Ukraine may join the international Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code initiative, which helps women entrepreneurs to obtain financing. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko discussed this possibility with Arthur Poghosyan, Deputy Head of the EBRD Delegation to Ukraine, during a meeting on June 26.
The event was attended by Deputy Ministers Tetyana Berezhna and Andrii Teliupa, representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the National Bank of Ukraine and Raiffeisen Bank.
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code is already operating in more than 30 countries. It helps expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized businesses run by women. Participation in the programme is a voluntary commitment by banks, government institutions and other players to support women’s entrepreneurship.
“Ukraine already has grant and loan programmes for women in business. But we are open to new solutions that will simplify access to finance. The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code programme is already operating in more than 30 countries. This is a good opportunity for us to share our experience with these countries. We are pleased to hear that Ukrainian banks are ready to join. We start by diagnosing the market needs, and then we can consolidate our cooperation with a memorandum,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
The programme includes:
– Creating a coalition of organisations that support women’s businesses;
– Launching new lending instruments;
– Regular monitoring and reporting on the volume of SME financing.
According to Arthur Poghosyan, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code programme provides for a voluntary commitment by representatives of the financial sector, government agencies and other key players to facilitate the availability of financing for women entrepreneurs.
Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that the Government of Ukraine had been successfully cooperating with the EBRD on many projects and programmes, including the development of veteran businesses. She suggested that the joint work on the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code should be formalised in a memorandum. The document will consolidate the creation of a coalition of partners who will join the initiative. (Government portal)