The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a EUR 400 million project to provide long-term financing for small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector of Ukraine. “The EIB loan will be made available through financial intermediaries to private and public sector final beneficiaries, and is further supported by the EU and the United Kingdom through a combined grant amount of EUR 5.5 million for technical assistance services,” the bank said in a press release.
“The EIB funds will provide long-term finance to support productive investments by SMEs and mid-caps, as well as public service providers, along the entire value chain. Potential beneficiaries, therefore, include input suppliers, farmers, processors, and storage and logistics operators, as well as testing laboratories, research and education institutions and extension services that contribute to the functioning of the target value chains,” the report says.
“The cereals, oil seeds and aquaculture/fisheries value chains are being targeted by the program, as they have been identified as being best placed to satisfy domestic demand for quality produce and to increase the competitiveness of the sector and its exports to the EU and global markets,” according to the document.
The EIB announced the start of cooperation with Ukraine on the project for EUR 400 million in 2015. Since that time, a series of negotiations took place to determine the structure, technical executives, and the model for providing financing.
