Maryna Saprykina is a Ukrainian sustainability expert and social entrepreneur who serves as Chair of the Board of the CSR Development Center and Founder of the Ukrainian Women Entrepreneurs Hub (U&WE Hub). For more than 15 years, she has been shaping the ecosystem of responsible business in Ukraine, combining training, corporate advisory work, and implementation aligned with the international standard ISO 26000. Since 2022, she has been actively advancing women's entrepreneurship and has raised over €1.5 million to support youth and women entrepreneurs in Ukraine.
As the founder of U&WE Hub, Saprykina initiates practical programmes for women entrepreneurs — from psychological support and training on launching and scaling businesses, to mentorship, peer-to-peer exchanges, digital literacy development, a women-owned business catalogue, and partner programmes implemented with international organisations. A distinct focus of her work is creating systemic opportunities for women through collaboration with government institutions, donors, financial institutions, businesses, and international partners.
Saprykina won the Speaker Contest 2023, a yearly speaker talent competition organised by the Business Forum Group, receiving a €50,000 speaker fee. Her winning keynote was titled "Sustainability in the Times of War," in which she introduced a five-component model of sustainability based on the experiences of Ukrainian companies during the conflict. Her personal goal is to train one million Ukrainian women in entrepreneurship over the next five years.