Ukraine has received a $1.35 billion grant from the United States, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“The U.S. government has allocated funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and in coordination with the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of State,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the funds will be used for priority humanitarian and social programs.
“The funding raised is aimed at reimbursing priority social and humanitarian expenditures of the state budget, in particular, to ensure the payment of salaries to educators,” the press service of the Ministry of Finance said.
It is noted that the funds were transferred to the state budget of Ukraine through the World Bank’s Public Expenditure Support for Sustainable Governance in Ukraine (PEACE in Ukraine) project.
“Since February 2022, direct budget support from the United States has reached $28.2 billion. This is the largest financial assistance to Ukraine among all countries of the world (…),” said Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.
The Ministry of Finance reminds that this year Ukraine expects $7.8 billion in budget support from the United States, of which $5.2 billion has already been mobilized.
The USAID Business Sustainability Investment Project has awarded a second grant of $2.76 million to OTP Bank (Kyiv) to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the bank’s website reports.
“More than 100 companies have already been financed under the first tranche. The new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million. The funds will be used to compensate for part of the interest rate for borrowing companies,” the website says.
It is noted that the grant program provides for business lending at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement, and the difference with the market rate will be compensated by grant funds.
In the second year and thereafter, clients are obliged to pay interest on the use of credit funds at the rate of UIRD3m+5% per annum.
Under the terms of the program, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with annual revenues of up to EUR 50 million and up to 250 employees belonging to one of the following target groups: relocated or affected by hostilities, companies in critical industries, and companies with female co-owners can receive financing on such terms.
The maximum loan amount that a company or a united group of companies can apply for is UAH 20 million, and the minimum is UAH 1 million.
“The grant program also applies to factoring agreements, under which the bank’s clients can receive up to 90% of the cost of supplies in the amount of UAH 2 million to UAH 20 million. Special conditions will apply to agricultural producers if they use the funds received under the grant program to purchase products from OTP Agro Factory’s partners,” the press release said.
The press service reminded that during the first stage of the program, which started in 2023, more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises were provided with financing.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, OTP Bank ranked 11th (UAH 114.55 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. The financial institution’s net profit for 2023 amounted to UAH 3.71 billion.
A EUR100 million grant agreement has been signed by Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of NPC Ukrenergo, and Lorenz Gessner, Head of the Representative Office of the German state development bank KfW in Ukraine, the company said.
According to its Telegram post on Friday, the signing took place in Kyiv on Thursday in the presence of Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak and members of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
It is noted that the European Commission has authorized KfW to provide Ukrenergo with funds from the EU’s special budget program Ukraine Investment Facility and to ensure the financing and implementation of a number of priority energy projects.
These include the modernization of high-voltage substations in the western regions of Ukraine and the development of interconnectors connecting it to the power system of continental Europe, as well as the repair and restoration of equipment destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling at high-voltage substations, and the purchase and supply of new equipment.
In addition, part of the funds should be used to strengthen the physical protection of Ukrenergo’s substations.
NPC noted that this grant is the second phase of the target program “Reconstruction and Restoration of Ukraine’s Electricity Transmission Infrastructure”, as the company signed an agreement with KfW on the first phase of the program worth EUR 15 million at the Berlin Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine-2024 in June.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrenergo has attracted EUR324 million with the support of KfW, and the total amount of international assistance attracted amounted to EUR1.5 billion, the NPC summarized.
Ukraine has received $760 million in grant funds from Japan and Norway, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has announced.
“The funds were received through the World Bank’s PEACE in Ukraine mechanism. They will be used to cover the priority expenditures of the state budget,” Shmyhal wrote in a telegram on Wednesday.
According to him, in 2024, Ukraine expects tangible financial support from Japan. “We have held many talks on this issue in Tokyo and obtained significant results. I thank our partners for their unconditional support,” Shmyhal wrote.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved attracting EUR200 million in grants from France for the reconstruction and restoration of critical infrastructure.
According to Taras Melnychuk, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, who posted on Telegram, the decision taken at a government meeting on Tuesday approved a draft grant agreement between the governments of Ukraine and France to help restore and maintain critical infrastructure and priority sectors of Ukraine’s economy.
The agreement provides for the attraction of grant funds from the French government in the amount of EUR 200 million. They will be used to reconstruct and restore critical infrastructure in sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, water supply and sanitation, waste management, demining, and digital technologies.
The “Own Business” program as part of the government’s eRobota project was launched in July 2022. It is designed for Ukrainians who want to receive funds to start or develop their business.
A microgrant to start or develop your own business gives a person a real chance to realize their business idea. Under this program, you can get a microgrant for starting or developing a business from UAH 50 to 250 thousand, depending on the number of jobs created. This is a non-refundable financial assistance provided by the state to individual entrepreneurs, individuals and legal entities – in return, the microgrant recipient undertakes to create new jobs, employ workers and pay salaries and taxes for three years.
The Kyiv City Employment Center invites residents of the capital to participate in the state grant program “Own Business”.
The algorithm for receiving a microgrant:
1) Create a business plan;
2) Submit an application and a business plan through the Diia portal;
3) Defend the online business plan at the employment center;
4) Obtain a decision of the State Employment Center and open an account in an authorized bank (Oschadbank);
5) Receive funds to the account, create new jobs, hire employees and start working.
Both entrepreneurs and citizens with no business experience can receive a microgrant.
Over the course of the program, 1357 participants have been approved for financial support from the state to implement business projects in Kyiv.
The average microgrant amount was UAH 240 thousand. The total amount of microgrants amounted to UAH 326 million. Most projects are being implemented in the areas of wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (30% of the total); temporary accommodation and catering (16%); and the processing industry (14%).
84% of grant recipients have a university degree, 6% have specialized secondary education, 4% have incomplete higher education, 5% have secondary education, and 1% have a scientific degree. The majority of grant program winners (60%) are individual entrepreneurs, 25% are individuals, and 15% are legal entities.
The microgrants will be used to create 2623 new jobs in Kyiv.
At the same time, since the launch of the Grant for Veterans and Their Spouses program on April 10, 2023, 35 participants’ business projects have been approved. The total amount of grants amounted to almost UAH 15 million. The program participants whose projects were given preference chose the following types of activities: production and supply of demining tools and humanitarian demining equipment; provision of medical services; wholesale and retail trade.
The program participants will create at least 62 new jobs with the grants.
Do you dream of starting or expanding a business but lack funds? There is a chance to get them by participating in grant programs. You can apply for the program right now through the Diia portal. Consultations on grants are available at the Kyiv City Employment Center. Telegram support of the Kyiv City Employment Center: https://t.me/DCZKyiv.
