Ukrainian farmer Andriy Soroka started out with a small plot, but over the years he has built up his farm to more than 300 hectares to become an independent producer with his own agricultural machinery and premises, reinvesting his income into the further development of the business.
Now, with the help of EU4Business initiative, the German Government, which provided a loan through the German State Development Bank KfW to the German-Ukrainian Fund, and Kredobank in Ukraine, Andriy Soroka is taking the next step to further expand his business.
“In many ways, our success was possible through cooperation with Kredobank over the past five years,” says Soroka, a period during which he invested in modernising his equipment, as well as buying fertilizers, seeds and fuel materials.
“Kredobank proved to be a reliable partner at the European level, so we willingly took advantage of the new financing programme, which was the result of an agreement between the German-Ukrainian Fund and Kredobank.”
“We became a participant in this project for the first time, but we already feel its advantages,” Soroka explains. “A low interest rate on the loan will allow us to modernise the business by building new premises, improving the working conditions of our employees and raising wages.”
The German-Ukrainian Fund’s SME Investments Support Programme is part of the EU4Business SME Finance Facility, which works with local banks like Kredobank 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.
Loans are given for acquisition or modernisation of fixed assets, to a maximum amount equivalent to €250,000, with a 15% interest rate and loan maturity of five years. Economic activities financed are agriculture, processing industry, hotel and restaurant business, and energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
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