"Sergiy Poznyak's Building the Ecosystem program raised UAH 150 million for veteran businesses

In the spring of 2025, Pavlo Bienik, a veteran from Kyiv region who owns a micro-chain of beauty salons, received a loan of UAH 2 million at 15% per annum for business development.

The lenders were not banks, which lend money to SMEs at at least 20% per annum, but the FinStream service. Its founder, Serhiy Pozniak, is also a veteran and heads the Association of ATO Veterans-Entrepreneurs.

FinStream finances the projects of veteran entrepreneurs, and the Association mentors and trains startups and those who want to scale their businesses. The money is raised through bonds, which are often bought by veteran entrepreneurs and other people.

19 veteran businesses have already received funds totaling UAH 150 million.

"We are solving the main problem of veteran entrepreneurs – access to resources. We have already attracted the first million dollars in direct investment in veteran businesses," says Pozniak.

How the ecosystem works – in the article LIGA.net

Bonds for financing

The association was founded in 2016 by veteran entrepreneurs Leonid Ostaltsev, Oleksandr Matiash, Volodymyr Shevchenko, Valeriy Lypynskyi, Maksym Muzyka, and Dmytro Krykun. Since 2019, it has been headed by Kyiv-based entrepreneur and financier Serhiy Pozniak.

Pozniak knows the difficulties of a veteran business from his own experience. He has been a volunteer since 2014. In 2023, he was injured and had his lower leg amputated.

In the 2000s, he founded a financial company that provided loans to small and medium-sized businesses. On its basis, he created the FinStream financial service, which finances veteran-owned businesses. (The service also works with other businesses, but the interest rate for them is higher than for veterans.)

Money is raised by selling bonds at 6% per annum. The face value of the bond is UAH 1,000, with quarterly interest payments.

In November 2024, businessman Oleksandr Sokolovskyi, owner of the Textile-Contact group of companies, invested UAH 803,000 in veteran bonds.

"We receive interest income every quarter, which covers only the costs of administering transactions in these securities," he says of the income.

However, it's not about income, but about supporting those who defended our country, Sokolovsky says. "It's about promoting the development of their entrepreneurial initiatives.

oleksandr Pishchanyi, a veteran from Mykolaiv region, received UAH 1.3 million at 15% interest from FinStream to grow vegetables. He already has one operating business, the Snail Paradise farm on the shores of the Tiligul Estuary. He sells his products in his own cafe on the shore of the reservoir. However, this business is seasonal: it makes a profit only in summer, when there are tourists. Vegetable growing will allow him to diversify his income.

However, not every willing veteran entrepreneur can get funding. Only those who can come up with an idea and develop a realistic business plan can get funding. FinStream has financed 19 businesses since its launch.

Veteran MBA

The second area of work is training for aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as for those seeking to scale or expand their business.

Beginners who want to start a business are told how to come up with an idea for a business, how to structure a company, how to protect themselves from raiding, and so on.

The teachers are specialists and veterans themselves. For example, entrepreneur Denys Malyshevskyi, who in 2023 opened a company selling ceramic tiles called TES Ceramic. He raised 800,000 from FinStream, and in 2024, his business turnover was 60 million hryvnias.

Denys Malyshevsky says that most of the questions from newcomers are about how to start a business without money. And also how to get rid of the fear of starting your own business and being without profit for a while.

Such speeches are also useful for the teacher.

"I am in favor of any activity where I can help someone. Such communication helps me psychologically," the veteran says.

He has been fighting since 2023, and lost his arm as a result of an injury.

Pavlo, who we talked about at the beginning of the article, is going to attend a course for new entrepreneurs. He says that although he is not a beginner, he wants to refresh his knowledge because the market has changed during his service, and there are fewer customers. He needs to look for other ways to attract customers and sell goods. To do this, he wants to master the SMM approach to enter social media.

However, only 10% of the beginners who attend the EBA courses become entrepreneurs, says Pozniak.

"Business is not easy," he says.

The second level of training is for more experienced entrepreneurs. These can be both entry-level graduates and people who have not studied at the association. They are taught how to scale, build development strategies, and manage a company.

What are the other areas of the Association's activity?

In addition to financial instruments, the Association's members have access to events organized by the organization itself and its partners. At these events, veterans meet and look for potential partners or clients.

In addition, the Association has a hotline for veteran entrepreneurs. Through it, you can get advice on legal, financial or accounting issues.

"At the association, we are building an ecosystem of veteran businesses that starts with training and continues with funding and partnerships," says Sergiy Poznyak.

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