Oschadbank and Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration join forces to support and develop local entrepreneurs and veteran businesses

A memorandum was signed today between Oschadbank and the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration (RMA) on joint efforts to increase the availability of financing for businesses. Thanks to this cooperation, the bank will expand the list of loan offers for entrepreneurs in the region, and the local authorities will contribute to reducing the cost of loans within their budget.

The budget of the Vinnytsia RMA provides more than UAH 23 million for this project in 2025. These funds will be used, in particular, to partially compensate for interest on loans taken out under the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program. With the help of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF), which acts as the state's agent for implementing MSME support programs, an entrepreneur can be compensated up to 5% per annum, but not more than UAH 1 million per year.

The main investment areas of financing include the purchase of alternative energy sources by enterprises to ensure their energy independence, support for craft production, and the creation and development of businesses by veterans returning from war.

The memorandum contains provisions for engaging international business support programs to prepare business plans and feasibility studies for entrepreneurs involved in the development and implementation of innovative projects, production of consumer goods, construction materials, provision of household and other services, and personnel training.

“Oschadbank is already cooperating under such memorandums with eleven RMAs and four municipalities to help entrepreneurs start, restore and develop their businesses even in the most difficult times. Since the beginning of the great war, almost 400 business entities have appeared in the Vinnytsia region, relocating here from the war zone or areas close to it. I am convinced that the agreement reached today will help regional businesses, including veteran businesses, who are looking for opportunities to maintain their facilities and expand their operations in the Vinnytsia region, by making lending more affordable. We are grateful that the Vinnytsia RMA has decided to join the Oschadbank's business support hub,” commented Sergii Naumov, Chairman of the Management Board of Oschadbank.

“We are grateful to Oschad for its active work in the region. The principles of barrier-free and accessible financial services for all, which the bank implements, are important to us. We appreciate Oschad for its largest network, which is essential for our agricultural region. We hope that the signed memorandum will allow us to deepen our cooperation, especially in the area of supporting veteran businesses,” said Natalia Zabolotna, First Deputy Head of Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, at the signing ceremony.

Oschad's loan portfolio of MSMEs in the Vinnytsia region amounts to UAH 2.25 billion. By this indicator, the Vinnytsia region ranks second among Ukraine’s regions after the Kyiv region. The regional office of Oschadbank in the Vinnytsia region is an active participant in both state and international grant programs to support entrepreneurship. Thus, under the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” program, more than 500 clients received financing totaling UAH 2.7 billion during the full-scale war, and in the first 9 months of 2024, Oschad financed loans worth UAH 890 million.

Since the launch of the eRobota project in July 2022, 555 entrepreneurs in the region have received state grants worth more than UAH 255 million. Of these, 470 microgrants worth UAH 412 million were issued under the “Own Business” program; 30 grants worth UAH 115 million were issued for the development of processing enterprises; veterans and their families received 55 grants totaling UAH 28 million to create and develop their own businesses.

Since the beginning of the great war, thanks to Oschadbank's cooperation with international financial institutions, entrepreneurs in the Vinnytsia region have received grants worth more than UAH 8.5 million. Under the Sparkasse program, Oschad financed 10 entrepreneurs for UAH 4.4 million; in partnership with GIZ, 38 companies received microgrants worth UAH 6 million; 2 grants worth UAH 4 million were financed through the EBRD program.