First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko, and World Bank Country Director for Eastern Europe Bob Saum signed Grant and Loan Agreements for a new system project in Ukraine, the “Program-for-Results” (PforR) — “Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Entrepreneurship” (RISE).

The financial package includes:

• $283 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD);
• $300 million loan under a special Ukraine and Moldova recovery program from the International Development Association (IDA) crisis fund;
• $10 million grant from the World Bank’s Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform Trust Fund (URTF).

“Since the full-scale invasion, the World Bank Group has mobilized over $50 billion to support Ukraine, and the RISE PforR program marks an important step in our continued work with partners to restore and develop the private sector. This initiative will support up to 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, create over 40,000 jobs through state business support programs, and strengthen our deregulation efforts and development of digital services for businesses, such as e-Permit,” stated First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.

“The experience of other countries shows that implementing PforR programs creates unique opportunities to build the capacities of the institutions involved. Therefore, we are pleased that this tool for supporting the private sector, as a key driver of recovery and sustainable growth, will finally be launched in Ukraine,” noted Bob Saum.

The RISE program will focus on improving the business environment and digital services for state-business interaction, as well as enhancing access for Ukrainian SMEs to export markets.

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is responsible for overseeing and coordinating RISE. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine will handle the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of RISE. By the end of 2024, based on the achievement of predefined program indicators, Ukraine may receive $400 million into the state budget's general fund.

“This is the first large-scale program on which the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance teams have worked together with the World Bank over an extended period. We are very grateful to our international partners that today we were able to make this happen. The World Bank will channel the designated support into the general fund of the state budget, following a refinancing principle for the Ministry of Economy's programs based on the government's implementation of planned reforms. The RISE PforR program will focus on improving the regulatory environment for the private sector, easing access to financing, and transitioning to a sustainable, digital, and inclusive economy, aligned with the priorities of the SME Strategy through 2027.” noted First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksii Sobolev.

A separate area of RISE PforR is strengthening the institutional capacity of government agencies in developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating private sector development programs.