Oschad presented financial opportunities for energy infrastructure development to communities participating in the DiXi Group project

Representatives of Oschadbank's corporate business and the team of the DiXi Group think tank have held an interactive meeting with representatives of communities from six regions of the country on the possibilities of attracting credit resources for the development of energy efficient infrastructure in municipalities.

The meeting was held as part of a project implemented by DiXi Group with the support of the Dutch government (MATRA program) and the European Climate Fund (ECF), which involves the development of draft municipal energy plans for several Ukrainian communities in accordance with the principles of green recovery, taking into account their energy needs and resource potential.

"Despite the six-year practice of lending to city council development budgets, during which more than 80 municipalities received funding, the market is still spreading the myth that it is unrealistic for communities to raise bank funds. At the same time, we see an objective situation with a lack of specialized professionals in communities who have sufficient experience to develop and implement projects related to energy efficiency and energy security. We are confident that the involvement of the DiXi Group team will help the communities participating in the project to solve the issue of specialized expertise in the energy sector. For our part, we are ready to support communities in implementing their municipal energy plans and finding the best financing solution. Oschad has deep expertise, having financed municipalities for more than UAH 8.5 billion, and a portfolio of completed investment cases worth about EUR 900 million for the construction of green energy facilities. This is about 10% of the total installed capacity of green generation in the country as of the beginning of 2022," said Yuriy Katsion, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Oschadbank, during a meeting with community representatives.

"When we first started the project of cooperation with communities, we aimed not only to help them develop municipal energy plans, but also to implement them. This means finding the tools and mechanisms, including financial ones, to bring each of the elements of the plans to life. DiXi Group communicates with international and Ukrainian partners on a daily basis, studying information about certain opportunities for regions and communities. We strive to share this information so that our project participants can make informed decisions about how and with whom to work, and so that community residents can really feel the quality results. This is the first time we have cooperated with Oschadbank, but we are obviously interested in continuing to provide communities with access to the best opportunities," said Olena Pavlenko, President of DiXi Group, at the event.

The event was joined by representatives of the project's participating communities from the Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Poltava, and Kharkiv oblasts. Some municipalities have suffered significant damage as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion. Most communities are located in the area of active hostilities.
During the project implementation, the communities will receive expert support in identifying goals and ways to implement municipal energy plans based on the specifics of the region, the legislative framework, international obligations, requirements of European energy legislation, and their own financial capabilities. DiXi Group's General Manager for Sustainable Development and Project Leader Viktoriia Kovalenko emphasized that the development of relevant plans for 2024 is a mandatory requirement for local governments under the Law of Ukraine "On Energy Efficiency."