Andrii Hapon: BDF remains committed to working for the benefit of MSMEs

2 billion euros – this is the amount of taxes paid by entrepreneurs over three years who took advantage of the state programme ‘Affordable loans 5-7-9%’.

This was noted by Andrii Hapon, Chairperson of the Board of the Business Development Fund, during an event to present the Fund’s updated mandate, “A Great Future for Small Business. Vision of the BDF: 2.0.”

According to him, ‘5-7-9%’ is a programme of 46 partner banks that have become the Fund’s hands in supporting business.

Andrii Hapon expressed his gratitude to the banks for believing in the programme at the time and joining its implementation. However, ‘5-7-9%’ is only the tip of the iceberg of all the programmes implemented by the Fund to support business. At the same time, the institution does not rest on its laurels and is constantly developing.

Recently, the Fund’s IT platform was recognised by the EU Commission as the best mechanism for determining winners in grant programmes in a fully automated mode.

The Fund has also become one of the initiators of the implementation of ESG standards for banks and enterprises that receive financing through the Fund. Banks have their own policies aimed at identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring environmental and social risks in the activities of enterprises.

The BDF takes social inclusion into account in its activities, as it understands that not all regions have equal access to financing. Military insurance has long been overdue, as the regions are close to the line of military action in a high military risk zone.

Finally, the speaker expressed his gratitude to everyone for their support and joint work.

‘We have confirmed our status as an institution worthy of support. Special thanks go to the German Government and KfW for the opportunity to transform the Fund. We would also like to thank the Ukrainian Government, which understood that it has a reliable tool in the BDF, which is ready to work for the benefit of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine,’ said Andrii Hapon.