Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Cyprus has extended until March 4, 2025 temporary protection status for citizens of Ukraine

The Republic of Cyprus has extended until March 4, 2025 the temporary protection status for persons who already have this status.

“The Ministry of Interior informs all interested parties that, based on the relevant decision of the Council of Ministers, the right to temporary protection is automatically extended for one year for those persons who have obtained such a right in Cyprus, i.e. until March 4, 2025”, – stated in the official announcement of the Refugee Service on the relevant website.

And it is specified that “thus, for those who have already received temporary protection, there is no need to submit a new application to the Refugee Service or to issue a new biometric residence permit at the Department of Population and Immigration.

Those who wish to apply for temporary protection for the first time must apply either electronically at http://www.moi.gov.cy/asylum or in person at the Refugee Service head office in Nicosia.

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Unity Facility insurance mechanism for grain transportation by Ukrainian sea corridor extended to all cargoes

The Unity Facility insurance mechanism for grain transportation by Ukrainian sea corridor, announced in mid-November 2023, has been extended to ships carrying not only grain but any other cargoes from February 2024, Oliver Wyman partner Crispin Ellison said.

“By combining the efforts of the industry and the government, we’ve been able to create a mechanism (facility) where prices are well under half of those in the normal commercial market. And now, this month, February, we’ve expanded that facility to include transportation of all cargoes, not just grain,” he said at a Wednesday webinar on political risk insurance organized by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

He said this will be formally announced on Friday, but the option is already available and effectively triples the mechanism.

Ellison recalled that after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, insurance rates increased for the military risk element alone to about 5%, which was completely unaffordable and led to a halt in shipping in July and August.

Established using a public-private partnership (PPP) in which the Ukrainian government provided a $20 million reimbursement fund, the Unity Facility insures approximately 1,000 vessels per year with a maximum insured value of $50 million for each vessel, supporting the export of approximately 30 million tons of grain. The reimbursement fund is accessed through a letter of credit with Ukrainian banks and DZ Bank.

According to Ellison’s submission, a parallel mechanism for cargo coverage, supported by EBRD financing for the Ukrainian government, is being considered.

The expert emphasized that the relatively small amount of insurance capital allowed exporting goods worth about $20 billion, and its estimate is 6-8% of Ukraine’s GDP.

As reported, the Unity Facility was created with the support of the UK government, international reinsurance broker Marsh McLennan and over a dozen more British insurance companies.

According to the Ministry of Restoration, the sea corridor created by the Navy of the AFU and the Danube since August 2023 provided for the export of almost 26 million tons of cargo, of which more than 18 million tons – the products of Ukrainian agrarians. It was specified that from the ports of “Greater Odessa” 854 ships were sent to 42 countries.

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Dynamics of the exchange rate of hryvnia to U.S. Dollar in 2022-2023

Dynamics of the exchange rate of hryvnia to U.S. Dollar in 2022-2023

Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news

Only 63% of requested VAT was refunded by Tax Service last year

Amounts to be refunded decreased by almost one and a half times

Value added tax (VAT) accounted for one fifth of all state budget revenues in 2023. All VAT payers are entitled to a VAT refund. However, only 63% of the requested VAT refunds were paid by the State Tax Service (STS) in 2023.

Last year, VAT on imported goods amounted to UAH 366.2 billion, a 1.4-fold increase compared to the first year of the full-scale war. This is almost the same as in 2021 – UAH 380.7 billion.

At the same time, domestic VAT – that is, the tax on goods produced in the country – increased by 10% by 2021.

The situation with VAT refunds in 2023 improved slightly, but still did not reach pre-war levels. Last year, the Tax Service refunded 63% of the amounts claimed for refund, almost UAH 78.5 billion. This is 1.6 times less than in 2021. It is worth noting that the amounts to be refunded decreased by 1.4 times compared to the same pre-war year.

In general, the worst VAT refund rates over the past 4 years were recorded in 2022 – only 48% of the requested amounts, and the best – in the covid 2020: 97% of the requested amount.

Last year, VAT on domestic goods, including refunds, amounted to 8.6% of the budget, and VAT on imported goods – 11.5%. VAT will account for 20% of all state budget revenues in 2023. For comparison, in 2022, VAT brought 25% of the state treasury.

https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/tax-reimbursement-2023

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Finals of educational grant program: two winners raised up to $5,000 for business development

On February 26, 2024, Kyiv hosted the Grand Pitch Day of the educational grant program Pochinok. Ten finalists of the program presented their business ideas to the jury and competed for two main project incentives – up to $5,000 in additional funding to implement their business ideas.

The educational and grant program Pochinok aimed to improve the business skills of Ukrainian women and help them launch or develop their own businesses. The project included online and offline training, consultations with leading psychologists, mentoring from business experts, and financial support for business development.

Ten finalists of the Grand Pitch Day were selected from 200 participants of the Program, who had already attracted financial support of up to $3,000 for business development during their participation in the project. The participants received the highest scores for their business presentations from mentors from the Diia.Business network of entrepreneurial support centers, actively attended educational classes during their studies, and, accordingly, had high academic performance in the project.

“We at the Ministry of Digital Transformation are building a country of entrepreneurs. That is why we created the national project Diia.Business, which provides free opportunities and tools for entrepreneurs. We pay special attention to women entrepreneurs, as women now account for 60% of new sole proprietors. Therefore, we strive to help Ukrainian women acquire the necessary business knowledge and receive specialized support. The educational and grant program Pochinok has become a record in terms of the speed of registrations and the activity of participants. Almost 6,000 entrepreneurs took part in the program, of which 200 participants received up to $3,000 to develop their own business idea or a new line of business,” said Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration.

Valeria Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration

According to the jury’s vote, the two main awards of the Initiative were given to the following participants:

● Iryna Antonchyk, AgroHobby garden center. She studied at the Diia.Business center in Lutsk
● Natalia Olshanska, production of natural dogwood products Famberry. She studied at the Diia.Business center in Kryvyi Rih.

Winners of the Grand Pitch Day

“The Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development and the national project Diia.Business are actively involved in the implementation of educational and grant projects aimed at supporting women’s entrepreneurship. The Startup program has become an important first step for many Ukrainian women to start a business or the necessary inspiration to continue developing their own business. During the training, participants gained new business knowledge, mental, mentoring and financial support. Today we saw competitive, strong and creative participants who proved by their own example that Ukrainian business is not standing still, but is actively moving towards new achievements,” said Andriy Remizov, Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development.

Andriy Remizov, Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development

More than 6,000 women entrepreneurs took part in the educational and grant program
In the first stage of training, participants attended 11 online lectures from leading business experts and a project psychologist. Entrepreneurs learned more about: business model analysis, financial management, leadership psychology for women, strategies for success and self-development, digital transformation of small and medium-sized businesses, team management and building HR processes, etc.

The second stage of the training included 367 participants who presented presentations on their future or existing businesses to the project’s independent mentors. In addition, the entrepreneurs were involved in 11 online and offline business and psychology classes at Diia.Business centers, received individual mentoring support, and had the opportunity to compete for financial support from the Program. The total grant fund of the program is UAH 22,570,000.

“The Grand Pitch Day is of great importance as a key moment in the UN Women project “Strengthening Gender Response and Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls in the Context of the Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis in Ukraine”. This event is the culmination of efforts, a platform where women’s aspirations and entrepreneurial endeavors take center stage. It provides a unique opportunity for participants to showcase their business ideas, innovations and plans to a diverse audience,” said Julia Broussard, UN Women Deputy Representative in Ukraine.

Julia Broussard, UN Women Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine

The expert jury of the Grand Pitch Day included:

● Aslikhan Ozkan, Planning and Partnerships Specialist, UN Women Ukraine
Yevheniia Klepa, Director of Partnerships and Innovations, SET University
Valeriya Chachybaya, producer, Forbes Ukraine
Anton Shulyk, financier, entrepreneur and co-founder of fint8 platform

Grand Pitch Day jury

Criteria for evaluating the business projects of Grand Pitch Day participants by the jury:

● Vision, ability to implement the project – participants had to justify a step-by-step plan for its implementation.
● Business project, relevance and effectiveness of the project – the idea must meet the goals of the acceleration program and market requirements, having a positive impact on Ukrainian business and the culture of doing business.
● Realism of the hypothesis – the project must be aimed at meeting the needs of the target audience and meet the hypothesis of the market niche that the company plans to occupy.
Competitive advantages – the parameters that distinguish a company, product, service or business concept from competitors in the selected niche are evaluated.
Financial strategy – participants must present a description of specific areas of development of the company, product, service or business concept, which will be the focus of further investments, as well as a plan to increase the project’s profitability.

For reference:

The educational and grant program Start was implemented by the network of entrepreneur support centers Diia.Business with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development with the support of UN Women Ukraine and the Government of Japan.

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Zelensky to visit Albania

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Tirana will hold a meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, will participate in the summit “Ukraine – Southeast Europe”.

“With the Prime Minister of Albania and his team we will hold talks on defense and political cooperation, support for the Formula World and work on security agreements. Albania is one of the countries that joined the G7 Vilnius Declaration, for which we are very grateful,” Zelensky wrote in his Telegram channel on Wednesday, calling Edi Rama an uncompromising friend of Ukraine.

“In the format “Ukraine – Southeast Europe”, which is meeting for the second time, we will talk about our common path to the Euro-Atlantic goal. I will offer to support Ukraine’s efforts to ensure a just and lasting peace, the organization of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland,” he informed.

In addition, the President of Ukraine will hold bilateral meetings with the participants of the summit.

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