By Olga Rosca

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan equivalent to €25 million(US$29.7million), available in hryvnia or in euros, to ProCredit Bank for on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ukraine. At least 70 per cent of the funds will be dedicated to financing green technology.

Sub-borrowers will be able to invest in equipment, machinery and technology that meets European Union (EU) standards for product quality, health and safety measures as well as environmental protection. The EU provides funding to identify the most suitable equipment and technology as well as for investment incentives covering up to 15 per cent of the cost of eligible technologies upon their successful implementation.

The funding is available under the EU4Business-EBRD credit line, which aims to increase the capacity of small businesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to access and compete in the EU market.

The loan agreement was signed by Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions, and Viktor Ponomarenko, General Manager of ProCredit Bank, on the sidelines of the EBRD 2021 Annual Meeting and Business Forum.

ProCredit Bank is a market leader in financing local MSMEs in Ukraine. The bank is a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of ProCredit Holding, based in Germany.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Ukraine. In the past two years alone, the Bank committed €2 billion to the economy. Financing smaller businesses directly and via financial institutions is a particular focus of the EBRD’s work in Ukraine. The investments are combined with support for policies that promote the fight against corruption, good governance of state-owned enterprises, structural reforms and a more transparent business environment.