“EU4Business: SME Competitiveness and Internationalisation” programme will support micro and small enterprises

      The “EU4Business: SME Competitiveness and Internationalisation” programme will support about 300 micro and small enterprises who suffered the most because of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. The miсrogrants worth EUR 4,000 each will be administered as of May 13, 2022 via the Diia platform.

      “The EU is taking quick and pragmatic steps to help small businesses in the current wartime. The microgrants are our first rapid relief measure, aimed at micro and small enterprises who had to relocate from regions affected by the war and whose business operations have been significantly disrupted. We aim to support them in restoring the production or provision of services to support Ukraine's economy at this critical time.” – commented Chloe Allio, Head of Section "Economic Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment" of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine.

      Enterprises registered  in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kyiv regions are eligible to apply. They must be registered in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine as of December 31, 2021 at the latest. The eligibility criteria cover  the enterprises that continue business operations  and those who need to fully restart their activities after relocation.

      Priority in the assessment of grant applications will be given to companies engaged in the production of essential goods and services needed by the citizens of Ukraine and Ukrainian armed forces.  The grants evaluation commission will consist of independent business experts who will select the most relevant applications and  will perform  interviews with the short-listed companies.

      More information about the  EU emergency support for SMEs during the wartime is available on EU4Business portal.

      Background information: The grants mechanism  is  supported by the “EU4Business: SME Competitiveness and Internationalisation” programme, co-financed by the European Union and the German Government and implemented by the German Federal Company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH”. It is designed jointly with the Ministry of Digitalisation of Ukraine, Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Diia platform, the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office of Ukraine, national entrepreneurship development project Diia.Business. The implementing partner of the microgrant initiative is the International charity foundation “East Europe Foundation”.