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Наталя ХандусенкоStartup
4 May 2026, 16:18
2026-05-04
Up to $20,000 for your own business: an accelerator for veterans with IT experience is being launched in Ukraine
Ukrainian venture builder SKELAR has opened a call for applications for the second stream of the Veteran Venture Program acceleration program. This is a free educational initiative for veterans who plan to launch or develop their own IT business. Within the framework of the program, participants will be able to undergo training, receive mentoring support, and attract up to $20,000 in investment.
Ukrainian venture builder SKELAR has opened a call for applications for the second stream of the Veteran Venture Program acceleration program. This is a free educational initiative for veterans who plan to launch or develop their own IT business. Within the framework of the program, participants will be able to undergo training, receive mentoring support, and attract up to $20,000 in investment.
This year, the program focuses on learning AI tools for product prototyping without involving an additional team, automating customer support, and generating marketing texts and creatives to launch a business faster and cheaper.
Veterans who have returned to civilian life are eligible to apply. The program is geared toward candidates with experience in IT and entrepreneurship.
Program participants will receive:
Training. An intensive program based on the practical experience of tech company founders: from business model to prototype creation and product launch.
Mentoring. Support from SKELAR experts and industry practitioners with experience working at Meta, Google, Microsoft, and other global companies.
Investments. The strongest teams will present their products to investors and will be able to raise up to $20,000 to launch and scale the business.
The program starts on May 21, and applications are accepted until May 14. You can submit an application via the link .
“Veterans return with unique experience, leadership qualities, and high motivation. And this is a huge resource for the country. So we are creating an environment where military knowledge is converted into real tech businesses. For the country, this is economic development, for veterans, it is the shortest path to their own business, and for us, it is an opportunity to do what we do best: help launch and build businesses,” comments Maksym Shtepa, Co-Founder and CEO of SKELAR.
The initiative is implemented within the framework of the SKELAR Foundation charitable foundation with the support of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Veterans Fund, the Ukrainian Startup Fund, Azov.Suprovid, the NGO "All-Ukrainian Association "Veteran Corps"" and the Patronage Service of the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
An IT veteran created the NGO "Ukrainian Veteran IT Association". The organization's first initiative was the launch of the job search platform "Veteran+ JobPortal"
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