Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have launched a dialogue on the development and implementation of support programmes for Ukrainian businesses to restore the energy sector and retrain workers for more demanded professions in the labour market. This was discussed at a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the EBRD.

"Today, the Ukrainian economy faces two critical challenges: energy problems and labour shortages. Due to the russian shelling, Ukraine has lost part of its generating capacity and now there are blackouts across the country, which affect both businesses and ordinary citizens. Both of these categories need financing to increase their energy efficiency and meet their energy needs. The Government is currently developing a corresponding soft loan programme. We hope that the EBRD will support our initiatives and help finance Ukraine's energy recovery projects.

Another important challenge for the economy was the mobilisation of specialists into the Armed Forces. We now need to pay more attention to retraining programmes for Ukrainians who remain in the rear to the professions that are in maximum demand. First and foremost, we are talking about women who are already taking up what were once purely male professions. For example, bodyguards, truck, bus or even tractor drivers - these are the realities of the labour market today. The retraining of specialists and the employment of veterans are the main challenges for the Government in the labour market. The EBRD will consider the possibility of financially supporting the implementation of relevant retraining programmes, both by the state and by Ukrainian businesses," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

During the meeting, the parties also discussed Ukraine's preparations for the new heating season, as well as the issue of gas purchases by Naftogaz of Ukraine.

The two sides also talked about the possibility of creating new logistics routes through neighbouring countries, as well as expanding financial support programmes for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.

Background information

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is currently implementing 220 projects in Ukraine worth more than EUR 5 billion. Last year, the EBRD lent a record EUR 2.1 billion to the country, followed by EUR 1.7 billion in 2022. The EBRD, which is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine, has significantly increased its investments since the russian invasion in February 2022 and in October 2023 exceeded its target of investing EUR 3 billion in Ukraine during 2022-2023.

Also in 2023, the EBRD's management decided to increase the Bank's paid-in capital by EUR 4 billion to EUR 34 billion to further support Ukraine. Investments in Ukraine during the war are expected to continue at around EUR 1.5 billion per year, with the capital increase providing the opportunity to double this amount when the time comes for recovery.

During 2022-2023, the EBRD also managed to mobilise around EUR 1.6 billion in donor funds for Ukraine, including unfunded guarantees. More than EUR 409 million of this amount was disbursed in 2023 alone. Almost half of the donor resources were provided by the European Union. Significant contributions were also made by other donors, including Canada, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands.