State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv), with financial support from the German government, is implementing the second phase of the project “Access to finance and sustainability support for MSMEs in Ukraine II”, which will finance more than 500 enterprises for EUR4.2 million, the bank’s press service said on Friday.
“German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation is honored to have the opportunity to continue its support for Ukrainian businesses, which is very important for the development of the Ukrainian economy, especially during the difficult economic circumstances caused by the war. … Thanks to the second phase of the Project, more than 500 more companies will be able to receive financial support for the realization of their own business ideas,” said Eduard Schmitt, head of the representative office of the federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (DSIK).
According to the state bank, under the project, internally displaced enterprises and businesses from the de-occupied territories will be able to receive compensation in the amount of 30% of the cost of the investment project, but not more than EUR30 thousand in hryvnia equivalent.
“For all other enterprises, the maximum amount of grant support is 20%, but not more than EUR20 thousand in hryvnia equivalent,” the report says.
According to the terms of the program, the participants can be enterprises with a positive credit history, with up to 250 employees and annual income up to EUR10 million, which have not received international technical assistance since February 1, 2022 and do not have debts to the state budget. Applications for participation are accepted in the branches of Oschad until January 31, 2024.
The press service recalled that the state Bank had a successful experience in the implementation of the first phase of the project during 2023.
“According to its results, the Bank’s clients received approval of grants from the German government for a total amount of more than UAH 52 million. According to this indicator, Oschad ranks first among all participants of the program. More than 62% of grantees are registered and carry out their activities in war-affected areas or in de-occupied territories”, – stated in the release of the financial institution.
It is specified that this project is implemented by Oschadbank within the framework of the international cooperation project ReACT4UA (“Application and Implementation of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in the field of trade”) to provide grant support to MSME enterprises involved in economically important business areas for Ukraine: agriculture, food supply and processing, textile industry, processing industry, etc.
The project is financed by the German authorities and implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für international Kooperation (DSIK) and the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF).
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of November 1, 2023, Oschadbank ranked 2nd in terms of assets (UAH 346.85 billion) among 63 banks operating in the country and 1st second in terms of the number of branches (1182).
Access to finance and sustainability support for MSMEs in Ukraine II, OSCHADBANK, upport from the German government
“In 2023, DTEK Energy invested about UAH 11 billion in the repair campaign at thermal power plants and Ukrainian coal mining, which is almost twice as much as in 2022, when investments amounted to about UAH 6 billion.
“Thanks to this, we managed to restore a significant part of the thermal generation capacities damaged by enemy shelling, implement the annual scheduled repair campaign at thermal power plants, and support the production of coal volumes necessary for their reliable operation,” the energy holding said in a press release on Friday.
Last year, the company’s power engineers restored nine power units after massive shelling. The renewed facilities made it possible to increase the operation of thermal generation at peak consumption.
“To prepare the equipment of thermal power plants for maximum performance in the current heating season, DTEK Energy has carried out 24 repairs of power units as part of the annual scheduled maintenance campaign,” the company said.
In addition, DTEK Energy has mothballed two additional power units with a total capacity of 500 MW to compensate for the capacities that could not be repaired before winter. Investments in the repair campaign, according to preliminary data, amounted to about UAH 4 billion, compared to UAH 2.2 billion in 2022.
As part of the repair campaign, the company purchased and stockpiled critical equipment in case of new shelling, and provided TPPs and mines with backup power sources in the form of more than 200 powerful generators.
Last year, DTEK Energy also put 26 new coal faces into operation, which allowed miners to meet their production targets and provide Ukrainian thermal power plants with enough fuel to operate during the heating season and other peaks in consumption.
According to preliminary data, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to about UAH 7 billion, compared to UAH 3.8 billion in 2022.
“We went through the most difficult winter and recovered as much as physically possible after such large-scale attacks and in such a short time. And we have already come close to the equator of the current heating season. For our part, we have strengthened the resilience of thermal generation, as it bears the lion’s share of responsibility for balancing the power system during peak consumption,” summarized DTEK Energy CEO Ildar Saleev, as quoted in the press release.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The installed capacity in thermal power generation as of January 2022 was 13.3 GW). The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering and maintenance of mine equipment.
Traffic on the transit section of the Odessa-Reni highway, which was hampered due to a traffic accident near the control post “Mayaki”, has already been restored.
“Traffic on the highway Odessa-Reni restored,” – reported in the telegram channel of the State border service of Ukraine on Friday.
As reported, the accident occurred near the control post “Mayaki” towards the checkpoint “Palanka-Mayaki-Udobnoye”. The traffic on the adjacent section of the road was organized in reverse mode.
Ukraine’s exports of goods in 2023 fell by 18.5% year-on-year, from $44.2 billion to $36 billion, while imports increased by 14.4%, from $55.5 billion to $63.5 billion, the State Customs Service reported on Friday.
As a result, according to its data, Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in 2023 decreased by only 0.3% to $99.4 billion.
It is specified that taxable imports amounted to $52.6 billion, or 83% of the total volume of imported goods. It is noted that the tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in 2023 increased by 38% to $0.49/kg.
According to the published data, China imported the most goods to Ukraine – $10.4 billion, Poland – $6.6 billion and Germany – $4.9 billion, while the most were exported to Poland – $4.7 billion, Romania – $3.7 billion, and China – $2.4 billion.
Machinery, equipment and transport accounted for 65% of the total volume of goods imported in 2023 – $19.8 billion (UAH 141.7 billion, or 31% of customs revenues, was paid to the budget during customs clearance of such goods), chemical products – $11 billion (UAH 74.8 billion, or 16% of customs payments) and fuel and energy products – $10.3 billion (UAH 103.4 billion, or 23% of customs payments).
The top 3 exports from Ukraine in 2023 were food products – $21.8 billion, metals and metal products – $3.9 billion, and machinery, equipment and transport – $2.9 billion.
The State Customs Service clarified that UAH 559.2 million was paid to the budget during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
The company has also restored 890 base stations and brought back connectivity to 815 settlements
Vodafone Ukraine has invested UAH 7.4 billion in the country’s telecom infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. During this time, the operator has restored more than 890 base stations and brought 815 towns and villages back online. Vodafone has repaired 3,000 km of fiber optic cable for mobile and fixed-line communications and laid more than 225 km of new fiber optic lines.
Despite constant damage to the network and destruction of equipment, Vodafone maintains 90% of the network’s capacity thanks to the tireless work of its telecommunications staff.
The company not only restores but also builds – 5,040 base stations were put on the air during the active phase of the war in the country to expand coverage.
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies providing a wide range of services, including mobile voice, data, messaging, fixed internet and cable TV. The operator operates in 17 countries and has partnership agreements with operators in 46 countries. As of September 30, 2023, Vodafone provides services to more than 300 million mobile subscribers and 28 million fixed-line Internet users, 21 million TV users, and connects more than 160 million IoT devices and platforms. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.
Vodafone Ukraine is a leading Ukrainian telecommunications company providing 3G and 4G broadband, fixed-line and Internet services. Vodafone’s investments in the period of active construction of broadband networks in 2015 – Q3 2023 exceeded UAH 40.6 billion. These record investments have enabled the company to ensure technological leadership and develop new technological services, including the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart City technologies and solutions, big data analytics, fintech services, and cloud services. Vodafone services are used by 15.2 million customers in Ukraine. Since December 2019, Vodafone Ukraine has been a part of NEQSOL Holding.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak announced his arrival in Kyiv.
“I am in Ukraine to deliver a simple message. Our support cannot and will not weaken. To all Ukrainians: Britain is with you – for as long as it takes,” he wrote on the X network on Friday.
Earlier, the British government said that Sunak would arrive in Kyiv on Friday.
Prime Minister Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a “historic agreement” between the UK and Ukraine on security cooperation.
The UK will provide Ukraine with £2.5 billion in military aid in 2024/25. The funding will help to leverage the best of British military expertise and defense manufacturing to ensure Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield, particularly in critical areas such as long-range missiles, air defense, artillery ammunition, and maritime security.
Of the 2.5 billion pounds, at least 200 million will be spent on the urgent purchase and production of thousands of military drones for Ukraine, including reconnaissance, attack and maritime drones. It is also emphasized that this will be the largest delivery of drones to Ukraine from any country.
