Ukrainian women opened record number of individual businesses in 2024
In Ukraine, women created 59% of all new individual entrepreneurs (IE) in the first quarter of 2024.
A record indicator of the opening of individual businesses among Ukrainian women
An Opendatabot platform, which works with open data, provided this information from the Unified State Register.
Thus, women opened more than 43,500 IEs in the first quarter of the year, while men opened 30,500 new cases during the same period.
According to the Unified State Register (USR), women created 43,554 new IEs in the first quarter of 2024, 59% of the total number of new cases.
This indicator not only shows the active participation of women in business, but also exceeds half of the total number of newly created IEs in the first quarter of 2024.
For comparison, in the first quarter of 2021, women opened 51% of the newly created IEs.
Popular industries among women entrepreneurs in Ukraine
Women most often open businesses in the field of retail trade, provision of individual services and information services.
According to Opendatabot, the distribution between women and men in these areas is as follows:
retail trade: 68% women and 32% men;
provision of individual services: 89% of women and 11% of men;
information services: 63% of women and 37% of men.
Men more often choose computer programming and wholesale trade for their activities.The distribution in these areas is as follows:
computer programming: 58% of men and 42% of women;
Ukrainian forces continue to hold part of Russia's Kursk Oblast, despite Russia's attempts to dislodge them, General Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command (EUCOM), said during a congressional hearing.
Points of attention
General Cavoli highlights the Ukrainian forces' success in holding part of Russia's Kursk Oblast against Russian attempts to dislodge them.
Maintaining a strong military presence in Europe is crucial, as it deters further Russian aggression and ensures stability in the region.
Ukraine has not ceased hostilities on the territory of the Russia — Kavoli
There are now significant forces holding a sizeable — reduced, but sizeable — chunk of land in the Kursk region of Russia. And they're holding a very good defensive area south of Belgorod... So we still have movement back and forth in that area.
The general also stressed that he opposes reducing US troops in Europe. His reservations run counter to previous plans by the Donald Trump administration for a possible withdrawal of 10,000 troops.
"My advice is to maintain the position of power as it is now," Cavoli said.
This position is shared by Republicans in Congress. Mike Rogers, the head of the Armed Services Committee, has come out strongly against the cuts.
You must be focused on maintaining the ascendant position we have had in Europe since Russia started the conflict... Premature withdrawal will lead to further Russian aggression.
Another Republican, Don Bacon, added:
It would be a serious mistake to withdraw troops from Europe right now… Withdrawing troops is a sign of weakness.
Cavoli also supported maintaining American control over NATO's European Command (SACEUR), calling the possible transfer of this role to another country "problematic."
Senator Adam Schiff has called on Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump engaged in insider trading or market manipulation when he abruptly suspended a broad set of tariffs, sending stock prices soaring.
Points of attention
Senator Adam Schiff has raised concerns about possible market manipulation by President Trump after the sudden suspension of tariffs, prompting a surge in stock prices.
The call for investigation into Trump's actions focuses on potential insider trading and enrichment, with Senator Schiff emphasizing the need to uncover the truth.
The market reaction to Trump's tariff announcement was significant, with stocks rising over 9% and other economic indicators experiencing immediate shifts.
Senator Schiff calls for investigation into Trump tariffs
"I'm going to do everything I can to find out," Schiff, a California Democrat, told TIME. "Family coins, memes, and everything else is not beyond insider trading or enrichment. I hope to find out soon."
Schiff's comments about the previously unreported formal investigation came shortly after the S&P 500 index rose more than 9% on Wednesday afternoon after Trump announced the suspension of tariffs.
“IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social minutes after the market opened on Wednesday, along with the letters “DJT,” which stand for both his initials and his media company’s sticker.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schiff became the first senator to openly call on Congress to investigate potential insider trading by the Trump administration after the president's sharp refusal to impose new tariffs.
Such investigations typically fall under the purview of powerful congressional groups such as the Senate Judiciary Committee or the Senate Finance Committee. Both are led by Republicans — Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho — who have largely avoided conflict with the White House. Individual lawmakers, such as Schiff, can investigate cases through their personal offices, although such investigations do not have the authority to subpoena a judge.
Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, when asked by TIME whether Trump should be investigated for possible market manipulation, said: "That's a great question. He certainly had a lot to gain. I hadn't thought about that."
Earlier on April 9, Congressman Stephen Horsford, a Democrat from Nevada, was among the first to question whether the tariff pause was related to market manipulation, as the news emerged in the middle of heated hearings with Trump Trade Representative Jamison Greer, who had strongly defended the tariffs.
The market reaction to Trump's decision was swift and euphoric. Stocks jumped more than 7% in the minutes after the announcement, eventually rising more than 9%. Bond yields, which had been rising on fears of an economic recession, fell. Oil prices, which had also been falling, recovered.
The California senator has long been one of Trump's most vocal critics. He was the lead prosecutor in Trump's first impeachment trial and a central figure in Congress's response to the Justice Department's Russia investigation.
Although he did not initiate the 2017 congressional investigation into Trump's ties to Russia, Schiff became the most vocal Democrat on the committee, warning about Trump's deference to autocratic leaders. The Republican-led House of Representatives later censured Schiff for his comments during the investigation.
