Business news from Ukraine

Ukraine has received $760 mln in grants from Japan and Norway

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.

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Ukraine can raise EUR 200 mln in grants from France for infrastructure reconstruction

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.

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Almost 2.7 thousand new jobs will be created in Kyiv with help of grant programs

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.

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Ukraine attracts EUR150 mln grant from EU

Ukraine on Wednesday received EUR 150 million in non-repayable financial assistance from the EU as part of a bilateral agreement to finance the Support for Ukraine’s Early Recovery program (State Building and Resilience Contract), the Finance Ministry said.

“Grant funding will help ensure priority measures to restore critical facilities affected by Russia’s armed aggression, including transport infrastructure, utilities and services, social infrastructure and residential areas,” Minister Sergii Marchenko said in a release.

It is specified that the second tranche of EUR 100 million is expected in the first quarter of 2024. The funds will be used to finance both recovery activities and support small farms and other agricultural businesses.

The day before, Marchenko said that since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has managed to attract more than $39 billion in external financing, compared to $32.1 billion for the entire last year, and by the end of the year this amount will reach about $42.3 billion. In particular, the EU is expected to receive EUR 1.5 billion of the last tranche of macro-financial assistance this year.

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USAID triples grant support for Ukrainian processing companies

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tripled its grant support under the Competitive Economy of Ukraine program to $11 million, the Ministry of Economy reported on its website on Thursday.

It is noted that the decision was made taking into account the large number of applications and significant interest from processing enterprises.

The increase in funding will also increase the number of grants by about three times, to about 75.

It is specified that the grants will support businesses in the production of innovative products, modernization of production, reduction of manual labor, import substitution and export growth to fill niches previously occupied by Russian and Belarusian products, and localization of production of goods necessary for recovery.

USAID’s Competitive Economy Program supports Ukrainian businesses to improve their competitiveness in Ukraine’s domestic and international markets, helps build a simplified and transparent business climate, and provides Ukrainian companies with opportunities to take advantage of international trade.

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KfW to provide EUR 50 mln grant to Ukraine for refinancing of “5-7-9” program

Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko has signed a EUR50 million grant agreement with the German state development bank KfW to compensate for the interest rate costs for small and medium-sized businesses under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” the ministry’s press service said on Thursday.

“The funds will be used to refinance the costs of the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program, which will allow small and medium-sized businesses to continue to have access to preferential lending,” Marchenko said and expressed gratitude to the German government for its cooperation and systemic support of Ukraine.

He emphasized that the allocated EUR 50 million will make a significant contribution to the improvement of existing business financial support programs.

The Minister also noted that the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF) is a key institution of affordable financing for Ukrainian business aimed at restoring and developing entrepreneurship under martial law.

“The German government continues to support the Ukrainian side and facilitates further grants,” said Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka, Head of the Headquarters for Ukraine at the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).

She reminded that last year KfW provided EUR 150 million for the 5-7-9 program.

“These funds are an important component of German-Ukrainian development cooperation, the total amount of which in 2023 alone was more than EUR 600 million,” Hopp-Nishanka said.

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