June 10, 2021 — Gazelle Finance, as part of its expansion strategy targeting Eastern Partnership countries along the eastern border of the European Union, is launching its operations in Ukraine. USAID’s Competitive Economy Program (CEP) and Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) have recently begun supporting Gazelle Finance in this initial effort.
Since 2017, Gazelle Finance, through its first impact investment fund Gazelle Fund I, has invested over $25M in 35 high-growth small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Eastern Partnership countries of Georgia and Armenia. With the addition of Ukraine to Gazelle Finance’s next impact investment fund, the Gazelle Finance Eastern Partnership Growth Fund II, the company will expand its SME market by ten-fold.
“USAID has a long and successful track record of supporting the development of capital markets in the region,” said USAID/Ukraine Mission Director James Hope. “We are excited about the launch of Gazelle Finance in Ukraine. It will address a key underserved market segment – the missing middle of SMEs – through an innovative tool with the potential to help a new generation of entrepreneurs to compete and thrive across diverse sectors.”
Since 2018, USAID has had two large-scale economic development programs in Ukraine — CEP, which operates country-wide, and ERA, which is focused on the government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in addition to the Sea of Azov region in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Key objectives of these programs include supporting new markets, improving the competitiveness of SMEs, and increasing the inflow of investments, which includes the development of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem to accelerate foreign direct investment into the country.
“An important objective of ERA is to attract institutional investment capital and know-how transfer to support SMEs in the conflict regions of eastern Ukraine, including Mariupol, Kramatorsk, and Severodonetsk,” said Michael Pillsbury, Chief of Party of USAID ERA. “Most SMEs in these regions lack the necessary collateral to secure bank financing, so Gazelle Finance’s innovative quasi-equity financial instruments, blended with value-add advisory services and know-how transfer, will provide a critical financial instrument alternative that otherwise does not exist in the marketplace today.” — added Volodymyr Cherviakov, ERA Investment Lead.
“The investment potential in Ukraine is largely untapped. With its strategic position on the eastern border of the European Union, a burgeoning IT sector, and other competitive industries, the country is poised for sustained economic growth,” said David Anderson, Chief of Party of USAID CEP. “Gazelle Finance’s entry into Ukraine plays an important role in providing growth capital to SMEs across the supply chains of Ukraine’s high growth sectors, which will generate high-paying jobs, facilitate import substitution, and accelerate hard currency denominated exports.”
Gazelle Finance
Gazelle Finance is an investment company that finances high-growth small and medium size enterprises in the Eurasia Region. The company seeks to identify gaps and barriers in frontier capital markets and provide a combined financing and business advisory solution to ambitious entrepreneurs. By investing and partnering with these entrepreneurs, Gazelle Finance helps local markets and economies to expand, while generating commercial returns for its investors. For additional information, please contact Natia Mariamidze at: +995 32 2 243 432 or via e-mail: nmariamidze@gazellefinance.com.
USAID
USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID’s work demonstrates American generosity, promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience, and advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAID’s current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please visit our website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.
USAID ERA
The USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) is a six-year program (2018-2024) that supports the development of a resilient, inclusive, and growth-oriented economy in eastern Ukraine. In the wake of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, ERA is empowering eastern Ukrainians to establish livelihoods and businesses in promising economic sectors, and to expand to new markets across Ukraine, the European Union (EU), and other international markets. ERA emphasizes including internally displaced persons, women, young adults, Roma, and other under-represented groups among its beneficiaries to ensure that they also share in the region’s economic success. For more detailed information about ERA, please write to info_era@dai.com or visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ERAUkraine.
USAID CEP
The USAID Competitive Economy Program (CEP) is a five-year program (2018-2023) that promotes a strong, diverse, and open economy by increasing the competitiveness of startups and SMEs in Ukraine. This includes increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian products in foreign markets through improvements in the business-enabling environment, with a focus on emerging industries, investment and access to finance, exports, and trade facilitation. For more detailed information about CEP, please visit its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/usaidcep.ua.
The United States announced that it will provide $155 million in additional development funding to Ukraine through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve the lives of the Ukrainian people, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said on Tuesday.
“The additional resources will be used to address key development challenges in Ukraine, including: support economic growth and improve health of Ukrainians some $34 million; enhance anti-corruption efforts some $14 million; counter Russian aggression some $63 million; strengthen democracy and governance some $44 million,” the embassy said in the statement.
The first article provides support of Ukraine’s recovery from coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by improving essential health services; improvement of transparency and expansion of economic opportunities in energy, agriculture and finance to increase investor confidence, attract investment and improve economic investment in the agrarian sector.
Enhancing anti-corruption measures includes strengthening reforms and safeguard anti-corruption institutions to counter entrenched interests and ensure all of Ukraine’s resources benefit the Ukrainian people; reducing corrupt practices in the health sector and facilitate Ukraine’s purchases of vital medicines to reduce informal payments by patients and provide access to less expensive, quality medicines; supporting the continued development of online e-government platforms that simplify access to services and streamline how Ukrainians receive their pensions, unemployment benefits, and more.
Countering Russian aggression are planned to be used to human rights and ensure access to justice for the Ukrainians affected by Kremlin-backed aggression in the Crimea and Donbas; reduce Ukraine’s energy and economic dependence on Russia by advancing connections to Europe’s energy grid and strengthening businesses in the East; expand citizen access to high-quality, unbiased information to counter malign influence and disinformation, support European integration, and strengthen democratic processes.
Strengthening democracy and governance involves expanding judicial reform; strengthening consolidated communities and expand quality service provision to their residents to advance Ukraine’s decentralization reform efforts; encouraging youth leadership and innovation.
The United States Agency for International Development USAID will provide Ukraine with special refrigerators necessary for transporting and storing the Pfizer vaccine, the press service of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said.
“To support Ukraine’s national response, USAID is helping prepare for Pfizer and other approved vaccines by providing direct support for ultra-cold chain storage/transportation and supporting public communications efforts to provide accurate information about vaccines,” the message reads.
As reported, Ukraine signed an agreement with the American pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer for the supply of 10 million doses of vaccine against COVID-19, which was agreed in February by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chief executive officer of Pfizer Albert Bourla.
First Ukrainian Apples Producers aggregation platform (USPA FRUIT) jointly with USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine start a joint initiative entitled “the Fruits Expansion to the Countries of the Middle East and Africa,” under which Ukrainian fresh fruit producers will receive help to enter new markets. According to a press release of the USPA FRUIT platform, under the initiative trade and economic missions for companies-members of the platform to the Middle East and Africa will be organized. Ukrainian producers will also have access to market analytics, which in the future will help them conclude deals for the supply of fresh fruits (apples, cherries, blueberries), increase export sales and create new jobs.
“Establishing stable supplies will be preceded by a detailed study of the Middle East and Africa markets, which will help USPA FRUIT identify priority exports, develop and implement pricing and marketing policies for each country in the region, which in turn will create competitive entry and consolidation in these markets. Within the project, USPA FRUIT aggregation platform organizes trade and economic missions to Egypt, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, what will help to establish program supplies of fresh fruits from Ukraine,” USPA FRUIT said.
Fresh fruits from the USPA FRUIT aggregation platform have been presented in the UAE market for three years already, but there are still many opportunities for development within the markets of the Middle East and Africa.
Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK), a large global supplier of consulting and engineering services, has announced that that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the company an $85 million contract to support enhanced energy security in Ukraine. “Tetra Tech will provide technical services to support private sector-led energy investments, increased renewable energy generation, and reliable and affordable energy for all Ukrainians,” the U.S. company said.
The company said that specific tasks include developing energy market models to create competitive energy market reforms, completing renewable energy pre-feasibility assessments, and developing creative financial incentive mechanisms to facilitate private sector investment in renewable energy.
Tetra Tech also will collaborate with local organizations in implementing the program to develop Ukraine’s institutional capacity, encourage ownership of results, and ensure sustainability of reforms. The company reminded that the five-year USAID/Ukraine Energy Security through Competitive Energy Markets Program aims to improve the legal and regulatory environment in the energy sector and increase the resilience of energy supplies in Ukraine.
CONTRACT, ENERGY SECURITY, ENGINEERING SERVICES, TETRA TECH, USAID
Kyiv City State Administration together with the USAID will work out a plan for the modernization of the heat supply system of the capital, Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration Petro Panteleyev has told reporters in Kyiv. “We, together with USAID and experts, have begun work on a new heat supply scheme for the city, which will show what first of all we need to invest in,” he said.
Panteleyev added this summer Kyivteploenergo will carry out work to eliminate the problems identified in the process of hydraulic testing of the heating systems, it is not planned to implement major projects for the relocation of networks.
As reported, previously the capital completed the first stage of accepting the city’s heat and power complex from Kyivenergo, the transfer of personnel to municipal company Kyivteploenergo
HEAT SUPPLY SYSTEM MODERNIZATION, KYIV ADMINISTRATION, USAID
