EU-backed guarantee opens up €143m in loans for small businesses in Ukraine

The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, is providing an EU-backed guarantee that covers some of the bank’s lending risk.

More than 700 small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine could gain access to loans on better terms through a new European Investment Bank Group agreement with ProCredit Bank Ukraine. The arrangement is expected to unlock up to €143 million in financing, helping entrepreneurs keep their operations running, protect jobs and invest despite the disruption caused by Russia's war.

The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, is providing an EU-backed guarantee that covers some of the bank's lending risk. Support will focus on businesses affected by the war, veteran-led companies, and women and young entrepreneurs, with ProCredit Bank Ukraine able to reach as many as 715 businesses.

Lower collateral requirements and more time to repay

The guarantee will let ProCredit Bank Ukraine offer more loans with lower collateral requirements and longer repayment periods, easing conditions that can make borrowing difficult for smaller companies. Much of the financing is expected to be available in Ukrainian hryvnia, making it easier for businesses to borrow in their local currency. The loans will support companies seeking to maintain day-to-day operations and pursue investments that can help them grow.

"Ukrainian entrepreneurs continue to keep their businesses running and protect jobs despite the war," said EIB Group Vice-President Karl Nehammer during a visit to Ukraine. "With this EU-backed guarantee, we are helping them access the financing they need to remain resilient, continue investing and contribute to Ukraine's economic recovery."

A wider programme could unlock more than €1.1 billion

The agreement is the third under the EU-backed Ukraine Facility Partial Portfolio Guarantee, a programme designed to make finance more accessible to Ukrainian businesses during the war.

Through participating local banks, including ProCredit Bank Ukraine, the programme is projected to make more than €1.1 billion available to companies across the country. The ProCredit agreement forms part of that wider effort to channel European support through lenders serving Ukrainian businesses.

Gediminas Navickas, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said the private sector has a vital role in the country's economic resilience and recovery. He said the partial portfolio guarantee, supported through the Ukraine Investment Framework, would help businesses secure more affordable financing to safeguard jobs, invest and grow under wartime conditions.

Keeping businesses active and supporting recovery

For ProCredit Bank Ukraine, the guarantee expands its capacity to finance SMEs that keep investing, employing people, and adapting to the pressures of war. "Supporting Ukrainian businesses today is about much more than providing finance. It is about preserving the country's economic capacity and creating the foundation for future growth and recovery," said Oleksandr Povshednyi, Chairman of the bank's Management Board.

Povshednyi said the EIF guarantee would help turn European support into real economic activity across Ukraine. For eligible businesses, the practical benefit will be access to financing on terms that give them more room to sustain operations and make investments needed for growth.