УUkrainian enterprises will be able to receive energy resilience financing from Norway and Germany at Oschad

Oschadbank will act as a partner bank in the new program “Support for Energy Resilience of Micro and Small Enterprises in Ukraine” funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the German government and implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This was announced during the project presentation on November 26 in Kyiv.

The goal of the program is to strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian economy to periodic power outages and ensure uninterrupted business operations by providing financial support for solutions for stable access to electricity.

“Oschadbank's cooperation with the German government to support Ukrainian business began in 2018. Today, it plays an important role in ensuring that entrepreneurs have the resources to continue their development even during a full-scale war. Oschad's clients can receive assistance from international partners by combining it with the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%”, which allows them to use the synergy of cooperation in both programs. We are also combining this project with our own energy efficiency programs and non-refundable grants, which further contributes to supporting entrepreneurs in difficult times,” said Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Oschadbank Board Member in charge of micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

The program will facilitate access to bank financing for the economic and investment activities of micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which provide jobs and income opportunities for Ukrainians and the country's ability to produce goods and services.

The project is a part of the ReACT4UA program (“Utilization and Implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the Field of Trade”). The program partner is the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF).

The program will be implemented in two components depending on the type of enterprise (micro or small):

• Component I. Grant support for micro-enterprises aimed at financing investments in alternative energy sources. The amount of the grant is up to EUR 10 thousand without a mandatory combination with bank loans, but it is possible to attract loans to finance energy investments;
• Component II. Grant support in the amount of up to EUR 20 thousand, which is provided with a mandatory combination with a bank loan to finance investments in energy independence of the enterprise. If the energy investments are successfully implemented, the small enterprise receives a reimbursement of up to 40% of the current debt on the loan received to finance them.

The program will be open to MSEs with up to 10 employees and up to EUR 2 million in annual revenue for micro-enterprises, and up to 50 employees and EUR 10 million for small enterprises, operating in certain types of economic activity, having a positive credit history and impeccable business reputation, no debts to the Ukrainian budget and no international technical assistance since February 1, 2022.

You will be able to participate in the program by filling out a form on the EDF portal “Financial Support Navigator”. Applications will be accepted in mid-December, which will be announced additionally. The form should contain information about the company's performance and electricity consumption. It is also necessary to define clear directions for the use of grant funds, which cannot be changed during further funding. No calculations or business plans are required. The rating system of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund will automatically calculate the rating and determine the winners of the competitions.

Oschadbank offers an extensive list of entrepreneurial support programs with international partners, which finance one in five business loans. In particular, Oschad has a successful experience of cooperation with GIZ and the EDF in implementing the project “Access to Finance and Support to the Sustainability of MSMEs in Ukraine II”, under which the bank has lent over UAH 212 million to business projects.