Entrepreneurship in wartime: the lessons of Ukrainian Nova Post

Founding
The company was founded 25 years ago by two friends, Vjatsjeslav Klimov and Volodymyr Poperesnjuk, to solve a concrete problem: Poperesnjuk’s family ran a bakery and wanted their products delivered quickly across Ukraine. The postal infrastructure wasn’t set up for fast, careful delivery, so the two friends took matters into their own hands and started their own postal company.

As a private business they immediately had to compete with the established state service Ukrposhta, and they made no profit for the first six years. Nova Post has since grown into a giant company and now offers services beyond parcel delivery, such as an online payment system, Nova Pay, and Nova Post Shopping, which lets people in Ukraine order parcels from shops around the world.

Growth
In the years that followed, Nova Post grew steadily and, even before Russia’s 2022 invasion, had become one of Ukraine’s biggest brands. At the start of the invasion the company was unable to operate in most places because of the security situation. Still, Nova Post gradually managed to reopen offices and parcel points as conditions allowed.

Running a postal company in wartime means constantly weighing risks. Sorting centres and couriers come under fire from Russian forces. Shelters have been built for staff, and in the most dangerous areas the company uses “mobile post offices”: vans that collect and deliver mail.

The war has also driven strong growth for Nova Post beyond Ukraine’s borders. Millions of Ukrainian refugees in Europe use their trusted postal service to send parcels home and receive items from Ukraine, helping them maintain a connection with home.

Lessons that Nova Post learned from the war:

1. Flexibility and adaptability. The company constantly assesses which branches can remain open, be reopened or must close. Where possible it devises flexible solutions, such as vans that operate as “mobile parcel points.”
2. The customer always comes first. By continually listening to customer needs, you know where to concentrate effort. For example, unmanned parcel points that are always accessible.
3. A postal service has a local social role. It connects people, helps make ordinary life possible under extraordinary circumstances, and provides a way to send parcels to and from soldiers.
4. Support your armed forces. Nova Post donates to the Ukrainian military and delivers items like food and clothing to soldiers. What it never transports, however, are weapons.

Does Nova Post consider itself a purely social enterprise? Certainly not. Even in wartime there are opportunities to make money in Ukraine, and Nova Post does so. With revenue of about €1 billion and a profit of roughly €50 million, the company demonstrates that customer focus pays off not only socially but commercially as well.