource potential for the technology sector and increase the number of young people ready to create innovative products specifically in Ukraine.
One of the tasks of the national project Diia.Business is to teach entrepreneurship from childhood, which is why Youthquake was created. It will help young people go from their first idea to their own product and try their hand at entrepreneurship.
Youthquake is built around practical work: participants will not only learn the basics of entrepreneurship but also work on their own ideas, analyze the needs of future users, test hypotheses, form a business model, and prepare projects for presentation to experts and potential partners.
The program provides separate educational tracks for two age categories.
- Schoolchildren aged 13–17 will learn basic entrepreneurial principles, how to generate ideas, analyze opportunities, work in a team, understand customer needs, and gradually structure their own project.
- Students and youth aged 18–25 will work with advanced tools: testing business hypotheses, analyzing the market, developing and testing MVP, and preparing the product for further development.
Entrepreneurship is learned only through practice. Youthquake gives young people space for their first attempt — with a team, mentors, and funding for the best ideas. Our goal is for program participants to return to state support instruments in a few years as founders of their own businesses.
The Youthquake educational program will last three months and combine 10 educational modules, practical work, meetings with entrepreneurs, and regular mentorship.
Participants have access to three lecture halls:
- National — a basic online format for all registered participants, which will be held separately for schoolchildren and students. The program will help form a systematic understanding of entrepreneurship, the market, and product creation, as well as develop an idea into a business plan or MVP.
- Motivational — joint online Startup Talks meetings with startup founders and entrepreneurs, accessible to all registered participants. Speakers will share practical cases and experiences in creating and developing projects.
- Advanced — an intensive practical format that will run in parallel with online learning and separately for schoolchildren and students. Participants will test hypotheses, work with mentors, receive individual consultations, and prepare projects for pitching.
The advanced format will be available offline and online. Offline bootcamps will take place in the network of Diia.Business entrepreneur support centers and partner locations in various cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Uzhhorod, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Rivne, Poltava, Ternopil, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, and Lviv. For teams unable to join physically, a virtual bootcamp is provided to ensure full participation regardless of location.
For Diia.Business, it is important not only to support entrepreneurs who are already developing their own businesses but also to create an environment where the next generation of Ukrainians sees entrepreneurship as a real path to realizing their ideas. Today's youth are the fastest to work with technology, boldly test new approaches, and seek solutions where none existed before. Youthquake creates space for this: here an idea can be tested, turned into a product, receive expert support, financial resources, and understand how to move forward. For us, this is part of the broader mission of the Diia.Business project — to develop an entrepreneurial culture in Ukraine based on innovation, technology, and a readiness to create new things.
Youthquake participants will work within one of six areas depending on their idea or MVP:
- Digital Products — mobile applications, web platforms, marketplaces, software, IoT, and other digital services;
- Manufacturing Projects — physical products, own brands, and innovative solutions in the manufacturing sector;
- Service Solutions — B2B solutions, educational, medical, technological, and other services;
- STEAM / Science-intensive Projects — technological and scientific developments involving research, testing, and experimental development;
- GreenTech — solutions in sustainable energy, efficient resource use, recycling, and reducing environmental impact;
- AgroTech — technologies for the agricultural sector, automation, analytics, and digital solutions for agribusiness development.
You do not need to wait for the ‘right’ age or the perfect moment to try entrepreneurship. Youthquake gives young people an opportunity to build a team, test their own idea, and take their first step towards starting a business today. It is important to us that young people believe in their abilities, are not afraid to start, and see Ukraine as a place where they can bring their entrepreneurial ideas to life. The Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office is ready to support them on this journey, because it is from these first ideas and attempts that a new generation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs is formed
Following the training programme, intermediate pitch, and final stages, 40 teams will receive financial support to develop their projects.
The financial support fund will be distributed as follows:
- 10 GreenTech teams will receive UAH 207,500 each;
- 4 school student teams will receive UAH 250,000 each;
- 4 university student teams will receive UAH 500,000 each;
- 20 teams from Lviv will receive UAH 200,000 each as part of additional support funded and administered by Lviv City Council.
The culmination of Youthquake will be the Grand Demo Day, where the strongest teams will present their solutions to programme experts and partners. The winners will receive the programme’s top awards: UAH 500,000 in the School Students category and UAH 1,500,000 in the University Students category.
Lviv is the first city in Ukraine to become a partner of the Youthquake national business incubator, and this is important to us. If we want young people to stay in Ukraine, grow here, and create something of their own, we must do more than simply tell them about opportunities — we must provide those opportunities. That is why Lviv is joining the programme not only as a partner but also by providing financial support. The city is investing UAH 4 million in 20 youth startups, with each team eligible to receive up to UAH 200,000 to develop its idea. Perhaps among these young people are those who, in a few years, will create a company, technology, or product known around the world. Our task is to give them the opportunity to take that first step right here, in Lviv
Throughout the programme, teams will work with mentors matched to their project areas, take part in consultations, and receive expert feedback.
Youthquake finalists will also gain access to additional opportunities offered by programme partners to further develop their projects, connect with Ukraine’s entrepreneurial and technology ecosystem, and expand their professional networks.
Supporting young people in transforming innovative ideas into concrete projects is an investment in the future of Ukraine’s startup ecosystem. Through Youthquake, we help young innovators gain practical skills, work with experienced mentors, test their ideas, and take their first steps towards building sustainable startups. EU4Innovation East is proud to support an initiative that equips the next generation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs with the tools, confidence, and opportunities to turn innovation into real solutions and lasting impact
Young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow, they are already creating solutions for the challenges of today. Together with our partners, UNICEF is supporting young innovators in transforming their ideas into practical solutions that can help build a greener, more sustainable, and more resilient Ukraine. We believe that when young people are given the opportunity, skills, and resources to innovate, they can drive meaningful change in their communities and contribute to a future that is better for children, families, and the environment
Youthquake ambassadors include Ukrainian rapper, songwriter and influencer alyona alyona, physics and computer science teacher Ruslan Ihorovych, the Ukrainian Esports Federation, and Ukrainian media company Maincast.
Entrepreneurs are a driving force behind Ukraine’s economic development. That is why supporting young people who are just starting their journey in business is an extremely important investment in the country’s future. Today, we see the critical role that financial and digital literacy, as well as proficiency in modern business tools, play in this process. According to our Mastercard SME Index research, among Ukrainian entrepreneurs who accept cashless payments, around two-thirds receive the majority of their income through these payments, while nine in ten already use digital tools to grow and promote their businesses. For Mastercard, supporting and developing small and medium-sized businesses is a strategic priority. Since 2020, we have supported 50 million small businesses worldwide and continue to bring even more entrepreneurs into the digital economy. Supporting young people’s entrepreneurial initiatives is an important step towards achieving this goal and an opportunity for new talent to create products and services that will shape Ukraine’s economy of the future
To participate in Youthquake, teams must complete an online application form. School student teams are required to describe their idea and answer the questions in the application form. University student teams must additionally submit a presentation of their MVP — a pitch deck of up to 10 slides.
Young people are one of our country’s most valuable resources, and they will shape what Ukraine’s economy looks like in five or ten years. Today’s school students will form a new generation of entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders who will create new companies, technologies, and jobs. Supporting youth entrepreneurship, developing practical skills, and fostering innovation is therefore an investment in the country’s sustainable development. As a bank, we see our role in creating the conditions for future entrepreneurs to grow by supporting entrepreneurship education, strengthening financial literacy and business skills, and giving young people opportunities to bring their ideas to life. Even today, through our interactions with young people, we can see the strengths of this generation: the courage to test new approaches, adaptability, and technological fluency. Youthquake will provide participants with practical experience and mentoring support, including from an international bank, and strengthen their confidence in their own potential for growth
Applications are open through 18 September 2026, inclusive.
To learn more about the programme, choose a track, and apply, visit the official Youthquake website.
The Youthquake National Youth Business Incubator is implemented by the Diia.Business Entrepreneur Support Centers network in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office, the Economic Development Department, and the Entrepreneurship Support Center of the Lviv City Council, with the support of the EU4Innovation East project, funded by the European Union, co-funded by the Government of France, and implemented by Expertise France, as well as with the support of UNICEF (with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German state-owned development bank KfW), Mastercard, UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group, and the Lviv City Council. The programme’s educational partners are INSCIENCE NGO, the Ukrainian Startup Fund, SET University, and Persona Education.
The programme’s technology partner is Toloka.vc.
The programme’s media partners are MC.today, The Page, SPEKA, KOSHT, and BCMEDIA.
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