EY launches the national stage of the international EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2026 program in Ukraine. The event is supported by the NV media.
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is one of the world’s most influential competitions for entrepreneurs. Established in 1986, it is now represented in 94 countries. In 2025, Ukraine resumed its participation in this global program.
The competition will take place in several stages. Based on an analysis of submitted applications, the jury will form a shortlist of finalists, from whom the winners in each category and the overall winner – the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 – will be selected.
The main evaluation criteria include entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact. Participation is free of charge.
Applications will be accepted from 17 February to 22 March 2026. Business owners and co-owners whose companies were founded at least two years ago are eligible to apply.
The winner of the national stage, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 in Ukraine, will be announced at the official awards ceremony on 17 April 2026. The national winner will represent Ukraine at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ global finale, which will take place in May 2026.
Bogdan Yarmolenko, EY Ukraine Managing Partner: “Today, Ukrainian entrepreneurs demonstrate exceptional resilience, vision, and the ability to create opportunities where others see only challenges. That is why we are honored to continue the global Entrepreneur Of The Year program in Ukraine. This competition celebrates people who drive the economy forward and exemplify resilience and leadership. We want Ukrainian entrepreneurs to be heard and recognized on the world stage – their stories deserve global recognition.”
One of the award categories will be the “NV Readers’ Choice”. Online voting will open on the NV website after the finalists are announced in March 2026, and the winner will be presented at the awards ceremony.
Vitaliy Sych, Editor-in-Chief of NV media group: “Millions of Ukrainians who were forced by the war to spend several years in Western Europe discovered that many aspects of life back home in Ukraine are better and more comfortable for them. They learned that medical facilities are more accessible and faster, restaurants are tastier, the service industry is more advanced, and businesses overall are more digitalized. All of this is possible because Ukrainian entrepreneurs – despite the war and extremely difficult challenges – create businesses and services of European quality, and sometimes even better. Last year, we, the jury members, had to put in a lot of effort to choose just one winner among many worthy entrepreneurs. I expect the competition to be even stronger this year.”
Serhiy Chernenko, CEO of PUMB Bank: “We systematically and consistently support Ukrainian entrepreneurs and businesses in both growth periods and challenging times. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, we have issued loans totaling UAH 129.7 billion to Ukrainian companies, including UAH 55.5 billion in 2025 alone. Today, the corporate segment accounts for the lion’s share of both the credit and deposit portfolios of PUMB.
The corporate loan portfolio has reached UAH 74.8 billion, while corporate funds held in PUMB accounts amount to UAH 127.4 billion. In 2025, the bank achieved a record increase in its hryvnia corporate loan portfolio of +37%, placing us among the market leaders in growth.
We are pleased to be the General Partner of the Entrepreneur Of The Year competition and invite Ukrainian businesses to participate. Strong entrepreneurship is the foundation of the country’s economic resilience and recovery.”
More information about participation and the application form is available on the EY website: https://www.ey.com/uk_ua/entrepreneur-of-the-year-ukraine.
About the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program was first held by EY in 1986 in the United States. Today, this unique international program spans 94 countries. The competition brings together owners of medium-sized and large businesses, and the winners in each participating country are selected by a national jury composed of independent experts. The winner of the national competition represents their country at the global finals, where the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year® is selected.
About EY
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.
Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.
EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.
All in to shape the future with confidence.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
About NV
NV is an independent media holding founded by a team of professional journalists in 2014. Today, it includes the NV magazine, the news website NV.UA with 12 million unique monthly visitors, the nationwide talk radio station Radio NV, discussion panels, and an English-language version of the website – The New Voice of Ukraine, launched in 2022.
Our mission is to promote the development of personal and economic freedoms in Ukraine.
About PUMB
First Ukrainian International Bank (PUMB) is the largest Ukrainian universal bank with private capital, operating reliably in the Ukrainian banking market for 34 years. The bank is trusted by more than 165,000 corporate clients and over 1.9 million individual customers.
PUMB’s total corporate loan portfolio currently amounts to nearly UAH 75 billion. The bank is included in the list of systemically important banks in Ukraine.
