top of page

French mechanisms to support businesses in Ukraine



The French Republic has implemented various economic mechanisms to support businesses in Ukraine, recognizing the importance of fostering growth and stability in the country's economy. Through these mechanisms, France aims to encourage the reconstruction of Ukraine and its business, as well as the modernization of such sectors as infrastructure, energy, and ecology to accelerate EU membership. Among these mechanisms – Support of Exporting to Ukraine, Grants, Treasury loans, and State-guaranteed private credit.

These programs were presented during the European Business Association and Global Business for Ukraine meeting with the Head of the Economic Department for Ukraine and Moldova from the French Embassy in Kyiv within the framework of the Ukrainian-French Cooperation Week.

Hence, grant – Fonds d'Etudes et d'Aide au Secteur Privé finances technical and innovative projects worth from €100 thousand to €500 thousand to engage French firms in technology development on a larger scale. There is no concrete budget for this initiative, the amount of allocated funds depends on the number of projects and their quality. Dozens of companies have already applied for financing and around 10 received grant money. One such successful case is the Neo-Eco project in Hostomel aims to transform deconstruction materials into new residential buildings, becoming the starting point for the renovation of Ukraine. However, not necessarily project has to be related to the reconstruction, again, everything depends on the quality, however, a very important criteria – it has to be a French business in Ukraine.

Another mechanism is French Treasury loans of €10 million for all firms to finance development projects (infrastructure and services). This is a loan from the French government to the foreign one, a recipient should be a public agent with a state guarantee. The loans are very advantageous because their terms are generous, with strong political support, close monitoring, and competitive financial terms. 150 km of Ukrainian railways have been repaired using rails supplied by Saarstahl to Ukrzaliznytsia under a loan from the French Treasury. The process of obtaining can take 4-6 months as needed to be signed by the State Ministry of Finance. Any company that wants to apply has to make sure that that promotes big infrastructural things from France to Ukraine.

The state-guaranteed private credit for commercial transactions aims at financing a commercial export contract of capital goods and services. The guarantee acts as a safeguard for lenders, reducing their risk and encouraging them to provide credit to businesses that may otherwise face difficulties in accessing financing. The French Minister of Economy and Finance is authorized to grant a state guarantee for commercial transactions that contribute to the development of France's foreign trade, thereby securing large capacities. Public guarantees are managed by Bpifrance Assurance Export (€ ~70 billion outstanding and 1,400 firms supported in 2021). Buyer of the credit insurance is the main French official instrument aims at financing a commercial export contract of capital goods & services and covers lending banks against the risk of non-payment of loan installments by the borrower. One notable feature of this program is that there are no limitations on the number of users of the state-guaranteed private credit mechanism. A French content requirement of 20% of the exported amount of the contract. Export contracts can represent a significant part of project costs. The decision to grant this support could be made quicker (depending on the bank).

We thank France for the support and really hope that these instruments will be valuable for businesses (in particular, French businesses that work in Ukraine).


The French Republic has implemented various economic mechanisms to support businesses in Ukraine, recognizing the importance of fostering growth and stability in the country's economy. Through these mechanisms, France aims to encourage the reconstruction of Ukraine and its business, as well as the modernization of such sectors as infrastructure, energy, and ecology to accelerate EU membership. Among these mechanisms – Support of Exporting to Ukraine, Grants, Treasury loans, and State-guaranteed private credit.

These programs were presented during the European Business Association and Global Business for Ukraine meeting with the Head of the Economic Department for Ukraine and Moldova from the French Embassy in Kyiv within the framework of the Ukrainian-French Cooperation Week.

Hence, grant – Fonds d'Etudes et d'Aide au Secteur Privé finances technical and innovative projects worth from €100 thousand to €500 thousand to engage French firms in technology development on a larger scale. There is no concrete budget for this initiative, the amount of allocated funds depends on the number of projects and their quality. Dozens of companies have already applied for financing and around 10 received grant money. One such successful case is the Neo-Eco project in Hostomel aims to transform deconstruction materials into new residential buildings, becoming the starting point for the renovation of Ukraine. However, not necessarily project has to be related to the reconstruction, again, everything depends on the quality, however, a very important criteria – it has to be a French business in Ukraine.

Another mechanism is French Treasury loans of €10 million for all firms to finance development projects (infrastructure and services). This is a loan from the French government to the foreign one, a recipient should be a public agent with a state guarantee. The loans are very advantageous because their terms are generous, with strong political support, close monitoring, and competitive financial terms. 150 km of Ukrainian railways have been repaired using rails supplied by Saarstahl to Ukrzaliznytsia under a loan from the French Treasury. The process of obtaining can take 4-6 months as needed to be signed by the State Ministry of Finance. Any company that wants to apply has to make sure that that promotes big infrastructural things from France to Ukraine.

The state-guaranteed private credit for commercial transactions aims at financing a commercial export contract of capital goods and services. The guarantee acts as a safeguard for lenders, reducing their risk and encouraging them to provide credit to businesses that may otherwise face difficulties in accessing financing. The French Minister of Economy and Finance is authorized to grant a state guarantee for commercial transactions that contribute to the development of France's foreign trade, thereby securing large capacities. Public guarantees are managed by Bpifrance Assurance Export (€ ~70 billion outstanding and 1,400 firms supported in 2021). Buyer of the credit insurance is the main French official instrument aims at financing a commercial export contract of capital goods & services and covers lending banks against the risk of non-payment of loan installments by the borrower. One notable feature of this program is that there are no limitations on the number of users of the state-guaranteed private credit mechanism. A French content requirement of 20% of the exported amount of the contract. Export contracts can represent a significant part of project costs. The decision to grant this support could be made quicker (depending on the bank).

We thank France for the support and really hope that these instruments will be valuable for businesses (in particular, French businesses that work in Ukraine).

Comments


bottom of page