Grants for veterans: UAH 500 million in grants for business development will be awarded to veterans and their spouses

Another 39 veterans and their spouses have been recognised as winners of the seventeenth wave of applications for grants for veterans in 2024. They will receive UAH 19 million to start or develop their businesses. In total, veterans and family members of combatants will receive grants worth UAH 500 million from the start of the veterans’ component of the Vlasna Sprava (Own Business) grant programme. This was announced by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

“We have already identified 1,068 winners of the veterans’ component of the Vlasna Sprava programme who will receive financial support from the state in the form of grants to start or develop their businesses. In total, the state is investing UAH 500 million in the businesses of veterans and their families through grants. One third of the grant recipients used the funds to start their own business, while others plan to scale up their business, increase production, master new areas, and enter new markets. In the process of implementing their business ideas, they will create 2,000 jobs,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The 39 winners of the seventeenth wave of grant applications include 23 combatants and 16 family members of veterans. 34 winners received grants of up to UAH 500,000, 4 – up to UAH 250,000, and 1 – up to UAH 1 million.

The majority of grantees are from Lviv, Kyiv, Poltava regions and the city of Kyiv. The most popular areas in which grantees plan to develop their businesses are wholesale and retail trade, temporary accommodation and catering, and the processing industry.

Under the terms of the programme, combatants or persons with war-related disabilities, as well as their spouses, can receive the following grants:

• up to UAH 250,000, up to UAH 500,000 and up to UAH 1 million – for a veteran, provided that one, two and four jobs are created, respectively;
• up to UAH 250,000 and up to UAH 500,000 – for a veteran’s spouse, provided that one and two jobs are created, respectively.

In order to receive a grant of UAH 500,000 to UAH 1 million, a veteran must be registered as an individual entrepreneur for at least 3 years. In addition, such a grant is provided on the condition of co-financing with the recipient in the ratio of 70/30, i.e. the recipient of the grant must invest 30% of their own funds in their business, and 70% of the funds will be provided by the state in the form of a grant.

Applications for grants are submitted through the Diia portal along with a business plan. The programme is administered by the State Employment Service.

The Government’s eRobota project is one of the components of the Made in Ukraine policy and includes grant programmes aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship and job creation. These include microgrants for starting or developing a business, grants for veterans and their spouses, grants for establishing and developing processing plants, and grants for planting orchards, viticulture, and greenhouses. Both existing entrepreneurs and people with no business experience can apply for a grant. Applications are currently being accepted for all components of the eRobota programme. Applications can be submitted through the Diia portal.

The grant programme for combatants, people with war-related disabilities and their family members to set up or develop their own business is part of the flagship project of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine “Work without Barriers”, which is being implemented as part of the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine.