Oschadbank and Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration agree to reduce the cost of loans for local businesses

Today, Oschadbank and Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration (RMA) signed a memorandum of cooperation to reduce the cost of loans for micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) to provide affordable financial resources for the recovery of the region's economy and increase the number of jobs.

The document stipulates that the bank will expand the list of loan offers for entrepreneurs, and the regional authorities will help to reduce their cost by partially compensating the interest rate. Thus, we are talking about joint loan products for entrepreneurs from Oschad and RMA. The memorandum also contains provisions for involving international business support programs in cooperation with entrepreneurs, assistance in preparing business plans, providing grants, etc.

"This is the tenth anniversary agreement between our bank and regional administrations, and we have previously signed similar memorandums with Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Rivne and Sumy regions. The regional military administrations of these regions are actively cooperating with Oschadbank to stimulate the development of certain business segments in their regions, even despite the full-scale war. Supporting economic recovery and entrepreneurship development is one of the priorities of Oschad's work, and we have achieved significant success in this area primarily due to the involvement of various partners in our initiatives: at the national, regional and international levels. We are grateful that the heroic Zaporizhzhia region has also joined Oschadbank's business support programs," said Sergii Naumov, Chairman of the Management Board of Oschadbank.

"Every entrepreneur working in Zaporizhzhia region today is a hero. One of the business challenges is the lack of credit support. The new program of cooperation with Oschadbank is an opportunity for entrepreneurs in Zaporizhzhia region, as the bank has a successful experience in supporting businesses throughout Ukraine, including the frontline areas. I hope that after signing the memorandum, the volume of loans to Zaporizhzhia oblast businesses from Oschad will increase," said Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.

 "Despite the temporary occupation of a part of Zaporizhzhia region, our regional office is increasing its support for local businesses. Over the past year, we increased the loan portfolio of MSMEs in the region by UAH 80 million (up to UAH 514 million), and additionally attracted almost 200 active clients of this segment (now there are 7,144). In the summer of 2022, in Zaporizhzhia region, Oschad signed the first agreement for representatives of the banking sector in the framework of cooperation with the Export Credit Agency (ECA). I am convinced that today's signing will further intensify our bank's cooperation with local entrepreneurs," commented Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Oschadbank Management Board Member in charge of MSMEs.

Oschad's regional office in Zaporizhzhia region is an active participant in preferential business support programs. Thus, under the program "Affordable Loans 5-7-9%" in 2023, Oschad issued 64 loans for UAH 165 million in the region, and for 2 months of 2024 – 8 loans for UAH 27 million. Last year, with the help of Oschad, 178 entrepreneurs in Zaporizhzhia region received government grants eRobota in the amount of  UAH 165 million, and in 2024, 63 entrepreneurs received such grants in the amount of  UAH 33 million. In total, 20 Oschadbank managers serve MSMEs in the bank's branches in Zaporizhzhia region.