Programmes

The emphasis in Phase II of the SME Finance Facility is to stimulate local currency lending, especially for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ukraine that are not earning foreign currency and cannot afford the high costs of borrowing. 

Objectives

The ultimate objective of the SME Finance Facility for Ukraine is to improve access to finance for SMEs in the country. Specifically, Phase II of the Facility aims to:

• support financial intermediaries’ confidence to extend financing to SMEs, including micro-enterprises, following the financial crisis;
• enhance the capacity of financial intermediaries to assess and monitor the related risks and manage their SME financing;
• strengthen and deepen SME credit markets in local currency and expand financing options available to the real economy;
• promote the continued development of market-based financial institutions and contribute to institution building.

Beneficiaries

• Participating financial intermediaries (PFIs)
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Activities

• EBRD, EIB and KfW loans or guarantees to participating financial intermediaries (PFIs), for on-lending to eligible enterprises, including MSMEs.
• Provides credit enhancement support for SME lending through risk sharing instruments.
• Expected to leverage approximately €75 million of new loans to local enterprises.

The KfW programme of the EU4Business SME Finance Facility Phase II is implemented by the German-Ukrainian Fund (GUF), with funding from the EU and Germany through the German Development Bank KfW.