Almost UAH 1 billion in grants from the Government to start up or expand a business will be awarded to 4,000 winners of this year's "Vlasna Sprava" grant programme. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna.

"According to the results of the fourteenth wave of microgrant applications, 305 Ukrainians have been awarded UAH 74 million to start up or expand their businesses. Since the beginning of 2023, we have already had 4,000 winners to whom the state will provide financial support worth almost UAH 1 billion. Investments in small business development through the grant programmes launched by the Government last summer are already paying off not only by boosting the economy, but also by creating 17,000 new jobs and paying over UAH 330 million in taxes to the budget," said Tetiana Berezhna.

Among the recipients of the fourteenth wave of microgrants, 55% are women and 45% are men. 80% of them have higher education. The majority of grantees are from Lviv (51), Rivne (32), Ivano-Frankivsk (31), Poltava (21), Kyiv and Zhytomyr (18) oblasts and the city of Kyiv (23). The vast majority of grant recipients plan to use the microgrant funds to purchase equipment necessary for running their business.

The most popular areas in which the winners of the fourteenth wave will work include:

• wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair - 103 people;
• temporary accommodation and catering - 54 people;
• processing industry - 51 people.

Since the launch of the programme, more than 7,300 Ukrainians have won grants worth UAH 1.7 billion.

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

This year, UAH 1.8 billion has been budgeted for the “Vlasna Sprava” programme, which means that about 10,000 microgrants will be awarded.

The Government's eRobota project includes grant programmes aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship and job creation. These include microgrants for starting or developing a business, grants for setting up and developing processing plants, planting orchards, viticulture and greenhouses. Applications for all areas of the eRobota programme are submitted via the Diia portal.