We are devastated by the human suffering caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and want to express our deepest concern for the millions of people who are impacted by the violence.
NESsT will work to support our entrepreneurs in Central Europe, and with them, find ways to support the Ukrainian people forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods. We are developing a contingency plan to:
ensure the safety and security of our team and portfolio of high-impact enterprises and their families in the region
strengthen the work of our enterprises that are providing humanitarian aid as well as long-term training and employment opportunities for refugees.
As of March 9th, the total number of refugees fleeing Ukraine reached 2.3 million, half of whom are children.
Poland has taken in more than 1.7 million people in 14 days. Volunteers across the country moved quickly to mobilize aid resources, and many have opened up their homes to people seeking shelter.
NESsT Portfolio company Future Collars’ Co-Founder Joanna Pruszynska-Witkowska shared her experience supporting three young Ukrainian women: “[it has been] a week since Natasha, Alina and Marina joined our home… I must admit it is challenging for both sides: we communicate through Google Translate, we are complete strangers, and we were not prepared for this. But we try to manage…getting small things done together like cooking evening dinner, volunteer work, and pizza night with 🇺🇦 pop music…last night, for the first time, I heard from the “girls” room laughter.”
In addition to launching fundraising campaigns to sustain the basic living needs of refugees, NESsT Poland portfolio enterprises have made commitments to provide long-term livelihood support to refugees, helping them to access employment resources to improve their financial situations.
Future Collars organized a “Welcome to Poland” campaign to offer refugees guidance on how to find or change their jobs in Poland. The enterprise also plans to set up a scholarship fund to help refugees from Ukraine to access career training.
Mamo Pracuj pledged to support women from Ukraine to find quality job opportunities through its digital recruiting platform for women, talenti.pl. ‘
HECA Cooperative currently acts as the refugee support center in Tczew. The Polish enterprise is hiring women from Ukraine to produce children's blankets – the first batch has already been ordered by a large corporation in Tczew.
“More and more people come to us every day. We support them in finding accommodations and meals and coordinate the distribution of essential living goods. We provide psychological support as well as translation support; we also enroll children in schools and are in the process of organizing Polish courses,” shared Paulina Kremer, board member and social programme specialist at Heca.
NESsT stands with the people of Ukraine. We will support our portfolio enterprises to create more dignified employment and viable income generation opportunities for people who are forced to flee from their homes and help them to rebuild their lives.
-The NESsT Team