Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) implements three new programs with the EU funds in nearly 30 communities in Ukraine, NEFCO Chief Investment Advisor Yulia Shevchuk said in an interview to Interfax-Ukraine.
“We have three new programs with EU funds covering about 30 communities in Ukraine. They are aimed at restoring critical infrastructure, repairing housing and building new housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs). NEFCO administers and implements these programs,” she said.
One of the programs is the repair and reconstruction of damaged critical infrastructure in the Kiev region. For its implementation EUR50 million of grant funds allocated by the European Union through NEFCO has been directed. The package of measures provides for the restoration of infrastructure related to water supply, drainage and heating. The program will be implemented in 12 cities and towns of Kyiv region: Borodyanska, Borschagivska, Irpenska, Dymerska, Ivankivska, Kalynivska, Nemishayivska, Peskivska, Slavitutska, and Velikodimerska terns.
A second new program with funding from the European Union provides for the construction of housing for IDPs and the reconstruction of liberated towns in Ukraine.
According to Shevchuk, the program currently covers six cities – Chernivtsi, Dubno, Kovel, Lviv, Zhytomyr and Makarov.
Another EU-funded program concerns housing repairs for IDPs, with NEFCO working in 10 cities in western Ukraine under this program.
“The two aforementioned programs are in the procurement phase (https://www.nefco.int/procurements/), and the IDP housing repair program is in the construction phase,” Shevchuk reported.
The projects that received support were selected based on proposals from the Ministry of Community and Territory Development of Ukraine, with the final decision resting with the European Union.
“Together with the European Union, NEFCO began preliminary preparations for these programs in the spring of 2022. There were many more applications than could be included in the new programs. The cities are very active, we are now receiving three to five new applications every week,” Shevchuk said.
NEFCO’s requirements for residential projects include energy efficiency measures and the need to use more environmentally friendly materials in accordance with European building standards.
It is noted that the cities must follow the procedure stipulated by the Ukrainian government for the distribution of social housing for groups of people. Priority will be given to the most war-affected groups. The program also contains a requirement that the housing built for its financing is not subject to privatization, i.e. will be in municipal ownership.
The expert noted possible difficulties in the implementation of projects.
“There may be a shortage of local materials, because as a result of the aggression of Russia destroyed many of the production of building materials. In addition, the male part of the population can be mobilized – this applies to both the staff of contractors and municipalities. That is a weak point concerning the availability of human resources for our new programs. Also we state a difficult financial condition of the municipalities, because of the decrease in activity the tax revenues have decreased, and the cities have to contribute to the approved projects”, – said Shevchuk.
In particular, in the projects of housing for IDPs there is a condition that the community will ensure the connection of the new house to all necessary communications (water, heat, electricity), in addition, the community is responsible for the equipment of the shelter, without which the new house cannot be put into operation.
NEFCO’s procedures minimize the consequences of the complexities of the Ukrainian market. “We plan to have open tenders, in which any companies that are not under sanctions can participate. From previous experience, if we talk about construction, among the contractors – winners of tenders, as a rule, were Ukrainian companies, because local permits and licenses are needed, while materials were from different countries. Now, most likely, we should expect more foreign materials, while Ukraine has destroyed its own production of, say, windows and other materials. But we will see the reality after the tenders,” she said.
Some of the tenders have already begun, some will be announced in the near future.
“We expect the first tenders to be completed by summer. We very much hope that most of the work on all three programs will start this year,” Shevchuk said.
NEFCO is an international financial institution that finances the expansion of Nordic green solutions into global markets. It was founded in 1990 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In Ukraine, projects have been implemented in more than municipalities.
WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE expo is one of the most significant events in the wine and alcohol industry of Ukraine. It is a platform for establishing business relations between wine and alcoholic beverage producers, retailers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, importers and distributors from Ukraine and abroad. In just a few days, WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE will be held again at the Kyiv International Exhibition Center.
“Despite russian military in Ukraine, our business continues to work, and the national economy needs support. Interest in Ukrainian products and demand for them are growing both abroad and at the domestic market. We have just returned from ProWein international expo in Dusseldorf, where the national Wines of Ukraine stand was presented for the first time, and, in total, 12 Ukrainian wineries participated in the fair. It showed that our wines are successful all over the world, our export of this product is constantly growing, and our wines deserve the attention of both foreign and national consumers. We cannot waste time and opportunities, so we decided to hold our event this spring,” comments Viktoriya Agromakova, founder and organizer of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE.
The list of participants of the Wine&Spirits Ukraine exhibition currently includes 36 companies, but it is constantly updated. This year, for obvious reasons, only companies from Ukraine are taking part in the expo, among them are large, medium and craft winemakers, alcohol and beer producers. For them, this is a great opportunity to find new contacts and sign contracts with national retail chains, retail stores and HoReCa. For buyers, there is an opportunity to expand the range of quality Ukrainian wines, beer and spirits.
For the first time, the combined stands of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will be presented. 10 manufacturers will showcase their products at each stand.
You can learn more about the participants here.
Durig the expo, Ukraine Wine&Spirits Awards international tasting competition will traditionally take place. The competition is held with the support and participation of the Association of Sommeliers of Ukraine and the International Association of Sommeliers in accordance with the standards of the International Organization of Grapes and Wine, OIV. The jury of the competition this time includes well-known Ukrainian wine experts, sommeliers, as well as buyers of retail chains.
A long-time partner of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE — the “UKRSADVYNPROM” union — will traditionally host the Wine&Spirits Congress at the exhibition. The head of the union, Volodymyr Pechko, emphasizes that this year the topic of the discussion panel is the issue of supporting the viticulture industry during war and post-war period. Participants of the discussion panel will learn more about potential and existing programs, projects and grants to support Ukrainian winegrowers and winemakers.
Whenl: March 30 from 12:00 to 14:00.
Where: pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.
During the expo, the Ukrainian Association of Craft Distillers will organize a round table on the topic of “Simplification of distillate production conditions for small producers”. The event will take place on March 30 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., pavilion 1A, conference hall #3.
It may also be interesting for industry representatives to visit the specialized events that will be held by WorldFood Ukraine. The organizers invite producers, associations, regional development agencies, advisory services, profile media and everyone who is interested in the development of partnerships and cooperation, to join the Round Table named “Partnerships in the food market: how to unite to develop?”
When: March 31, 11:00-13:00
Where: pavilion #1, entrance 1A, conference hall #3.
Specialists and market insiders, including Svitlana Tsybak, Head of the Association of Craft Winemakers of Ukraine, will discuss the opportunities and problems of uniting market players in the production, promotion, sales and export of food and beverages, as well as analyze successful national and international cases.
Registration of visitors online: https://wineandspirits.com.ua/visit/
More information about the events and participants of WINE&SPIRITS UKRAINE can be found on Facebook and Instagram pages.
The population of EU countries will decrease by 6% by 2100, the EU statistical service Eurostat predicts. From January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2100, the number of residents in the EU will decrease by 27.3 million, to 420 million. At the same time in 2022, the population began to recover after a decline associated with the coronavirus.
According to preliminary data, 451 million people lived in the EU on January 1, 2023, compared to 443.2 million in 2021. Eurostat attributes the increase to the mass influx of Ukrainian refugees.
The maximum population – 453 million people – is expected in 2026.
In 2022-2100, the proportion of residents aged 0 to 19 years will decrease from 20% to 18%, and from 20 to 64 years – from 59% to 50%. The shares of residents aged 65-79 and older will increase from 15% to 17% and from 6% to 15%, respectively.
Preliminary data of the census for 2021 indicate an increase of the population compared to 2011 in 16 EU countries and a decrease – in 9. The most significant increase for 10 years showed Luxembourg (26%), Malta (24%) and Sweden (10%), reduction – Bulgaria (11%), Croatia (10%), Latvia (9%) and Lithuania (8%).
The leaders in the number of inhabitants in 2021 were Germany (83.2 million), France (67.9 million), Italy (59 million), Spain (47.4 million) and Poland (37 million).
ALC Insurance Company ARX Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) has collected UAH 266.3 mln of insurance premiums in 2022, which is 17.02% less than a year earlier, according to Standard-Rating RA website updated credit rating/rating of financial stability (reliability) of the insurer at the level uaAAA on the national scale. Credit-Rating notes that decrease of gross business of the company has been caused by Russian aggression, introduction of martial law, fall of business activity level in the country and is the general tendency in the insurance market of Ukraine.
The volume of payouts and indemnities, performed by the insurer in 2022, has grown by 2,57% in comparison with 2021 – up to UAH 50,294 mln. Therefore, the level of payments of the insurer has grown by 3,61 p.p. – up to 18,89%.
Acquisition expenses of the insurer have decreased by 19,42% down to UAH 151,264 mln in 2022.
According to the results of work for the year “IC “ARKS Life” has received a net profit of UAH 21,594 mln that is by 2,24% more than in the same period of 2021.
As of January 1, 2023 assets of the company have increased by 17.61% up to UAH 232,882 mln, shareholders’ equity – by 22.01% up to UAH 119,692 mln, liabilities – by 13.30% up to UAH 113,19 mln, cash and cash equivalents – in 2.58 times, up to UAH 66,205 mln.
Thus, as of the beginning of 2023, the company had a high level of capitalization (105,74%) and high level of liabilities coverage by monetary assets and their equivalents (58,49%).
At the same time, RA notes that as of January 1, 2023, the insurer carried out financial investments in the amount of UAH 144,893 mln consisting of government bonds (96,55%) and deposits in banks (3,45%).
ARX Life, like ARX, is a part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top 10 companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
Google Corporation has doubled its funding for Ukrainian companies as part of its startup support fund in Ukraine in 2022, allocating $10 million, Michał Kramarz, head of Google for Startups, CEE, said at the Tech Emerging Europe Advocates Meeting 2023 conference in Warsaw.
“The Ukrainian startups supported by the fund received $10 million in funding during the war and were able to hire 216 additional employees during 2022. But what is also very important: they were able to grow revenue by 200% year over year, which means that even in difficult times, in times of war, in a situation that requires resilience, they were able to achieve incredible results,” he said.
Kramarz reminded that last March Google announced creation of a $5 million fund to support startups in Ukraine, which was supposed to give grants of up to $100 thousand without any participation in the companies’ capital. Selected startups could also count on mentoring from the corporation, product support and Cloud loans.
“We received 1.7 thousand applications from startups in Ukraine, of which 300 were selected. Of that number, in turn, we originally planned to select 50, but the startups were so good that we said: let’s at least try to support more,” he said.
Kramarz did not say exactly how many companies were chosen, but said it could not have been 100 or 200, because if that were the case, the financial support program for each company would have been very low.
The representative of the corporation also reported on the launch of an online training program from Google for people who lost their jobs because of the war, but who remained in Ukraine and were willing to work. In three weeks, 32,000 people have gone through the program, and 10% of them have received positive feedback.
Google also supports women with its Founders Fund, which aims to level the playing field for everyone.
In addition, 60 startup founders from Ukraine and Belarus are hosted by Startups Campus Google in Warsaw.
Kramarz said he hopes the ecosystems of Poland, Ukraine and Britain will work even more together after the war than they do now.
“We have amazing skills. We have wonderful people. Let’s try to work more closely,” he said.
From April 1, prescription drugs will be sold both electronically and with a paper prescription, but pharmacies have caused an uproar over fears that there will be no possibility to buy drugs without a prescription.
“Starting April 1, prescription drugs will also be available at the pharmacy with an electronic prescription. This will make the prescription process more simple and efficient. At the same time, paper prescriptions will remain valid in Ukraine at least until the end of martial law,” the Ministry of Health reported.
The ministry reminds that the sale of prescription drugs and previously was carried out by the doctor’s prescription, in fact added only the possibility to use an electronic prescription.
“The Ministry of Health is not expanding or changing the list of prescription drugs”, – stressed the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, there was a stir in pharmacies due to fears that medications that are traditionally widely used by Ukrainians will be available only with a prescription.
In social networks patients report that in pharmacies “there are huge lines”, “pharmacy websites do not work”, “pharmacists do not know anything”.
At the same time, patients report that the list of drugs, the supply of which from April 1 will be available only with a prescription, are also included, in particular, antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs and painkillers.
Interfax-Ukraine awaits comments from pharmacy chains.
