The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested 812 million euros in 34 Ukrainian projects last year.
That’s 288 million euros less than the EBRD’s 2019 investment of 1.1 billion euros into 51 local projects.
According to the bank, Ukraine was the third top recipient of funds in 2020, after Turkey and Egypt. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EBRD invested a record 11 billion euros to support businesses in 38 countries, including Ukraine.
In 2020, the EBRD, one of Ukraine’s largest international financial investors, was constantly in touch with Ukrainian authorities to understand what the country needed, according to the bank’s regional managing director Matteo Patrone. Over the year, the bank has given loans to Ukrainian businesses and public sector projects across industries including infrastructure, agriculture and aviation.
Infrastructure
In 2020, the EBRD gave a 450 million euro loan to state road agency Ukravtodor. Ukraine needs large investments into its highway network, whose quality is among the worst in the world. Of the 45,000 kilometers of Ukrainian roads, more than two-thirds are in poor or critical condition, according to Ukravtodor head Oleksandr Kubrakov.
Kubrakov told the Kyiv Post that in 2020 Ukraine received 900 million euros from the EBRD and the European Investment Bank to build a 314-kilometer Kyiv-Odesa highway and a northern bypass of the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.
The EBRD also said that it helped Ukravtodor fight corruption and supported transparent procurement. Earlier in July, Ukravtodor’s former head, Polish citizen Slawomir Novak, was arrested on corruption charges. During his 2016-2019 tenure in Ukravtodor, Novak allegedly ran a scheme to steal funds that international financial organizations allocated for road repair.
Last year, the EBRD also gave a 63 million euro loan to state postal operator Ukrposhta. The state-owned behemoth, known for its slow delivery and rough service, needed the money to build new sorting centers and modernize its tech in Ukraine’s towns and villages.
Aviation
To support Ukraine’s aviation, the EBRD invested 25 million euros in air traffic services enterprise (UkSATSE), which is responsible for navigation in the Ukrainian airspace.
Ukraine’s aviation industry suffered during the strict international travel restrictions that many countries including Ukraine imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
According to the EBRD, the loan will help the company withstand the economic crisis and return to normal operation in the future.
Businesses
In 2020, the EBRD invested 93 million euros to support small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. For example, in August the bank gave a loan to the Ukrainian supermarket chain Novus.
With the $100-million syndicated loan from the EBRD and other commercial banks, Novus plans to build 30 new supermarkets across Ukraine and the country’s first eco-friendly warehouse in Kyiv. Over the past eight years, the EBRD has also agreed to lend Novus $75 million, the company said.
Another Ukrainian business, tech startup Allset, raised $8.2 million in a financing round led by EBRD in 2020. Allset develops online services for restaurants and needed money during the lockdown when restaurants had to suspend their work.
Last year the EBRD also gave money to Ukrainian retailer Fozzy, real estate company Astarta and agriculture companies Nibulon, Grain Alliance, Agrofusion and Kormotech.
