The Government of Ukraine has expanded the capabilities of the Processing grant program for the creation of processing enterprises. Soon, businesses that are registered, operating or planning to start operating in the de-occupied territories will receive grants to develop their processing plants. And part of the grant recipients' contributions may be compensated from local budgets.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the relevant decision at a meeting on July 28.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, the grant programs initiated a year ago have yielded extraordinary results: tens of thousands of jobs have been created thanks to the grants received by businesses.

Currently, one of the most important tasks of the Government is to restore the economy in the territories liberated by our defenders and create jobs in these areas.

"That is why today we are taking the next important step: we are extending support to businesses operating in the de-occupied territories. Given the very difficult conditions in which this business operates, we have set special conditions that are different from others: grants will cover up to 80% of the cost of projects initiated by entrepreneurs," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to the decision, from now on, grants will also be issued to companies operating in the territories included in the List of territories where fighting took place and for which the date of the end of hostilities or temporary occupation has been determined. To receive grants, such enterprises are subject to more simplified conditions: to win the competition, applicants must score between 20 and 50 points during the evaluation of applications (for all others, the score remains between 30 and 50 points). In addition, in the case of an equal score, grants will be prioritized to companies operating in the de-occupied territories.

As the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, the purpose of the decision is to create conditions for the speedy return of people to their homes, to strengthen business activity in the de-occupied territories and to lay the groundwork for their rapid recovery and further development.

In addition, an important innovation approved by the Government is the possibility of compensation at the expense of local budgets or other stakeholders for up to 50% (up to 75% in the de-occupied territories) of the funds to be paid by grant recipients. This compensation can be provided, among other things, under regional or local loan programs.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, the synergy of efforts of the Government and local authorities will create conditions for accelerated business development in the regions.

The Government also approved other amendments to the Procedure for Granting Grants for the Establishment or Development of Processing Enterprises. In particular:

• grants for processing will be issued not only through Oshchadbank, but also through other banks in which the state owns more than 50% of shares. This will make receiving grants more convenient for business;
• stricter requirements will be imposed on the applicant's eligibility (e.g., absence of tax debt, information on corruption, fraud, etc.) and project (viability of the business idea; feasibility of the business plan, etc;)
• clear requirements for the amount of salary of employees for whom jobs are created;
• joint-stock company applicants must submit information about the owners of more than 25% of the shares;
• business entities in which the director, founder or beneficiary is the director, founder or beneficiary of more than five taxable entities are not eligible for the grant.

As a reminder, the Processing program for the development of processing enterprises is part of the Government's eRobota project. Under the program, the Government provides grants of up to 50% of the project cost. Entrepreneurs who have received funds are obliged to pay taxes and unified social contribution in the amount of the grant and create a certain number of jobs within 3 years, depending on the amount of the grant received.