Raiffeisen Bank has launched financial leasing for business clients in Ukraine and has signed its first agreement under this new initiative with one of Ukraine’s leading agricultural producers, the bank’s press office reported.
Under the first agreement, the agricultural producer will upgrade its fleet of machinery. Going forward, the bank’s clients will be able to use financial leasing to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment, passenger and cargo vehicles, commercial vehicles, and other fixed assets.
“Businesses today need solutions that allow them to continue investing, modernize production, and plan for growth even amid a full-scale war. The launch of financial leasing expands these opportunities for our clients,” said Natalia Gurina, Chair of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank.
The bank plans to develop this service for Ukrainian and international companies operating and investing in Ukraine.
The launch of this new instrument draws on the experience of the international Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) group, where financial leasing is already in use in other European markets. Harald Kröger, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Raiffeisen Bank and Head of Structured Finance and Investment Banking at the RBI group, assesses the potential for its development in Ukraine as significant.
As previously reported, in late 2024, the then-Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank, Oleksandr Pysaruk, announced in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency the financial institution’s intention to resume plans to develop its leasing business in Ukraine. According to him, even before the full-scale war, the bank had already reached an agreement with its shareholder to ramp up the leasing company’s operations and was preparing a corresponding business plan.
At the time, Pysaruk expressed hope that the bank would be able to resume implementing these plans as early as 2025.
Raiffeisen Bank is the largest Ukrainian bank with foreign capital. Since October 2005, the bank has been part of the Austrian banking group RBI. Currently, the Raiffeisen Group owns 68.21% of the bank’s shares, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 30%.
According to the National Bank, as of August 1, 2026, with total assets of 282.37 billion UAH, it ranked fourth among Ukraine’s 59 banks.
Risks in international trade often arise not with the direct counterparty but at subsequent levels of the supply chain. A company may have a reliable supplier that, in turn, depends on a single factory, logistics operator, technology owner, or subsupplier in another country.
That is why international risk management is gradually shifting from simple counterparty verification to the analysis of broader corporate and supplier relationships. This is particularly relevant for Ukrainian businesses because of the war, complicated logistics, sanctions regimes, and the high dependence of many industries on imported raw materials and equipment.
“A company may know its direct partner well and, at the same time, may not know on whom that partner’s operations critically depend. A single problematic subsupplier, a sanctions-related connection, or a production shutdown at the other end of the chain can disrupt a contract in Ukraine. Therefore, modern verification must answer not only the question ‘Who is our partner?’ but also ‘Who does our partner depend on?’” said Maksym Urakin, head of the D&B — Interfax-Ukraine business unit and Candidate of Economic Sciences.
Risk factors include the excessive concentration of procurement from a single supplier, dependence on a single region, opaque corporate relationships, sanctions risks, financial problems at a key company in the chain, or a sudden change of ownership.
For critical supplies, companies should develop a pool of alternative suppliers, determine minimum inventory levels, verify corporate groups, and reassess partners in the event of significant changes. This is particularly relevant to the energy sector, mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, the food industry, construction, and other sectors in which the disruption of a single component can block the entire production cycle.
D&B solutions in supplier intelligence and business risk management make it possible to work with global business data, corporate relationships, and risk signals. For Ukrainian companies, this information can provide a foundation for building more resilient supply chains.
In the long term, the verification of supplier relationships is becoming not a one-time procedure but part of a business’s operational resilience.
D&B — Interfax-Ukraine helps Ukrainian companies work with international business data and business identification tools.
Dun & Bradstreet is an international provider of business data and analytical solutions whose history began in 1841. D&B works with data on companies worldwide and provides tools for business identification, counterparty verification, credit and commercial risk assessment, compliance, and supply chain management.
The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency is the official representative of Dun & Bradstreet in Ukraine. The specialized D&B — Interfax-Ukraine division provides Ukrainian companies with access to international business data, helps them verify foreign counterparties, and assists them in working with D&B tools.
Questions can be submitted through the specialized D&B resource — dnb.ua, by email at Urakin@interfax.kyiv.ua, or by telephone at +38 (044) 270-65-74.
BUSINESS, D&B, INTERFAX-UKRAINE, RISK MANAGEMENT, SUPPLY CHAINS
Ivan Tchaikovsky, a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and founder of the company “Agroprodservice,” was named the winner of the “Agribusiness Leader of the Year” category as part of the 30th anniversary nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
Chaikovsky was born on May 29, 1972, in the village of Nastasov in the Ternopil region. He began his entrepreneurial career after serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998, he became head of the “Kolos” owners’ association in Nastasov, and in 1999, he founded the leasing company “Agroprodservice,” which subsequently became one of the leading agricultural producers in western Ukraine.
The company is involved in crop production, livestock farming, agricultural processing, and energy projects. According to information provided by the organizers of the “Person of the Year” program, “Agroprodservice” currently processes more than 63% of its own crop production, ranks among Ukraine’s leading enterprises in dairy and swine farming, and is also developing projects in the clean energy sector.
Tourism has become a separate area of diversification. The company is developing “Agroland,” a family-oriented ethno-park that combines agritourism with the promotion of Ukrainian crafts, traditions, and the rural way of life.
In 2009, Tchaikovsky earned a master’s degree in economics and investment management from Ternopil National Economic University, now known as the Western Ukrainian National University. In 2015, he graduated from the Lviv Regional Institute of Public Administration of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine with a degree in “Public Administration.”
From 2002 to 2015, he was elected three times as a deputy to the Ternopil District Council. In 2018, he stepped down from the day-to-day management of “Agroprodservice” to focus on political and civic activities.
In 2019, Tchaikovsky was elected a People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the IX convocation as an independent candidate in electoral district No. 165 in the Ternopil region. He serves as secretary of the parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy and is a member of the “For the Future” parliamentary group.
As part of his parliamentary work, Tchaikovsky participates in drafting legislation on agricultural and land policy, as well as in interparliamentary and European integration initiatives.
In addition to his business and political activities, he is involved in charitable projects. In 2012, Tchaikovsky founded the “Pokrova” Charitable Foundation, which implemented social, educational, cultural, sports, and environmental programs. After the outbreak of full-scale war, a significant portion of the foundation’s aid was redirected to support the Ukrainian military, particularly units of the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov.”
Ivan Tchaikovsky has been awarded the “For Labor and Valor” Medal, the Order “For Merit” (3rd Class), and a number of professional and industry awards.
“Agroprodservice” was founded in 1999 in the Ternopil region. The company operates in the fields of crop production, livestock farming, seed production, and agricultural processing, and is developing energy and tourism sectors.
Open4Business is an information partner of the nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
AGRIBUSINESS, agricultural sector, BUSINESS, Tchaikovsky, UKRAINE
Schneider Electric reported a roughly 30% increase in net income attributable to the company’s shareholders to EUR2.49 billion for the first half of 2026, while revenue reached a record EUR21.23 billion.
A year earlier, revenue stood at EUR19.34 billion. Organic sales growth in the first half of 2026 was 14%.
Adjusted EBITA increased to EUR4.09 billion from EUR3.51 billion, representing 22% organic growth. The EBITA margin reached 19.3%.
The company’s free cash flow more than tripled, reaching approximately EUR 1.6 billion.
The second quarter was particularly strong, with Schneider Electric’s revenue reaching a record EUR 11.5 billion, an organic increase of 17%. The Energy Management segment grew by 18%, and Industrial Automation by 11%.
The company cites the data center market as one of the main drivers. Demand for electrical infrastructure for data centers is growing rapidly amid the development of artificial intelligence, which significantly increases computing density, power consumption of server racks, and demands on cooling and backup power systems.
North America posted organic growth of 23%, while China and East Asia saw growth of 20%.
Following a strong first half of the year, Schneider Electric raised its forecast for the full year 2026. The company expects organic adjusted EBITA growth of 14–19%, up from its previous forecast of 10–15%.
Organic revenue growth is projected at 10–13%.
Schneider Electric’s results reflect a broader investment cycle in energy infrastructure. AI data centers require not only servers and graphics processing units (GPUs), but also transformers, distribution equipment, UPS systems, automation systems, cooling systems, and digital energy management solutions.
Thus, energy infrastructure is gradually becoming one of the key constraints on the further scaling of AI.
For Ukraine, this trend is significant in the long-term context of rebuilding digital infrastructure and constructing new data centers. Future facilities will require significantly greater connected power capacity and more complex power distribution architectures than traditional server centers.
Schneider Electric has been operating in Ukraine for over 30 years. Globally, the company is present in more than 100 countries and has approximately 160,000 employees.
Schneider Electric published its financial results for the first half of the year on July 30, 2026.
The nationwide “Person of the Year” program is holding its 30th anniversary season, dedicated to Ukrainians whose professional and public achievements became a notable part of the country’s life in 2025.
Among the season’s laureates will be servicemen and servicewomen of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, doctors, rescuers, energy workers, agricultural workers, volunteers, entrepreneurs, diplomats, scientists, cultural figures and representatives of other fields.
As part of the anniversary season, it is also planned to honor representatives of international diplomacy and present special awards for individual achievements.
The “Person of the Year” program has existed for three decades and honors representatives of various professions and fields of activity for their contribution to the development of Ukraine and society.
The organizers note that after the beginning of the full-scale war, a special place among the laureates is occupied by people whose activities are directly connected with the defense of the country, support for the population, the functioning of critical infrastructure, the economy and Ukraine’s international representation.
“Person of the Year – 2025 is, above all, gratitude to the people who bring victory closer, strengthen the state and shape its future,” the organizers note.
Over 30 years of its existence, the program has formed a significant list of laureates from public administration, business, science, medicine, culture, sports and other fields. The anniversary season continues the tradition of public recognition of people whose work results are important for the country.
Information about the 30th season of the program was published on August 31, 2026.
Open4Business is the official partner of the nationwide “Person of the Year” program.
First Ukrainian International Bank (FUIB) has signed its first loan agreement with the National Development Institution (NUR) for EUR 2.9 million to finance Ukrainian entrepreneurs and companies, the bank announced on Monday.
The agreement was signed on August 28 by PUMB Deputy Chairman of the Board Artur Zagorodnikov and NUR Chairman of the Board Andriy Hapon.
“The signing of the first loan agreement with the NDR is an important practical outcome of the partnership we launched under state-sponsored preferential programs back in February 2020 and successfully continued several months ago by attracting funds from foreign investors,” Zagorodnikov said.
Under the terms of the agreement, NUR will provide PUMB with financial resources, which the bank will direct toward lending to individual entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium-sized private enterprises operating and investing in Ukraine.
The funds may be used for investment projects, the modernization and development of production, the purchase of equipment, and the replenishment of working capital.
According to the National Bank, as of July 1, 2026, PUMB, with total assets of 248.63 billion UAH, ranked fifth among Ukraine’s 59 banks. The bank’s loan portfolio grew by 17.6% in the first half of the year, reaching 115.4 billion UAH.
BUSINESS, FUIB, INVESTMENT, LOAN, НУР
