Ukraine received $235 million from the Government of Japan under the World Bank's LEARN and RISE projects to support education and the private sector

The State Budget of Ukraine received USD 235 million in concessional financing from the Government of Japan under the World Bank's new systemic projects Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprise Program (RISE) and  "Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need" (LEARN). 

Within the RISE project, a USD 130 million loan was received with the financial support of Japan. The project aims to address critical challenges that hinder the resilience, growth and sustainable development of the private sector. 

The USD 105 million of the Japanese funds received under the LEARN project are the result of the Government of Ukraine's implementation of measures to ensure safe face-to-face education in schools by providing subventions for shelters and school buses in 2024. The key goal of the programme is to improve the educational process in Ukraine under martial law by creating safe and comfortable conditions for teachers and students.

“I am grateful to the Government of Japan and the World Bank team for their coordinated cooperation, which once again helps to mobilise the necessary funds to support key sectors of the economy. Since February 2022, budget support from Japan through the Bank's mechanisms has reached about USD 6 billion. Financing under LEARN and RISE will help create the right conditions for the educational process and make the business support mechanism more effective amid a full-scale war,” said Sergii Marchenko.

The Projects are being implemented using the financial instrument Programme-for-results (PforR). Thus, these funds are the result of Ukraine's achievement of a part of the results. 

"This is an extremely timely and necessary solution for the restoration and development of the country's vital activity in the context of a full-scale war. The RISE and LEARN projects help the Government not only to finance, but also to efficiently and multilevelly improve one of the key areas of the Government's work - support for business and the educational process,' added Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova. 

By the end of 2024, Ukraine expects to raise USD 120 million and USD 95 million under RISE and LEARN, respectively.