“Do Your Own with Horeca Masters” contest launches: entrepreneurs can get up to UAH 500 thousand for their own business

27 June 20:12

The MHP-Community Charitable Foundation, together with the Kurator brand, is launching a competition for catering entrepreneurs – Do Your Own with Horeca Masters.

The goal of the project is to support owners of establishments in cities and villages who want to scale their business, upgrade equipment, and introduce new services.

For 10 years, we have been working to make communities liveable, and systemic support for small businesses is an important part of this process. After all, entrepreneurship is always about people: those who keep the economy afloat, create jobs and fill the budgets of their communities every day. We have already supported 548 entrepreneurs through our grant programs. And we are not stopping, so together with the Kurator brand, we are announcing the start of a competition for entrepreneurs in the field of catering,” said Oleksandr Pakholyuk , director of the MHP-Community Foundation.

Who can participate?

Owners and managers of working catering establishments in the Street & Casual Food (food tracks, coffee shops, bakeries) and Middle Segment (restaurants, cafes, dark kitchens, hotel establishments) formats are invited to participate.

Small and medium-sized businesses can submit business ideas. The competition is held all over Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories or areas of military operations where government authorities are temporarily inactive.

MHP systematically works with HoReca business – we develop partnerships in the industry and offer product solutions that optimize kitchen processes, in particular under the Kurator brand. We also invest in the development of the HoReCa community through Horeca Masters. This is a platform where restaurant owners and chefs receive important information, share experiences and learn. The Do Your Own with Horeca Masters contest is a logical continuation of this work. Through such competitions, we create an environment where entrepreneurs receive tools for development and scaling. This contributes to the formation of an open and responsible business environment that works to support the country’s economy,” says Natalia Shadchneva, Head of MHP’s HoReCa Development Center.

What does the competition entail?

Each of the winners will receive a grant of UAH 250,000 to 500,000. There will be no more than four winners. The total budget of the competition is UAH 2.5 million.

Key dates:

Application period: June 25 – July 27, 2025 (until 18:00)
Announcement of the winners: september 4, 2025

After the competition starts, participants will be able to join consulting webinars to get help filling out applications. Detailed conditions of participation and the application form are available on the official website of the competition.

About the competition

The competition to support HoReCa entrepreneurs was launched to support small and medium-sized businesses in times of war. Last year, the initiative supported 10 entrepreneurs from Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava and Cherkasy regions. The total budget amounted to UAH 3.46 million, of which UAH 1.2 million was the amount of grants provided, UAH 1.7 million was co-financing from the winners, and another UAH 560 thousand was the contribution of the Kurator brand. Each winner received up to UAH 100 thousand to develop their own business.24 In 2014, the MHP for Community Charitable Foundation and the Kurator brand launched a project to support small and medium-sized businesses in times of war.

That year, the initiative supported 10 entrepreneurs from Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, and Cherkasy regions. The total budget amounted to UAH 3.46 million, of which UAH 1.2 million was the amount of grants provided, UAH 1.7 million was co-financing from the winners, and another UAH 560 thousand was the contribution of the Kurator brand. Each winner received up to UAH 100 thousand to develop their own business.