The state can provide financing to businesses through various support programs

Next year, the government intends to double funding for the business development grant program. The main emphasis will be on the conditions under which the state is ready to provide Ukrainians with financial support to start their own business.

To reduce unemployment and revitalize the economy, Ukrainians are provided with grants to open and develop their own businesses. The state project “eRobot” includes several programs, among them “Vlasna on the Right”. As part of the latter, in 2024 they plan to issue 14 thousand grants worth UAH 3.5 billion, which is twice as much as this year. A separate direction of “Vlasna Prava” is grants to veterans for the development of entrepreneurship. In 2024, the government intends to issue 1,300 grants specifically to veterans or their second spouse. Also next year, the government grant program “eRobot” will continue to operate for the development of horticulture, viticulture and berry growing, greenhouse farming and processing enterprises. The focus tells you under what conditions you can receive a grant and what obligations are imposed on the winners of the competition.

“Own business”: who can get 250 thousand hryvnia

Since the beginning of 2023, the State Employment Center has reviewed 20 thousand applications for microgrants as part of the “Vlasna on the Right” project. Of these, positive decisions were made regarding 7.3 thousand recipients. Grants were issued in the amount of 1.7 billion hryvnia on the terms of creating 24 thousand new jobs. Almost a third of the winners were involved in the trade sector.

• 31% - trade;
• 16% - processing industry;
• 16% - temporary accommodation and food;
• 6% - professional activity;
• 6% - healthcare. Almost a third of the winners were involved in the trade sector.

Both existing individual entrepreneurs or legal entities, as well as new entrepreneurs, can apply for the Vlasna Prava grant. The requirements for applicants are determined by clause 8 of the Procedure for providing microgrants for creating or developing your own business, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of June 21, 2022 No. 738 . In particular, an application for a grant to open or develop your own business can be submitted by:

• citizens of Ukraine, individual entrepreneurs - citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 65 years, as well as legal entities whose ultimate beneficial owners are citizens of Ukraine;
• who, as of the date of filing the application, are not actually located and do not carry out economic activities in the territories of active hostilities  or territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list of territories in which hostilities are (were) ongoing or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation , approved by the Ministry of Reintegration, for which the end date of hostilities or temporary occupation has not been determined;
• do not carry out economic activities on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus;
• are not classified as legal entities or individuals to whom special economic and other restrictive measures sanctions ) are applied by the relevant decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, put into effect by decrees of the President of Ukraine on the application of personal (special) economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) in accordance with the Law of Ukraine " About sanctions";
• in respect of which bankruptcy proceedings have not been initiated and/or which have not been declared bankrupt, and/or which are not at the stage of liquidation;
• are not credit organizations, insurance organizations, investment funds, non-state pension funds, professional participants in the securities market, pawnshops;
• do not produce and/or sell weapons, alcoholic beverages , tobacco products, or currency exchange.

“In order to use this service, you do not need to register as unemployed. At the same time, a person who has the status of registered unemployed can also apply for a grant,” the State Employment Center to Focus

Participants in the “Own Business” program can receive up to 250 thousand UAH. Funds are issued against certain obligations. “A mandatory condition of the microgrant agreement is the creation, within six months from the date of crediting of funds to the recipient’s account in an authorized bank, of jobs, depending on the size of the microgrant, determined by paragraph 4 of the Procedure, and the employment of persons on them for a period of at least 24 months during the three-year implementation period project ​In case of dismissal of employees employed before the end of the 24-month period from the date of employment, other persons must be employed in their jobs within the specified period,” the Center reported in response to a request from Focus .

In particular, if you receive 150 thousand hryvnia, you need to create one job, but if a grant is provided in the amount of 250 thousand hryvnia, at least two jobs. Also, grant recipients must carry out business activities for at least three years after receiving funds and pay taxes and fees on time, the department added.

In addition, it is important that the entrepreneur to whom the government allocates money returns the amount of the grant with taxes paid. “In the event that the recipient, during the three-year period of project implementation, paid taxes and fees in an amount that is less than the micro-grant received, this difference must be returned by the recipient no later than the last working day of the month in which the three-year period expires,” noted the State Center employment.

The government grant can be used for…

• purchase of furniture, equipment, vehicles (to be used for commercial and production purposes);
• purchase of licensed software, pets and poultry, perennial plants, seedlings, seeds, raw materials, supplies, goods and services related to the implementation of the business plan (such expenses should total no more than 50% of the microgrant size);
• marketing and advertising services (such expenses should be no more than 10% of the microgrant size);
• rent for the use of non-residential premises, land that will be used for commercial and production purposes (no more than 25% of the microgrant size);
• rent for equipment (no more than 10%);
• leasing of equipment, except for cars, motorcycles and other vehicles for personal use (no more than 50%);
• use of the rights of other business entities in business activities (commercial concession).

Registration, idea, application: how to apply for a state grant program

To take part in the program you need:

1. Register in the citizen's account on the portal diia.gov.ua using BankID or electronic signature. Individual entrepreneurs or legal entities need to use the key of the individual entrepreneur or the head of the legal entity from the EDRPOU of the enterprise.
2. Fill out the online application.
3. Attach a business plan created using the form .
4. Sign the application electronically and submit.

If an applicant has questions about the program, you can consult at an Oschadbank branch or at employment centers. The latter also provide business planning training services. Until the end of this year, new applications will not be accepted; processing of those already submitted continues. However, the program will be extended for next year and applications will start approximately in February (at least, this was the case in 2023), Focus at the Employment Center.

Who will be given a grant and who will be denied: how the winner is determined

The decision to provide a microgrant is made by the State Employment Center within 15 working days based on information from the authorized bank based on the results of checking the business reputation of the recipient and the information specified in the application, as well as an assessment of the interview with the recipient conducted by regional employment centers . Business reputation verification is carried out according to criteria, such as the presence of court cases in which the recipient is accused, suspected or convicted; open enforcement proceedings in which the recipient is a debtor, etc.

The regional employment center conducts a personal interview with recipients whose applications, based on the results of a bank check, scored 99 or more points and forwards the interview results to the State Employment Center. Based on the interview results, you can get from 0 to 50. The points assigned by the regional employment center are added to the points established by the authorized bank to determine the final score.

Business plans that, based on the assessment results, have scored 130 points or more are allowed for consideration by the State Employment Center. The State Employment Center has the right to refuse to provide a microgrant to a recipient due to opacity or questionable expected results of the implementation of a business plan or due to the conditions for applying for a microgrant by those who have already received it. If there are no grounds for refusal, the State Employment Center makes a decision to provide microgrants to participants who have scored the highest cumulative number of points. Regional employment centers inform the recipient about the decision made by sending a message to the recipient’s account on the “Diya” Portal.

The grant is issued on a non-repayable basis. However, the funds will have to be returned if the following conditions are not met: at least one job is not created within 6 months. from the date of receipt of funds; state-funded activities will be carried out for less than three years and if the entrepreneur participating in the program does not pay taxes to the budget, in particular, for the employment of workers.