Ukraine has seen a significant increase in the number of new individual entrepreneurs (IEOs). In the first eight months of 2024, almost 194 thousand new IEOs were registered, which exceeds the number of new registrations in the same period before the start of the full-scale war. At the same time, over 120 thousand IEOs closed during the same period, with more than thirty percent of new businesses ceasing their activities in the first year of operation, according to data from the Unified State Register (USR), provided to Opendatabot.
As of September 1, Ukraine had set a new record for the number of new sole proprietorships. 193,192 new entrepreneurs were registered, a significant increase compared to 186,144 new sole proprietorships before the war. After a significant decline at the beginning of the major invasion, the dynamics of new registrations has stabilized and remains at the level of the last two years.
Particularly striking is the record share of women among newly minted businessmen, reaching 60%. This compares to 55.6% in 2023 and 47% in the first year of full-scale war.
The largest number of new FOPs was opened in the capital, where 26,303 new businesses were registered, accounting for 13.6% of the total. Other regions with high activity include Dnipropetrovsk (18,025 new FOPs), Lviv (14,459), Kyiv (14,428) and Kharkiv (12,954).
It is worth noting the increase in the number of new individual entrepreneurs in Zaporizhia region by 11%, Kirovohrad region by 10% and Chernihiv region by 9.6%. At the same time, a decrease in business activity is observed in the frontline Luhansk (-14.7%) and Ivano-Frankivsk (-8%) regions. Despite the high indicators in Kharkiv region, the number of registrations in this region decreased by 6% compared to the previous year.
A third of new sole proprietorships are opened in the trade sector, the IT sector attracts 7.6% of new entrepreneurs, and the provision of individual services accounts for 7%. In 2023, cafes and restaurants were among the leaders, but this year they were replaced by information services.
The number of new sole proprietorships is currently 1.6 times higher than the number of closed ones. Since the beginning of the year, 120,154 sole proprietorships have closed, with newly created businesses suffering the most. Of the new sole proprietorships opened last year, 24.5% closed, and of those opened this year, 13.7%. The median period of activity of closed sole proprietorships is 2 years and 7 months.
The largest number of individual entrepreneurs closed in Kyiv – 13% (15,770), Kharkiv region – 8% (10,097) and Dnipropetrovsk region – 8% (9,931).
