{"id":14854,"date":"2026-01-20T16:09:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.kse.ua\/news\/how-to-improve-financing-for-vulnerable-sme-groups-in-ukraine-analysis-by-kse-institute\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T13:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:42:31","slug":"how-to-improve-financing-for-vulnerable-sme-groups-in-ukraine-analysis-by-kse-institute","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/kse.ua\/en\/news\/how-to-improve-financing-for-vulnerable-sme-groups-in-ukraine-analysis-by-kse-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"How to improve financing for vulnerable SME groups in Ukraine \u2014 analysis by KSE Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Affordable financing for SMEs is vital to Ukraine\u2019s recovery. SMEs make up 99.8% of businesses, provide 74% of employment, and generate 64% of value added in the country. Due to the war, SMEs have faced severe disruptions. But despite extraordinary challenges, financial remains a key barrier. Limited working capital, scarce investment financing, high interest rates, and strict collateral requirements hinder SMEs\u2019 ability to maintain operations, invest in growth, and strengthen resilience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The challenges are most severe for vulnerable groups, including SMEs in war-affected areas, internally displaced persons (IDPs), war veterans and their families, women- and youth-led enterprises, persons with disabilities, returnees, and small farms. They face limited or restricted access to formal financial services, higher borrowing costs, and exclusion from credit, insurance, and investment opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To address these disparities, many financial actors have integrated inclusion objectives into their operations, aligning them with recovery agenda and large investment programmes. KSE Institute assesses state, EU, international partner, and commercial bank programmes, with particular attention to the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF). It examines how financial instruments and institutions support Ukrainian SMEs, with a focus on vulnerable groups. The goals are to map financing availability and to evaluate how inclusive these mechanisms are in practice and how they can be improved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Key takeaways aimed on:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Improving alignment of financial instruments with SME needs;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Enhancing awareness of available financing opportunities;\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 Strengthening institutional capacity to deliver accessible and inclusive products.<\/p>\n

High-level recommendations covering the interests of all vulnerable groups:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Expanding and geographically targeted risk-sharing instruments;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Simplifying lending procedures and collateral reform;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Strengthening financial literacy and awareness campaigns;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Improvement of integration of NBFIs and local institutions;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Introducing outcome-based performance monitoring to link support with tangible business growth.<\/p>\n

Recognising that uniform financial tools cannot address diverse wartime vulnerabilities, tailored recommendations are provided for each vulnerable group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

View the detailed recommendations in the full version of the study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The study \u201cAdvancing Inclusive SME Finance in Ukraine: Pathways for Supporting Vulnerable Entrepreneurs\u201d was funded by the British Embassy in Ukraine as part of the project \u201cUkraine\u2019s Economic Recovery Programme\u201d implemented by the KSE Institute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Affordable financing for SMEs is vital to Ukraine\u2019s recovery. SMEs make up 99.8% of businesses, provide 74% of employment, and generate 64% of value added in the country. Due to the war, SMEs have faced severe disruptions. But despite extraordinary challenges, financial remains a key barrier. Limited working capital, scarce investment financing, high interest rates,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[245],"tags":[250,248,249],"department":[],"news_type":[34],"project":[],"region":[216],"unit":[223],"class_list":["post-14854","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-investments-en","tag-eu-integration-en","tag-financial-instruments-en","tag-private-sector-en","news_type-news","region-ukraine","unit-institute-en"],"acf":{"primary_unit":223,"news_intro":"","header_cta_mode":"event","header_event_cta_text":"\u0414\u043e \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0456\u0457","header_event_cta_url":"","header_research_cta_text":"\u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u0432\u0441\u0435 \u0434\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0456\u0434\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f","header_research_pdf":null,"author_person":"","author_name":"","related_news":null,"related_events":[],"related_people":[],"related_links":null,"external_link":"","external_link_label":"","is_featured":false,"is_featured_archive":false,"quote_text":"","quote_author":"","quote_author_role":"","program_title":"\u0424\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0430\u0442 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430\u043c\u0438","program_items":null,"reference_title":"\u0414\u043e\u0432\u0456\u0434\u043a\u0430","reference_content":"","source_system":"migration","source_id":"65599","content_owner":"kse","last_reviewed":null,"visibility":"public","platform_id":"","platform_version":"","platform_managed":false},"yoast_head":"\nHow to improve financing for vulnerable SME groups in Ukraine \u2014 analysis by KSE Institute - KSE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kse.ua\/en\/news\/how-to-improve-financing-for-vulnerable-sme-groups-in-ukraine-analysis-by-kse-institute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to improve financing for vulnerable SME groups in Ukraine \u2014 analysis by KSE Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Affordable financing for SMEs is vital to Ukraine\u2019s recovery. 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