Ukraine will receive a EUR 50 million grant from KfW under the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% programme

On 30 November, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko signed a grant agreement worth EUR 50 million to finance the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% programme. The funds will compensate for the interest rate on the loans for Ukrainian SMEs.

The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk, Head of Task Force Ukraine at the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka, Director of the KfW Office in Ukraine Lorenz Gessner, Head of the Cooperation at the German Embassy in Ukraine Marcus Koll and Executive Director of the Business Development Fund (BDF) Andrii Hapon.

"The operation of enterprises is an important component of Ukraine's financial stability and economic security in times of war. EUR 50 million of KfW grants will make a significant contribution to the activities of the Business Development Fund to improve the existing financial support programmes for businesses. The funds will be used to finance the programme Affordable Loans 5-7-9%, which will allow small and medium-sized businesses to continue to have access to concessional loans," said Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and expressed his gratitude to the German Government for its cooperation and systematic support of Ukraine.

The Minister noted that the BDF is a leading institution for affordable financing for Ukrainian businesses aimed at restoring and developing entrepreneurship under martial law.

"The German government continues to support the Ukrainian side with further grants. We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Ukraine to support entrepreneurship in times of war. Last year, KfW provided EUR 150 million for the 5-7-9 programme, and now we are pleased to expand our support by an additional EUR 50 million. These funds are an important part of the German-Ukrainian development cooperation, which in 2023 alone will amount to more than  EUR 600 million," said Head of BMZ Ukraine Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka.

"Ukrainian companies are suffering greatly as a result of the war: destroyed production facilities, high inflation and a sharp drop in sales are jeopardizing the existence of many companies. Supporting the private sector therefore remains an important task - especially in times of war. By providing interest rate subsidies to businesses during the war time, we ensure the existence of companies and secure jobs which generate income for households and tax revenue for the state," stated Head of the Representative Office of KfW in Ukraine and Moldova Lorenz Gessner. 

The parties discussed the mechanisms for implementing the Ukraine Facility programme, bilateral cooperation between the Governments of Ukraine and Germany within the framework of projects of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and further joint steps to prepare a Framework Agreement on Financial Cooperation.