The SHE Congress 2021 was held, the media partner of which was the 1+1 media group

Anna Klymenko, head of the HR department at the business intelligence company YouControl, opened the SHE Congress. She shared the results of YouControl's research on female entrepreneurship, explained why risk-taking women are few among the founders of large businesses and how to reduce risk perception.

According to the results of the YouControl study, among the top 330 companies by revenue in 2019, only 3% of them have a woman as the sole beneficiary. Usually business owners in such areas as trade in dairy products, eggs, grain, fodder, trade in non-specialized stores, electricity distribution, trade in liquid, solid and gaseous fuels.

Women risk the most where they do not feel at risk — in the social sphere. 70% of women are in leadership positions in the field of education.

General Director of AB&D Group, master of philosophy at Cambridge University, member of parliament and diplomat Yulia Osmolovska shared the tools of successful business negotiations, and also talked about the rules of preparation for negotiations. She identified typical mistakes of negotiators: lack of preparation for negotiations, passivity, persuasion by emotions instead of logic, demonstration of emotions. She also talked about the difference between men and women in conducting negotiations:

"Sometimes women can make decisions that are not beneficial for themselves, so as not to spoil the relationship."

"A negative experience is also an experience," CEO & co-founder of Better Me Viktoriya Repa told how to create an international IT product and learn from negative experiences. In four years, the application has 90 million users worldwide. The main market is the USA.

Among the principles of Better Me, which helped to become a successful international IT company: no doubts and fears, predominance of speed over efficiency, people are a priority, acceptance of the inevitability of changes and no fear of mistakes, because a negative experience is also an experience.

In the IT industry, only 11% are female managers. One of the reasons is women's lack of confidence in their abilities. We often say to ourselves, "I'm not ready yet," "I still have to learn the skills," and men figure it out in the process.

Galina Vorobyova, head of the board of Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine, spoke about leadership as the driving force of business, leadership intelligence and how to build a strong team.

Research has shown that men are more likely to be elected to leadership positions because they are more confident in themselves and their abilities, and this trait is reflected in their manner of negotiating and making decisions.

She shared the components of leadership intelligence:

- emotional intelligence — the ability to recognize one's own and other people's emotions and manage them;

- flexibility and strategic thinking;

- responsibility and decision-making;

- constant desire to learn new things in order to inspire their leaders;

- desire to develop your team;

- willingness to always focus on trends and the client, to be ready to change for this.

Alyona Degrik Shevtsova, CEO of fintech company LeoGaming and head of the international payment system LEO, spoke about the development of the cashless economy. She shared statistics, saying that in 2020, cashless card transactions increased by 5.5%, and the number of tokenized cards in Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay - by 77%.

Ukraine ranks 10th in the world in terms of the number of Apple Pay users.

How can a business be ready for the future? Implement payment models that simplify the payment chain, be mobile-first and increase loyalty: subscription is one of the most promising formats for selling additional services.

"Women are more successful in business development, as they invest most of the income in their business, make decisions more responsibly, they are multitasking and communicative," Yanina Olkhovska, UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group Director of Communications, CSR and Involvement, is confident. She also shared the problems faced by women in business development:

- 56% of women feel a lack of knowledge in management, taxation, marketing and other specific fields;

- 52% are not confident in their own abilities and are afraid to take risks;

- 42% lack investments.

Yanina also presented the UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group "Women in Business" program to the participants, which in 2020 was included in the first report of the UN Global Compact within the framework of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Yanina is sure: "Women's entrepreneurship is an incredible force in building the economy."

Senior national leader, Mary Kay Ukraine beauty expert Olena Kryvchenkova shared the principles of success in business with the participants of the online broadcast. She is sure that success comes to those who do what they love.

Money gives you inspiration for further action, but eventually you realize that success is not what you have done for yourself, but what you have done for others.

Among other principles:

The mission is much more than earning a certain amount.

Do not "hang" in learning. You have received information - apply it immediately.

You must have a purpose where you are going. And a team of like-minded people will appear around your goal. Team is synergy.

A plan, and not just one, because the world is constantly changing, and you have to have a decision on how to act differently.

Persistence.

Environment.

Inspiration.

Motivation.

Interest.

How entrepreneurs can think big and enter the global market was discussed in the format of a panel discussion at SHE Congress 2021: Break the rules:

- Daria Ozeryanko, the founder of the Ukrainian brand Ozerianko Bags;

- CEO Kacho Group, co-founder of the Kachorovska brand Alina Kachorovska;

- founder, CEO of Indposhiv Bespoke House Kateryna Vozianova;

- the founder of Borodina Antonina Antonina Borodina.

Tetyana Myskova, Director of the Office for Export Promotion of Ukraine, moderated the discussion. The participants discussed what they were guided by when entering the international market, and came to the conclusion: to be successful in the global market, you need to learn how to work within your country.

TV and radio presenter Nadiya Matveeva talked about publicity as an integral part of success and how to use this tool correctly. She is sure: a businesswoman, a company manager, must think about how she will create her own brand and who to turn to for help.

Go public with pleasure, but it is important to compare your real life with what you broadcast. When creating an image, focus on what is beneficial to you and the world.

At the end of the congress, the representative of the joint headquarters of Svitlana Tykhanouskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo, shared her story, her participation in the Belarusian revolution and the circumstances that encourage a woman to show herself as a leader and lead people.

To go forward and not give up - all the women of Belarus inspire me to do this. When we are together, it is a strength, and when women stand in solidarity, it is a superpower.

The organizers are business/media bureau Ekonomika+ and business woman's digest WoMo.