By April 2018, the SME Investment Support programme implemented by the German-Ukrainian Fund (GUF) had issued 78 loans to SMEs worth UAH 237.7 million since the start and presentation of the programme in April 2017 at the First Financial Fair, according to figures released by the GUF.
The GUF implements the KfW programme of the EU4Business SME Finance Facility Phase II, with funding from the EU and Germany through the German Development Bank KfW. Its SME Investment Support programme works with local partner banks and local administrations 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.
The current level of debt for SME loans under the programme stands at UAH 178.8 million – 76% of them in agriculture (39% investment loans and 61% for working capital) and 23% in industry (43% investment loads and 57% for working capital). Hotels and restaurants accounted for the final 1%.
The average size of loan is UAH 2,273,760 or €71,055. The average interest rate charged is 14.8%.
In 2017, 2,047 jobs were supported in SMEs that received loans.
According to the GUF, the programme had the highest penetration in the regions of Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Vinnytsia.
