Ukraine and Germany, along with a number of other countries and development institutions, have launched the SME Sustainability Alliance for Ukraine. The Alliance members have pledged to contribute, and the total commitments now amount to more than €7 billion. This was reported in by the Ministry of Economy, UNN writes.
Details
The SME Resilience Alliance was established as part of the Ukraine Recovery Conference-2024 in Berlin.
The community includes countries, funding and development institutions, and international organizations. Among them: Austria, Canada, Estonia, the European Union, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the EU, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UNDP, UNIDO, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Investment Fund (EIF), the International Organization for Migration, etc.
All founding members contribute to the Alliance through financial investments or development programs. Total commitments currently amount to more than €7 billion for ongoing and new programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), of which more than €4.5 billion is funding for new projects.
The main contributions under the new EUR 3.9 billion commitment will come from the Ukraine Facility program. Ukrainian companies will have access to financial instruments under the investment component of the Ukraine Investment Framework. The package also includes new financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to meet the liquidity needs of Ukrainian companies and support war-affected businesses and vulnerable groups. In addition, payments from the EU budget will help the Ukrainian government to implement reforms related to small and medium-sized enterprises and provide them with financial support.
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy and an important part of economic resilience. According to the State Statistics Service, 1.7 million small and medium-sized businesses operated during the first year of the full-scale war. They provided every fifth job. Now they play a key role in the country's recovery. However, the war has hit businesses hard in many ways. Our goal is not only to help them recover, but also to create conditions for their development
Svyrydenko spoke about the three key areas of support for Ukrainian business that the Alliance will provide:
- Reform of SME policy, including the implementation of the SME Development Strategy until 2027, technical advice on the regulatory framework, policies and government support programs, and assistance in improving the skills of entrepreneurs to access international markets in the context of EU accession.
- Building strong institutions, which includes supporting existing institutions, such as the Export Credit Agency and the Entrepreneurship Development Fund. Alliance partners, including Germany, the EU, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Luxembourg Development Agency, will work to transform the Entrepreneurship Development Fund into a national development institution to support SMEs.
- Access to Finance aims to provide funds to Ukrainian banks to support SMEs, including private capital, risk-sharing instruments, guarantees, mini- and investment grants, loans, and interest subsidies.
Recall
At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, the European Investment Bank Group, in cooperation with the European Commission and the Government of Ukraine , signed a number of important projects and partnership agreements aimed at supporting Ukraine's economic and social resilience.