Dear John,

While the uncertainties of war cloud Ukraine’s future, Atlas Network’s partners know that Ukrainians’ hopes for the future also will depend on post-war economic revival. This is why it’s so important to develop economic thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit among the nation’s youth.

The Bendukidze Free Market Center is an Atlas Network partner operating in Kyiv, and for five years now they’ve been successfully implementing an initiative to teach free market economics to Ukrainian students.

In 2019, their initiative was piloted in 15 schools. Now they’re in 100.

In addition:

• They’ve successfully trained 200 teachers.
• They reach over 10,000 students per year.
• Over 9,000 students participate in their Economic Olympiad competition, and Ukraine has the highest number of schools participating in the International Olympiad.

As a result, about 50% of national Economic Olympiad finalists say they would like to one day start their own business.

The work of the Bendukidze Free Market Center has helped Ukrainian students understand what it’s like to do business in Ukraine, and what public policy reforms could make Ukraine more friendly to free enterprise in the future. 

As more Ukrainian students graduate and enter the world of entrepreneurship, the pressure will increase on the Ukrainian government to enact measures providing a higher level of economic freedom.

Atlas Network is proud to partner with the Bendukidze Free Market Center and continue providing the coaching and support they need to bring free market economics to Ukraine’s youth.

To learn more about how Atlas Network supports organizations like the Bendukidze Free Market Center, check out our website to learn more about our unique Coach, Compete, Celebrate!™ model. 

All my best,

Kam