The village of Vachnadziani in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia is famous for having one of the oldest wineries in the country. Locals started building it in the early 1900s. It had to close as the Second World War hit the Soviet Union, and the winery reopened only in 1953, processing that year a bumper crop of grapes harvested by local farmers.

As the Georgian small business sector develops, some entrepreneurs are looking for ways to produce products unusual for the local market, such as wine soap and pumpkin seed oil.

For Eka Boqolishvili, it all started in the village of Saqobo, eastern Georgia, in her kitchen, with one pot and far-reaching wishes to introduce Georgian treats to the world.

One winter day, farmer Andriy Turchyn woke up to calls from his friends. They said something he found hard to believe – the war started. Turchyn quickly checked the news and discovered that Russia invaded Ukraine.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian business has suffered significant losses. According to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, about 40% of enterprises have been stopped.