On 20 September, the second meeting of the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF) Steering Board was held in Brussels under the chairmanship of the European Commission and with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Verkhovna Rada, the European Parliament, EU Member States, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
At the event, the participants discussed the current state of implementation of the first phase of the UIF, under which the private sector and SMEs are already receiving financing from Ukrainian banks and international financial institutions (IFIs) through the UIF mechanism. These programmes provide an opportunity to attract more affordable financing through a combination of guarantees, blended finance and technical assistance, together with government affordable lending programmes.
Under the second phase of the UIF, it is planned to expand the list of instruments, attract new IFIs and provide guarantees for the EIB to operate in Ukraine. In addition, it is planned to attract private equity funds to implement projects, finance the corporate and public investment sectors. For the second phase, the European Commission has planned to launch a call for applications from IFIs with new projects to finance Ukrainian businesses by the end of September.
“At the meeting of the Ukraine Investment Framework Steering Board, we took an important step forward in attracting international investment to rebuild Ukraine. The priority is the development of the energy sector, decentralisation of electricity and heat supply systems and energy independence. We also stressed the need to support the private sector alongside government initiatives. Investment projects must meet clear criteria of financial viability and significant social impact, which will contribute to a rapid recovery and sustainable economic growth,” Oleksii Sobolev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, said.
The meeting participants addressed key priorities in both the public and private sectors, including the implementation of energy projects, restoration of social infrastructure, bomb shelters, housing stock, etc.
They also discussed the introduction of the Single Public Investment Portfolio (SPP) by the Ministry of Economy, which will become a key tool for systemising and coordinating public investment policy. As part of the second phase of the UIF for 2025, it is also planned to involve IFIs in the implementation of public investment project concepts from the SPP.
In addition, the parties noted the importance of introducing the Project Preparation Facility technical support mechanism for public projects and for the private sector. This will facilitate and accelerate the assessment and decision-making of SME financing.
“We are working to strengthen cooperation between IFIs and Ukrainian private banks to improve the availability of financing for businesses. This includes the expansion of funding limits, war risk insurance programmes, reinsurance pools backed by EU guarantees, and the provision of syndicated loans for large-scale projects. A separate important aspect is the introduction of project financing to bring investment projects to a state of maturity,” Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Volodymyr Kuzio, said.
Background information
The Ukraine Investment Framework is the second component of the Ukraine Facility Plan (Pillar 2) worth EUR 9.3 billion, including EUR 7.8 billion in guarantees and EUR 1.5 billion in grant funding. Through comprehensive risk-sharing instruments, blended finance and grants, the UIF is expected to help attract up to EUR 40 billion to the Ukrainian economy.