Прессконференция, посвященная первым результатам кредитования малого и среднего бизнеса в рамках грантовой программы Проекта USAID "Реформирование финансового сектора" и ОТП Банка

OTP Bank-USAID Program Provides Reduced Rates for Micro, Small and Medium Businesses
USAID Financial Sector Reform Activity and OTP Bank launched a joint program to expand access to capital for micro-, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The USAID grant of $1.2 million allows OTP Bank to offer low-interest financing for roughly 100 companies operating in critical sectors of the economy, affected by war, as well as the companies with women in the business ownership structure, and in need for factoring financing.
USAID Financial Sector Reform Activity engages financial partners to support small and medium companies. “This type of grant program with financial intermediaries takes advantage of established networks and procedures to identify and provide businesses with short- and long-term credit and investment loans,” said Kim Kim Yee, Director, Office of Economic Growth, USAID/Ukraine.
The joint program supports MSMEs through targeted financing at an annual interest rate of 7%. “Cooperation of OTP Bank with USAID is very important as it opens access to lending under special terms and conditions for Ukrainian companies. OTP Bank was the first bank in Ukraine that was awarded a USAID grant in 2023 to compensate the interest rate on financing instruments. OTP Bank offers several programs sponsored by international financial organizations that are already having a real impact on the economy. The OTP Bank’s strategy is to be a trusted partner for international investors with grants and programs of international lending to businesses for economic recovery and development”, said Volodymyr Mudryi, Chairman of the Management Board, OTP Bank in Ukraine.
During the first month after the launch of the program, the bank signed loan agreements at a reduced interest rate worth more than UAH 175 million with 25 companies, informed Olha Volkova, Director of Sales to Small and Medium Corporate Clients, OTP Bank. “To date, in the framework of the project, most of the loan agreements have been executed with agricultural producers and companies from the sectors critical to the country’s economy. Another important component of the program is support to companies with women in their ownership structure – in the first month, almost a third of all loans were granted to businesswomen. Today, we are witnessing a very high demand for loans with unique terms for the domestic market, especially from agricultural producers, for whom the interest rate is 0.1% per annum when combining the USAID program and the bank’s partner agricultural suppliers. Meanwhile, we would like to increase financial support for the companies that lost their assets during the war and were forced to relocate their business. The bank also focuses on factoring agreements for manufacturers and wholesale companies that always need additional working capital”, — Olha Volkova noted.
The beneficiaries under USAID and the OTP award are businesses affected by war or critical to the economic recovery that qualify for the program and meet the bank’s requirements for borrowers.
The first OTP loan recipient was the Family Agriculture Production Cooperative in Izmail, Odesa Oblast. With the USAID grant, the business received a loan at the rate that for the first year, was almost three times lower than prevailing market rates, and purchased seeds, which have already been planted on 1.6 thousand hectares of land.
Yuriy Mykhailutsa, the Head of the Cooperative, said, “It became more difficult to survive – everything needed to grow crops became more expensive, and only the price of our products fell, leading to the cooperative’s unprofitability. This money is needed to maintain the pace of our work in such a difficult time.”
The sewing workshop eligible for the program also received financing for its operations at a low interest rate. After a Russian missile ruined their production facilities, they were forced to relocate and resume their business in Kyiv region. OTP Bank’s funds will be used to purchase fabrics, pay salaries, and support operations at the new facility.
Under the grant program, a part of the funds is earmarked for replenishing the working capital of MSMEs through factoring. “Financing of debts for goods delivered or services rendered is an underdeveloped product for Ukrainian banks and financial companies, and we are investing in its development as it is common in Europe. Factoring reinforces cash flow of businesses, enables access to the money blocked in unpaid invoices, and generally increases the transparency of the economy,” Volodymyr Mudryi said.
OTP Bank’s proposal was one of the four finalists selected from 89 applications in the market for the grant financing in 2023. USAID funds the program to enhance the financial resilience of businesses, allowing them to grow, and retain or create jobs.