Ideas Day in Odesa: Odesa entrepreneurs’ identity — is change possible?

A typical entrepreneur from Odesa. Hearing this phrase, people usually think of “Sonia the Golden Pen,” “Mishka Yaponchik,” and other similar personalities. Odesa entrepreneurs are hardworking and actively involved in volunteering, but the stereotype of an “Odesa entrepreneur” misrepresents it. This is how we can track how the Odesa myth affects entrepreneurship. The key is to find ways to change this narrative about a “typical entrepreneur from Odesa” with a negative connotation into an example that we would like to follow.

This and other issues speakers discussed during the Ideas Day in Odesa, which took place on July 22 in Odesa as a continuation of the Ideas Festival, a significant event organized since 2017 by the Aspen Institute Kyiv and Impact Hub Odessa, and its co-founder Yegor Grebennikov.

Dmytro Kazavchynskyy (co-founder and owner of GMT Group).

We can change the attitude towards Odesa entrepreneurs in 5-10 years of systematic work. How exactly — we need a dialogue between business and government so that collaboration in projects they implement has a positive result. We need to prove that there are genuine entrepreneurs in Odesa. For this purpose, historical facts can be used, as there have been and still are many entrepreneurs in Odesa about whom we should speak about and be proud of.

Kateryna Balyutova (CEO of “Marine Container Service”).

We should use the concept of a port as an ecosystem. One of the most famous examples is the ecosystem of the port of Rotterdam. In recent years, its ecosystem has been enriched by various field laboratories, simulation centers, educational campuses, and startup incubators. A system of specialized educational institutions trains specialists for the maritime industry. They also provide a large number of scientific studies, the results of which are not only tested but also implemented in real life.

 Oleksandr Babich (historian, tour guide, volunteer).

There is a spoiled portrait of the Odesa entrepreneur. Traditionally, the image of an entrepreneur has been that he is an amoral thief. Now, the opposite is true; we are in the process of creating a new Odesa entrepreneur. Therefore, we must understand what kind of city we will leave to our children and what traditions we will leave. We must instill a “new Odesa myth” and fight for people — to show how modern and progressive Odesa is. In particular, this will be possible thanks to high-quality business education in Odesa.

Marina Goncharenko, Director of America House Odesa, moderated the discussion.