In Ukraine, 52,200 active companies have filed annual financial statements showing zero revenue—or have not reported any revenue at all—for at least two consecutive years, according to data from the Unified State Register analyzed by Opendatabot.
About a quarter of these companies have reported zero or blank revenue figures for three consecutive years, and 4,600 companies—or roughly one in eleven—have been in this situation for five years.
The largest number of companies with a long-standing lack of declared revenue is registered in Kyiv—15,078, or nearly 29% of the total.
The Dnipropetrovsk region accounts for 3,998 such companies, or about 8%; the Kharkiv region, 3,663; and the Odesa region, 3,471.
The most common sector of activity for these companies is wholesale trade. This sector accounts for 9,894 companies, or about 19% of the sample studied.
Another 5,523 companies operate in real estate, 4,279 in construction, and 3,426 in agriculture.
The majority of enterprises that have long reported no income are registered as limited liability companies—42,383 companies, or 81% of the sample. Another 7,673 are private enterprises, and 1,691 are farms.
Denis Popov, head of the legal department at Opendatabot, attributes the persistence of such a large number of these companies, in particular, to the complexity of the business liquidation process.
“One of the reasons companies remain registered for years without generating any income is the complex procedure for closing them down. To officially terminate a business, one must settle obligations to creditors and the government and complete the required procedures, which takes time and money,” he noted.
According to him, zero revenue does not necessarily mean that operations have actually ceased. Some businesses may have temporarily suspended operations due to full-scale war, the loss of production capacity, employees, or sales markets.
The analysis included active commercial companies of various legal forms that had filed financial statements with zero or blank revenue for at least the last two consecutive years. Nonprofit organizations were not included in the study.
Source: Opendatabot
The Kyiv Business Center has begun operations in the Ukrainian capital, with the aim of ensuring a permanent presence of British companies in the country and deepening industrial ties between the two nations, according to the UK government’s press service.
The hub was established through close collaboration between the National Armaments Director (NAD) Group, industrial partners, and the UK financial sector as part of the “100-Year Partnership” initiative.
“The KBC provides British companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a base from which they can build trusting relationships with Ukrainian partners, obtain information on the situation on the battlefield, and pursue opportunities for joint development, co-production, and investment,” the statement reads.
It is noted that, until now, the cost, security requirements, and administrative complexity of doing business in Ukraine have made it difficult for small firms to establish a presence in the country.
Luke Pollard, Minister for Defense Readiness and Industry, commenting on the center’s opening, stated that KBC will help unlock new opportunities for investment, growth, and long-term recovery.
“By supporting British companies in Kyiv, we are deepening our ‘100-year partnership’ and turning our shared determination into shared innovation,” he emphasized.
The KBC’s operating model is based on three principles: industry, innovation, and investment, providing members with access to a networking platform that helps forge partnerships, attract investment, and expand production and capacity.
National Director of Armaments Rupert Pierce met with leading industry representatives and small and medium-sized businesses to mark the launch of the center, which brings together British and Ukrainian industry.
“This new facility is not just a center; it is a permanent channel that transforms the UK’s ability to collaborate fruitfully with our Ukrainian partners, both now and in the long term. Until now, costs, security concerns, and other restrictions caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion have made it difficult for companies—especially small ones—to operate in Ukraine. Our previous trade missions successfully addressed some of these challenges—this center removes these barriers by providing British companies with a permanent presence in Kyiv, opening up real opportunities for innovation, investment, and exports,” he emphasized.
The center’s operating model builds on more than 40 existing major industrial partnerships between the United Kingdom and Ukraine, as well as on the success of the UK Ministry of Defense’s trade missions to Ukraine. KBC also supports Ukrainian companies seeking British industrial partners or establishing subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
Nataliia Haidt has been appointed Executive Director of the Association “Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine” (UDEU) effective October 2, 2026, the association’s press service reported.
Haidt has two higher education degrees — in economics and law — as well as experience in managerial positions at state-owned enterprises and commercial organizations. Since 2021, she has cooperated with UDEU as an expert and project manager.
Among her main tasks in the new position, Haidt named representing the interests of the dairy business before the government, the Verkhovna Rada and international partners, as well as adapting the industry to the requirements of the European Union.
“Ukraine’s dairy industry operates amid war, energy instability, a shortage of personnel, a logistics crisis and other challenges. At the same time, we face the task of harmonization with the requirements of the European Union. Each of these crises is a challenge for the entire chain: from farm to shelf,” Haidt noted.
According to her, UDEU will continue to promptly communicate the position of industry enterprises to the authorities and international partners and propose practical solutions to the problems of the dairy sector.
“The strength of the dairy business in this difficult time lies in unity and cohesion,” the new Executive Director emphasized.
The previous Executive Director of UDEU, Arsen Didur, completed his work in the position on September 30, 2026.
The Association “Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine” represents the interests of dairy industry enterprises and participates in interaction between business and state authorities on the regulation and development of the dairy sector.
In Ukraine, 222,300 new sole proprietorships were registered from January through September 2026, while 155,600 sole proprietorships ceased operations. Thus, the number of new registrations exceeded the number of closures by 66,600, according to data from the Unified State Register analyzed by Opendatabot.
The number of new sole proprietors remained virtually unchanged compared to the same period in 2025, while the number of closures dropped by 27% at once.
In total, since the beginning of the year, 222,288 new sole proprietors have been registered in Ukraine, while 155,645 have ceased operations. The net increase amounted to 66,643 entrepreneurs.
However, the trend throughout the year was uneven. More new sole proprietorships were registered in January, March, April, and May than in the corresponding months of the previous year. In February, June, July, August, and September, the number of registrations was lower than last year’s.
Despite this, September set a record for 2026 in terms of the number of new businesses—approximately 27,400 new sole proprietorships were registered.
Opendatabot notes that any comparison with the beginning of 2025 must take a technical factor into account. The sharp increase in the number of business closures in January of last year was due to the suspension of state registries in December 2024, when entrepreneurs were effectively unable to register the opening or closure of a business.
The largest number of new sole proprietorships over the nine-month period was registered in Kyiv—27,300. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ranked second with 22,300, followed by Lviv Oblast with 17,200, Odesa Oblast with 16,700, and Kyiv Oblast with 16,500.
Retail trade remains the leading business sector. It was chosen by 60,300 new entrepreneurs, accounting for more than a quarter of all sole proprietorships registered since the beginning of the year.
Computer programming attracted 16,700 new entrepreneurs, while wholesale trade drew 16,600. Another 10,700 registrations each were recorded in education and food and beverage services.
At the same time, retail trade also leads in the number of business closures—over the course of nine months, 49,400 sole proprietorships in this sector shut down. In computer programming, 17,100 entrepreneurs ceased operations; in wholesale trade, 11,700; and in the food service sector, 7,900.
In 22 regions of Ukraine, the number of sole proprietorships opened exceeded the number that closed. A negative balance was recorded in only three frontline regions—the Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk regions.
Source: Opendatabot’s “FOPonomics” study for the first nine months of 2026.
Kyiv led all regions of Ukraine in net growth of sole proprietorships (FOPs) from January through September 2026—the number of businesses opened exceeded the number of businesses closed by 7,751, according to data from the Unified State Register analyzed by Opendatabot and the Experts Club analytical center.
Over the course of nine months, approximately 27,300 new sole proprietorships were registered in the capital, the highest figure in the country. At the same time, approximately 19,500 entrepreneurs in the capital ceased operations.
The Dnipropetrovsk region ranked second in terms of net growth, with an increase of 7,333 sole proprietorships. Next came the Lviv region with an increase of 6,963 entrepreneurs, the Kyiv region with 6,510, and the Odesa region with 5,143.
Overall, positive trends were recorded in 22 regions of Ukraine.
A decline in the number of entrepreneurs occurred in only three regions near the front lines. It was most significant in the Donetsk region, where the number of closures exceeded the number of new registrations by 1,120 sole proprietorships. In the Kherson region, the net decrease was 397 entrepreneurs, and in the Luhansk region, 203.
At the same time, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ranks second not only in terms of net growth but also in the absolute number of new registrations—22,300 sole proprietorships were established there over the nine-month period.
In Lviv Oblast, 17,200 new entrepreneurs were registered; in Odesa Oblast, 16,700; and in Kyiv Oblast, 16,500.
In terms of the number of closures, the Dnipropetrovsk region follows Kyiv with 14,900 sole proprietorships. In the Odesa and Kharkiv regions, approximately 11,500 entrepreneurs each ceased operations, and in the Lviv region, 10,200 did so.
In total, 222,288 new sole proprietorships were established in Ukraine during the first nine months of 2026, while 155,645 were closed. The net increase in small businesses amounted to 66,643 sole proprietorships.
Source: Opendatabot — sole proprietorship statistics for January–September 2026.
On October 22–23, Kyiv will host the 24th Ukrainian CFO Forum—the premier professional event for CFOs, CEOs, business owners, investors, and heads of key business functions.
Interfax readers can take advantage of a special offer: 15% off registration using the promo code BraveInterfax
This year’s program focuses on the decisions Ukrainian companies must make today as they develop their financial models and strategies for 2027 amid the war and high uncertainty. The Forum’s two-day program will feature 16 hours of professional content: 10 sessions in the form of panel discussions, interviews, and practical case studies featuring over 50 speakers from market-leading companies.
Ukrainian businesses are entering the 2027 planning cycle without a single baseline scenario. Destruction and loss of assets, attacks on energy and logistics infrastructure, high cost of capital, labor shortages, regulatory changes, and the acceleration of digital transformation are shortening the planning horizon and constantly changing the conditions under which businesses must make decisions.
For CFOs, this means simultaneously ensuring liquidity and business continuity, revising financial models, managing capital and risks, and not postponing investment and transformation decisions on which the company’s future depends.
The program of the Ukrainian CFO Forum 2026 is dedicated to these very issues—from the 2027 financial model and capital management to decisions following asset losses, adaptive planning, digital transformation, and the interaction between the CFO, CEO, and owner.
The 24th Ukrainian CFO Forum will bring together over 700 participants—CFOs of leading companies in the Ukrainian market, CEOs, business owners, international business executives, and representatives of banks, investment funds, technology companies, and government institutions.
▪️ The 2027 Financial Model: What to Include in the Budget When There Is No Base Case Scenario. Scenarios, triggers for revising the financial model, the cost of money, access to capital, and foreign exchange regulations. The forum will open with a strategic dialogue between Serhiy Nikolaychuk, First Deputy Governor of the NBU, and Andriy Dligach, founder and chairman of Advanter Group.
▪️ Business After Asset Loss: Rebuild or Restructure the Model. Replacement CAPEX, relocation, asset decentralization, recovery financing, insurance, and compensation for war risks. Practical experience will be shared by Rozetka-EVO, Nova Poshta, VARUS, Biosphere Corporation, Starlight Media, and Philip Morris Ukraine.
▪️ Strategy in the Face of Uncertainty: Decisions a CEO Must Still Make for Years to Come. Investments, scaling, production, team, and logistics amid a constantly shifting planning horizon. Panelists: Odgers Ukraine, Imperial Brands Ukraine, YASNO, and BGV Group Management.
▪️ Adaptive Planning: How to Manage a Business When the Annual Budget Is No Longer a Reliable Guide. Scenario planning, rolling forecasts, CAPEX, OPEX, liquidity, and working capital. Practical approaches will be presented by KSE, Danone, British American Tobacco Ukraine, FOKSTROT, and Metinvest Group.
▪️ Digital transformation with measurable business results. ERP, AI in finance, SAF-T UA, and data quality through the lens of deadlines, budget, and financial impact. The program features case studies from Farmak / Business Evolution, MTI, “Avtomagistral-Pivden” / SMART business, British American Tobacco Ukraine / Innoware, ALVIVA GROUP / ABM Cloud, D.TRADING / IT-Enterprise, and EBS.
Specific practical sessions at the Forum will focus on capital and liquidity management, identifying “hidden EBITDA” without new CAPEX, human capital, financial monitoring, and the CFO’s interaction with the CEO and owner.
“For CFOs, 2027 begins right now. Businesses cannot wait for certainty to emerge: decisions must be made today on whether to restore an asset or restructure the business model, invest in CAPEX or preserve liquidity, where to raise capital, and what scenarios to factor into the budget. That is why this year we are structuring the forum’s program around concrete solutions and case studies from companies that are already navigating these dilemmas,” — Ihor Solovykh, CEO of FAService and organizer of the Ukrainian CFO Forum.
The Ukrainian CFO Forum 2026 program features CFOs and CEOs of market-leading companies, representatives of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), and leading experts from major Ukrainian and international companies. Participants will receive up to 16 ACCA CPD units for attending the Forum.
Event partners: Pivdenny Bank, Odgers Ukraine, PUMB, Innoware, Done, SMART business, EBS, Business Evolution, Payoneer, IT-Enterprise, Advance Finance Alliance, Vchasno, ABM Cloud, ACCA, Silpo Voyage Pro, Bayadera Group, CFO Club, CEO Club, Board.
Main media partner: Starlight Media.
Ukrainian CFO Forum 2026 | October 22–23 | Kyiv + online
A special offer is available for Interfax readers through October 9: 15% off registration with the promo code BraveInterfax
Details and registration: cfo.ua/cfoforum
The Ukrainian CFO Forum is organized by FAService.
https://cfo.ua/cfoforum/?utm_source=Interfax&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=cfoforum2026
Open4Business is the forum’s information partner.
