Over almost a year of the government's eRobota programme, 4,600 entrepreneurs have received grants worth UAH 3 billion from the state to start and develop their businesses. This was announced by Tetiana Berezhna, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during the National Telethon.
"During the first year of the eRobota programme, 4,600 grants totalling almost UAH 3 billion were awarded. Of these, 4189 microgrants worth UAH 1 billion have already been awarded under the ‘Own Business’ programme, which enables people to receive a microgrant of up to UAH 250,000 to start or expand a business. We expect that Ukrainians who have received these microgrants will create 11,000 jobs," said Tetiana Berezhna.
The Deputy Minister reminded that the ‘Own Business’ programme has been in place since July last year, and since then the Ministry of Economy, as the administrator of the programme, has made several changes to it in response to the needs of entrepreneurs. In particular, the recent changes include the expansion of the areas of microgrant use – from now on, entrepreneurs will be able to purchase vehicles needed for their business activities with these funds. The period within which a grant winner must register as a sole proprietor, if he or she is not an entrepreneur, and enter into a microgrant agreement and open a bank account to receive the funds was also extended from 15 to 20 business days.
In addition, Tetiana Berezhna stressed that the key goal of grant programmes is to create jobs. In particular, a microgrant recipient must create 1 to 2 jobs, depending on the amount of the grant, and employ people.
"We have required the State Employment Service to provide the employer with candidates for these jobs from among the officially registered unemployed. This is because jobs should be provided primarily to those who need them most. If the company that wins the grant does not employ people for the jobs created within 6 months of the transfer of funds, it must return the grant to the state. This is a failure to fulfil the key condition of the microgrant, so the funds must be returned," said Tetiana Berezhna.
The eRobota project includes grant programmes aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and job creation. These include microgrants for starting or developing your own business, grants for setting up and developing processing facilities, planting a garden, viticulture and greenhouse farming. Applications for all components of the eRobota programme are submitted through the Diia portal.