Business Development Fund and the Council of Europe Development Bank Prepare a New €20 Million Microbusiness Support Program

The Business Development Fund (BDF) held a working meeting with Christian Tabacaru, Director of the Lending and Social Development Department of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The parties discussed progress in preparing a new program aimed at supporting microbusinesses in Ukraine, to be financed through a CEB loan of approximately €20 million.

The program will include several key components:

➡️ Loan component — financing micro-entrepreneurs through a network of partner financial institutions.

➡️ Grant-support component — providing grants to compensate up to 20% of investment costs initially financed through the loan.

Christian Tabacaru emphasized that microbusinesses are a critically important segment of the European economy — while they may not always have a significant impact on GDP, they create jobs, stimulate self-employment, and encourage people to start their own businesses.

The target group of the program will include registered microbusinesses already operating in the market, as well as a new category of participants — household farms, to encourage their transition to formal entrepreneurship and access to financial resources.

One of the key features of the initiative will be the expansion of partner organizations: financing is expected to be provided not only through banks but also through non-bank financial institutions — particularly credit unions.

At the first stage, a small group of institutions will be selected for pilot implementation. The program is designed for a five-year period. Necessary approvals from the Government of Ukraine and the CEB are expected in the first half of 2026, with funds potentially becoming available to Ukrainian entrepreneurs through partner financial institutions in the second half of 2026.

The new program aims to strengthen microenterprise development, create new employment opportunities, and enhance the economic resilience of communities across various regions of Ukraine.