At the award ceremony, the three co-founders of the Aurora Multimarket chain - Lev Zhydenko, Lesia Klymenko, and Taras Panasenko — appeared on stage together for the first time.

During the program's first phase, over 600 applications were submitted from across Ukraine, with the highest number coming from Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions, as well as the city of Kyiv. In the second phase, 35 finalists were selected.

The event also featured a panel discussion titled: “How Can Small Businesses Get Their Products on the Shelves of Major Retailers?” Participants included Oleksii Zozulia, CEO of the Foxtrot retail chain; Andrii Lohvin, founder and CEO of Kasta; and Lev Zhydenko, co-founder of the Aurora Multimarket chain. They discussed the importance of creating appealing products for consumers and reaching new audiences through collaborations with other retailers.

Lev Zhydenko emphasized that building efficient internal processes is equally critical for growth:

“Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of lowering product prices at the expense of their own income, but this is not the right approach. The focus should be on organizing operations. At Aurora, we know that by establishing efficient internal processes, we can make our customers happy,” he explained.

Taras Panasenko shared his thoughts:

“We received over 600 applications for the ‘Aurora for Entrepreneurs’ grant program. This demonstrates the high demand for growth among small businesses in Ukraine. It’s inspiring because, by developing their businesses, entrepreneurs are supporting our country’s economy. As a businessman, my dream is for the Ukrainian Aurora Multimarket chain to achieve the same success as Sweden’s IKEA once did.”

Lesia Klymenko added:

“Ukrainian brands must grow and showcase their innovation and resilience to the world. By expanding the Aurora Multimarket chain abroad, we will actively contribute to this process.”