How French, German, and Canadian grants for business development work in Odesa Oblast

In the Odesa region, various companies and small firms apply for foreign grants. In particular, the regional military administration attracts grant financial support for small businesses in cooperation with the humanitarian organization ASTED (France). The money is allocated for the implementation of the program “Supporting Economic Empowerment of Women for Recovery and Development” (SEED), which is implemented with the support of Global Affairs Canada. This program provides grants of up to 40 thousand Canadian dollars.

Daria Ilchenko, head of the European Integration Office of the Odesa Regional Development Agency, told this at a briefing at the Ukraine-Odesa Media Center.

Companies were selected to receive SEED grants by the Department of Economic Policy and Strategic Planning of the Odesa Regional Military Administration based on proposals from the RSA and a list of businesses affected by Russian military aggression whose founders and/or managers are women.

The region also has an educational and grant program called “Strength” to support businesses affected by the full-scale war. It helps people return to the affected regions and restore or develop their businesses.

The program is organized by the Diia.Business network of entrepreneur support centers with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the State Agency for Entrepreneurship and Export Development. The program is implemented with the support of the USAID Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI).
The project participants had the opportunity to receive a $3,000 grant to renovate their premises, purchase new equipment, stock up on raw materials, and cover other necessary expenses for business development.

The EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalization grant for microbusinesses is being implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH up to EUR 40,000 in the UAH equivalent to implement measures to restore operations and develop their own business.

30 grants of up to EUR 25,000 for small and medium-sized businesses under the EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalization program, co-financed by the European Union and the German Government and implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internatio nale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The competition was open to companies from all over Ukraine that are not located in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. The program supports companies that create products and services with an innovative component and/or a focus on export expansion.

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