362 Ukrainians will receive UAH 85 million in microgrants from the state to start and develop a business under the Vlasna Sprava (Own Business) programme following the seventh wave of applications. Since the beginning of 2023, 1,917 entrepreneurs have already been selected under the programme, and more than 5,000 have been selected since its launch in July last year. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna.

“According to the results of this year’s seventh wave of applications for microgrants, 362 Ukrainians have been recognised as winners and will receive financial support from the state to start or expand their business in the amount of UAH 85 million. In total, more than 5,000 Ukrainians have taken advantage of the microgrant programme since its launch, and 4,300 of them have already received funds for their projects and started implementing them. Over UAH 1 billion has already been disbursed to grant recipients. These funds are being used by entrepreneurs to start new businesses, increase production and, most importantly, create new jobs. Thousands of Ukrainians have already been employed in these businesses thanks to the microgrant programme,” said Tetyana Berezhna.

Among the recipients of the seventh wave of microgrants, 53% are women and 47% are men, and 76% of the winners have a university degree. The majority of them are from Lviv (56), Kyiv (36), Rivne (30), Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk (22) regions, as well as the city of Kyiv (39).

The vast majority of these entrepreneurs plan to use the microgrant funds to purchase equipment needed to run their business.

The most popular sectors in which grantees will operate are:

• wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair – 107 people;
• temporary accommodation and catering – 60 people;
• processing industry – 54 people.

As a reminder, Ukrainians can receive a microgrant of UAH 50,000 to UAH 250,000 under the Vlasna Sprava grant programme. The funds can be used to purchase or lease equipment, purchase raw materials and supplies, and rent premises. Both existing entrepreneurs and people with no experience can receive a microgrant. A prerequisite for receiving funds is the creation of 1-2 jobs, depending on the amount of the grant. Ukrainians who receive microgrants in 2022 will create about 8,000 new jobs.

This year, the budget allocates UAH 1.8 billion for the Vlasna Sprava programme, which will allow for the issuance of about 10,000 microgrants.

The Government’s eRobota project includes grant programmes aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship and job creation. In particular, these are microgrant programmes for starting or developing a business, grants for creating and developing processing enterprises, planting a garden, setting up vineyards and greenhouses. Applications for all areas of the eRobota programme can be submitted through the Diia portal.