JCU Hosts Maryna Saprykina and Inese Vaivare for Talks on Sustainable Development
On February 17 and February 25, 2025, students from the course NGO Development Lab with Professor Ieva Jakobsone Bellomi, had the privilege of hosting two guest speakers: Maryna Saprykina, CEO of Create Sustainable Results Ukraine (CSR Ukraine) and founder of Ukrainian Women Entrepreneurs Hub (U&WE Hub), and Inese Vaivare, director of the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation (LAPAS). The speakers discussed their NGOs’ involvement in entrepreneurship for Ukrainian women and the factors that contribute to sustainable development.
Maryna Saprykina’s Efforts to Help Ukrainian Women Succeed
CSR Ukraine is an NGO that has been implementing and developing corporate social responsibility throughout Ukraine for over 15 years. Maryka Saprykina is also the founder of the Ukrainian Women Entrepreneurs Hub (U&WE Hub), a branch of CSR that supports more than 7,000 Ukrainian women entrepreneurs, established in August 2022.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Saprykina’s work with CSR Ukraine focused on corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts. However, with the war’s escalation, these efforts became difficult to implement, given that businesses began prioritizing security over sustainability. As Saprykina was forced to leave Kyiv and temporarily relocate to Vienna, she encountered many displaced and struggling women, which sparked the idea for U&WE Hub. Despite the crisis, her mission remained the same: finding ways to create sustainable opportunities for women.
The U&WE Hub fosters knowledge sharing and business growth through peer-to-peer networking and collaboration rather than formal mentorship programs. Many Ukrainian women with experience in large businesses are willing to offer support and guidance, contributing to the community’s meetings and lectures. The training programs and business events provide women with practical expertise, while building networks and promoting communication.
Saprykina explained that Ukrainian women have taken charge of their husbands’ or relatives’ business since the men have gone to war. Thus, many women are running existing small and medium-sized enterprises, specifically in the manufacturing and service sector, for which they need knowledge and networking to thrive. This “forced entrepreneurship” has transformed the economic landscape, making women critical for the growth of Ukraine’s economy. Today, six out of ten entrepreneurs in Ukraine are women, a fact that highlights their growing role in business and national resilience. Many women also open their own small enterprises, primarily internal to Ukraine, focusing on education, services, handmade products, beauty, consulting, and fashion. However, some of these businesses remain at an early stage, primarily operating within local markets rather than expanding internationally.
When asked about advice for young individuals aspiring to work or run NGOs, Saprykina stressed the importance of professionalism, passion, and dedication, regardless of the chosen sector. Her journey displays how leadership, perseverance, and commitment to business and women empowerment can help a stronger future for not only Ukraine but women worldwide.
Inese Vaivare on the Key Principles for Sustainable Development
Inese Vaivare is the director of the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation (LAPAS), a national platform founded in 2004 that unites 45 non-governmental organizations to work for sustainable global development.
Since 2019, LAPAS has been the secretariat of the National Multistakeholder Coalition for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. Through LAPAS, Vaivare leads initiatives to strengthen NGO-participation in sustainable development. She is also a distinguished Latvian civil society leader, with over a decade of experience in the Latvian government, where she has worked on policy development, public administration reforms, and promoted civil society engagement.
As part of her interest in international engagement, Vaivare delivered a virtual talk to the NGO Consulting Lab class at John Cabot University. She emphasized the importance of taking action even without existing connections. As she explained, sometimes even a single phone call or tweet can set things in motion. She also outlined key principles for entrepreneurial success, such as having a clear goal, building a project step by step, and understanding that not all ideas will work. “If you have a motivated team, it will work,” Vaivare said, stressing the importance of resilience in the face of setbacks.
Vaivare also discussed “dynamic responsibility,” where NGOs must assess what change they aim to create and how to measure their impact. Among the main challenges she identified: an overemphasis on financial concerns, navigating partnerships with large NGOs, ethical considerations in securing government support, and balancing donor expectations. Despite these challenges, she emphasized the power of engaging everyone willing to contribute.
Through their leadership and advocacy, both Maryna Saprykina and Inese Vaivare continue to inspire change makers and strengthen the role of civil society in sustainable development.
(Nicolette Klibson & Danae Donoso Fernandez de Cordova)
