Poverty Alleviation Through SME development in Ukraine – Major Donors

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) runs BizPro program across Ukraine. The main goals of the program are to provide Market Development Support and SME Enabling Environment by helping the public and private sector in selected municipalities formulate and implement balanced and predictable regulations that improve the business climate; assisting the development and implementation of the one-stop-shop concept; working to improve the ability of Ukrainian SMEs to grow and compete in local, regional, and international markets and to develop linkages and improve industry-specific skills; working with business service providers; and with donor-funded programs that work in SME development. USAID has also created Micro Lending Program, which provides support to business start-ups and Business Internet Centres to train budding entrepreneurs (used mostly by women).

Department for International Development (DFID) – UK provides technical assistance for entrepreneurship training, SME loans and business education primarily in the Donbass (former heavy industry capital of Ukraine), Lviv, Odessa and Kharkiv regions (oblasts).

International Financial Corporation (IFC) has focused its SME development program on second tier assistance, i.e. assistance of already established private or state-owned businesses as due to lack of market economy business acumen most of them are poorly run. With technical assistance of the IFC, the Ukrainian Consulting Network was established. The UCN is comprised of 11 self-sustaining consulting centres that provide market economy business advice and training services originally at subsidized rates but since 2001 at market prices. With funding of IFC and the World Bank, www.vlasnasprava.info was launched. The site links SMEs to banks, leasing companies, and investment firms and offer on-line application for credit.