From War To Enterprise: Building A UK Network For Ukrainian Businesswomen

We trace Anna’s path from arriving in Scotland to founding a fast-growing club for Ukrainian businesswomen, turning fear and isolation into practical support and shared strength. From first meetups to national chapters, we explore education, partnerships, and the shift from support to voice.

• founding purpose to support displaced Ukrainian businesswomen 
• growth from local meetups to UK-wide membership 
• online and offline events for access and inclusion 
• practical help on taxes, legal setup, and grants 
• coaching, informal days, and company visits 
• collaborations with Business Gateway and Chambers of Commerce 
• cross-community networking with Scottish entrepreneurs 
• next steps: Cambridge chapter, YouTube, and podcasts

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Welcome back to the Sterling Business Podcast from Studio King Street in the heart of Sterling. I have a fantastic guest today from the Ukrainian Women's Business Club or Ubris. Anna Andrieska. Welcome to the studio.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Thank you. Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

So very interesting journey, Anna.

Anna’s Move To Scotland

SPEAKER_00 0:36

I would like to talk to you a little bit about your journey since you came to the UK from Ukraine and the business club that you've set up. So Anna Andrieska. You live in Sterling?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Mm-hmm. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

And uh who who do you live in Sterling with?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Oh, with my family. Yeah, I live I live in Sterling with my family. Thank you so much for the invitation on the podcast. And just I will speak a little bit more about myself. My name is Anna. And you know about that. I'm Ukrainian and I moved in Scotland four years ago. I live in Sterling. Uh I'm an entrepreneur, mom of two kids, and I'm building the biggest territory,

Why The Club Began During War

SPEAKER_01 1:21

uh biggest um uh Ukrainian businesswomen community in UK. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Okay, so that started in Scotland, but it's gone beyond Scotland now, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Uh it started in Scotland. Uh our first uh event was in 2022. It started in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling. And uh in 2024 we opened uh our chapter in Manchester, in 2025 in London, and now in 2026 we are ready to open in Cambridge. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Great. So if you can explain to the listeners and viewers the idea behind uh UBWest. Uh first of all, what does UBWest stand for?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Um you know, um when I moved in 2022 in Scotland, uh I was uh with a small daughter, and uh I decided that I will be have just uh a journey to enjoy my motherhood and everything. Just uh but uh you know uh the started the war in Ukraine and I understand that I need to support the people who come in here. And in Ukraine, I I previously I worked in Ukraine uh in the business community and I have experience how to work with entrepreneurs and how it's important to be you know in this environment. And uh in 2022 lots of uh Ukrainian women come in in the UK, in Scotland, and uh I decided that we need to, you know, I need to organize something for them. It's really needed. Uh in 2022, lots of women was you know um lose, lose uh they uh lose their home, businesses, friends, families, and everything. So they just don't know what to do. And they a big fear to lose by self, so uh lose their professional skills here. And it's absolutely new, country was for them, so they don't know how to start, what to do, uh where to find information, how to you know support each other, uh new language, new culture, everything new, and um you know just uh it's very hard. And I decided yeah, to start to do first meetings in Edinburgh. It was in Glasgow, it was again in Stirling, and I just mix uh

From First Meetups To Formal Club

SPEAKER_01 3:40

different cities in Scotland. And uh in 2023 uh we officially started work like a business club uh and started to work with uh women who had a business in Ukraine or already started business here or would like to start their business here.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

So was the idea really to try and kind of bring that community together, share some best practices, share some kind of guidance in terms of how to get started.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Um, you know, how to deal with uh you know the accounting C and the legal side of their businesses and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Absolutely, yes. And we're still doing that. So just uh we're still doing a lot of different types of events, but I will tell about this later. Uh but yes, the main idea it was to support, to help to accommodate here, uh help to find right information about uh taxes, about uh self-employment, LTD, everything that they need, grants uh or something else. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Good. So what what has the uh community

Growth And Membership Across The UK

SPEAKER_00 4:44

grown to now? So the the membership, how many members do you have in the group?

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Um we now we have we started like a small group. It was in 2022, it was a small group with uh just you know uh ten people going on the first meetings, and now we have a hundred uh hundred and twenty members from all UK. In Scotland we have fifty members, fifty, sixty members, just it's different. Sometimes seventy, so it depends on you know. Uh and we uh we have a membership, so uh that it helps us to groove faster and invest and reinvest in some you know projects, some um some events and uh you know what we need to do a good um events for for them, so just for some items and everything.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

So, what type of events do you run?

Online And Offline Event Strategy

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Do you do a combination of online events as well as in-person events?

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, we have uh we have two types of events. We have offline, we have online events, because a lot of women um in Ukrainian they live um everywhere, just you know, it could be Highland or it could be Ayr. So just sometimes I know people from Orkneys and they also just a little bit sad about that. Sorry, sorry, Orkneys. Uh so uh, but uh of course they need a networking, they need a they need a people, people need two people, so that's why we combinate uh online networking and offline networking for them. Uh we have online memberships, it's most for people. For example, it's very, very popular in England because in England um it's uh you know, uh, for example, we have a Manchester and people from around Manchester, they not all our members live in Manchester. And for example, London, it's absolutely another story because London, you know, it's crazy, crazy biggest uh cities in UK. So uh people sometimes come in online because they don't have possibility to come in offline to London. So and yes, we do in offline also.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

So do you have uh different guest speakers on different topics uh each

Education, Speakers, And Company Visits

SPEAKER_00 7:03

month?

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have uh we have we uh we combinate education, um we combinate um unformal uh events. I mean it's like family days and some art days or something that you could just relax without business and you know. Uh but of course most of our events it's about business, it's support business. Uh about uh sometimes we're doing something interesting about Visa, about grants. Uh we have grants department, EI department now, we have coaching series. Um we doing uh we invite local speakers with their ex share the ex their experience, local organization like Business Getaway. Uh they also work with us. Oh and um yeah, and offline we uh invite uh for example, it could be Ukrainian uh professionals who live here 10 years, you know, just sometimes it's very um important to you hear the you know experience. Uh and local people, also local entrepreneurs, women, and we also invite them. So we're doing um we're doing uh company visits. It's one of our format when we are going when somebody opens it. So I mean uh if somebody opens restaurants or uh beauty salon or cafe or just uh studio or co-working space. Co-working space like you, yeah, thank you. We are going it's it's not only Ukrainians businesses, it's just for you know um it's helped to understand the market, understand just looking uh you know uh deeply how it's work and yeah to Yeah, we had an event what maybe about a year ago now it might have been, uh where you brought the uh the business club here.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah. And we we spent the afternoon basically going through you know the different parts of our business, what we've got showing around the building and and uh lots of engagement because uh these types of uh co-working businesses were pretty popular, for example, in Ukraine, right? Yeah. So uh you know everybody kinda left feeling quite inspired that day, I think.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Absolutely. You know, we have architecture, we'll have landscape designer. We have uh people who uh open restaurants, who have a beauty salon who have a uh who had in Ukraine previously, for example, also tax comp uh tax uh company uh adviser legal adviser some uh yeah lots of lots of professionals. Lots of types of uh businesses both in Ukraine and difference here.

Working With Business Gateway

SPEAKER_01 9:58

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

You talked a little bit about uh earlier on uh connection with things like business gateway. Um do you work with all of the business gateways from the likes of Edinburgh, Sterling, or is it specifically one area that you focus on?

SPEAKER_01 10:11

We work specifically, we work with the Sterling Business Getaway. Uh it's uh I'm very grateful because I know some people from um business getaway in Sterling. Uh we met in Forswale chamber. So and sometimes they give um they help with some information. And we work with Edinburgh Business Getaway. And uh when Ukrainian going to Edinburgh Business Getaway and they need support and thumbnails, they also recommended us if they need uh help with uh to find people uh who already had a business. So yeah, they're going to us and we just uh explain what we do and how we could help. Uh and they decided to be with us or just or not.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

So do these groups kind of work with you um collectively with for all of your members, or are they working with each of the individuals within the group one one by one? If there's somebody in Sterling, for example, wanting to get it get their business launched?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Um well you know, more individually. Uh they work individually because uh they have a different uh type of questions. So uh one of my members they need she uh want to understand how to open business in child area. She wants some uh open some space for the kids and everything. So it's more specific. Uh it's her specific business, it's her specific questions. For example, if uh uh other my members think uh how to open um flowers

Chambers Partnerships And Networking Wins

SPEAKER_01 11:41

boutique uh flowers shop uh in Edinburgh, for example, of course they go into Edinburgh Business Getaway and ask about more questions about them.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

So Okay, and what about any other uh business groups that you are connected with? So did you mention the chambers of commerce? How does that work for you and what value do you get from that?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Oh, that's amazing work. I'm I'm so proud. I'm so proud because I was the first uh Ukrainian who doing uh together event with Ukrainian uh entrepreneurs and uh Scottish entrepreneurs together. And I was so glad to do this because it was an amazing network. It's work good. Uh our members were so glad. They uh speak with the local auditory. Uh they still speak with somebody, I don't know, but they say that, oh, you do remember some guy from just Force Valley, we still connection on LinkedIn. Do you know? Oh wow, it's great. So it's work. It's working. I'm very grateful for the chamber because it's amazing uh also community with uh so interesting people uh who already had a businesses or just they work with the businesses, consultating business, and uh it's so yeah, it's it's a good experience. We're also doing in Edinburgh um event it was uh last uh September we're doing with Edinburgh Business Women Club, and it was also very interesting because it was only women. Uh and uh yes, it's also good to work. Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, no, the chambers works very well. The fourth valley chambers in particular are amazing, yeah. Lynn's just fantastic. She's got a real great kind of family kind of ethos going there. So everybody works with each other and gets lots of value from working with each other. So I can see how that would have worked for your club connecting to to the chambers and getting value from that.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Absolutely. Um and I'm so grateful because in in First Valley Chamber, uh in First Valley Chamber I met uh you and we met together in the First Valley Chamber also. That's right. So lots of people, Maggie and everybody. So we we met in First Valley.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Yeah, we have M Maggie coming onto the podcast soon.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

So it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Yeah. Brilliant. So I know you're passionate about entrepreneurial ship in particular. Um that was obviously something you were very passionate about when you were in uh in in Ukraine

Mission Shift: From Support To Voice

SPEAKER_00 14:02

and you brought that you brought that to Scotland. So, you know, quite a unique um uh you know, kind of set of circumstances obviously that brought you to kind of building this club. Um and it looks like it's gone from strength to strength. Uh you know, what is what are the uh the objectives for the next 12 months for the business club? Where are you looking to take it?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Uh about my uh patience about an entrepreneurship uh with UBI's Club, um for me it's about a voice. Uh when my first goal it was about in 2022 to support, to unite people, to you know to help to um to feel more comfortable, to not uh afraid about everything and just but of course when we grew year of the year, uh for the next year my next goal was it's not about only connected, it was about boys, because I see how people how women how these women just you know manage their kids, uh they um they family in Ukraine and everybody for husbands in Ukraine or uh just uh parents in Ukraine and they still uh have a time and uh you know uh to learn English, uh started their business, started to understand how work local market and for me it it's very important to show um that uh we could uh have a good relationship together and uh to be helpful to each other, not only it not should work only in one way. Uh for example, that we Ukrainians going now and for example in Scotland and we need to Scotland should need only to support Ukrainians. I think no. Uh four years is going and uh I think Ukrainians also should connect it with uh people here and support each other. It's work you know in both ways. So for me, uh uh I doing this because uh I feel very, very, you know, I feel good when I support Ukrainians. I feel that I'm doing something good for people who need this. Uh it's about the voices, and for it's about um independence, uh yeah, in some um situation in our world. So and it's about our culture and it's about it's opportunity to show uh that um uh together we could do uh a lot of interesting things and fast grew faster and uh just yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

It's about my you know and I think you've started uh you're starting a podcast, is that correct?

Next Steps: Cambridge Chapter And Podcast

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah, yeah, we started we uh uh about our plan for 12 months. Uh in this year we are we are uh uh preparing to open our next chapter chapter in Cambridge. It will be UBS in Cambridge. We have a nice partner, it's um she was a member in London one year, and after that she decided to start the chapter in Cambridge. And I'm very glad. So just why not if we could support more people and give more knowledge to people who need this? So it's I'm I'm very, very happy for this. And yeah, we are planning to start our YouTube channel and show in also podcasts. Uh to uh it uh our first podcast will be by Ukrainians, but with English subtitles. Uh but in the future I hope I could invite um more local people and start it to do to do this video by English. But I hope everything will be fine and everybody understands my YouTube channels by English.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

So uh but yeah Yeah I yeah, I is very good at translating.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Yeah, yeah, it's very it's helped me. It's yeah. Great.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Well I look I look forward to that. Hopefully it will be successful for you. And um, you know, massively inspiring story, Anna. I think you know you've done a fantastic job as the

Closing Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 18:16

founder of uh the Ukrainian Women's Business Club. And um, yeah, it just sounds like it's going from strength to strength and delivering exactly what it intended to at the beginning. So you know, fantastic. So well done. Thank you so much and keep going.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

And thank you for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Thank you. Thank you so much for the invitation.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

So that's the end of the Sterling Business Podcast for this week. Uh Anna Andrieska, fantastic guest, very inspirational uh talk about her founding of the Ubris, the Ukrainian Business Women's Club. Uh, until next week, uh, for our next guest, um, stay safe and we'll speak again soon.