In cooperation with Oschad, Ukrainian business received over UAH 45 million in non-repayable assistance from the German government

Yesterday in Kyiv, representatives of Oschadbank presented the results of the project “Access to Finance and Support for the Resilience of MSMEs in Ukraine II” at the final meeting of participants and partners.

Thanks to the support of the German government, during the second phase of the project, 79 Oschad clients received business development grants totaling more than UAH 45 million. 76% of them are micro and small segment clients (with a turnover of up to EUR 2 million per year in equivalent). In total, business projects worth over UAH 212 million were financed.

Entrepreneurs from 22 regions of the country took part in the program, including 36% from the western and central regions, 15% from the south, and 13% from the east. More than 28% of grantees are registered and operate in war-affected regions or in the de-occupied territories. 59% of businesses belong to the agricultural sector. 96% of grant funds were used to purchase fixed assets.

The priority areas of support for Oschadbank's MSMEs include energy supply to businesses, assistance to processing companies, manufacturers of finished products and exporters, restoration of business in the de-occupied territories and preservation of business activity in the high-risk military zone, support for veterans and their families.

“The micro, small and medium-sized business financing programs of Oschadbank and the German government have a global goal - to provide Ukrainian entrepreneurs with the prospect of sustainable business growth. Particular attention is paid to enterprises from the de-occupied territories and regions affected by the war, and this is a very important support for them. I thank our partners for their trust and the opportunity to be involved in projects that contribute to the country's economic development at a time of high risks,” said Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Oschadbank Board Member in charge of micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

This initiative was implemented within the framework of the international cooperation ReACT4UA (“Application and Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the Field of Trade”) with funding from the German government. The strategic implementer of the project is the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The implementing partners are the Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für Internationale Kooperation (DSIK) in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Development Fund.

The project provided grant support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses involved in economically important business sectors for Ukraine and consisted of a financial and a capacity building component.

Thanks to this, internally displaced enterprises and companies from the de-occupied territories were able to receive a grant (compensation) in the amount of 30% of the cost of the investment project, but not more than 30 thousand euros in hryvnia equivalent. For all other companies, the maximum grant support was 20%, but not more than 20 thousand euros in hryvnia equivalent.