After five promising years, MEDA’s Ukrainian Horticulture Business Development Project has ended. Taking place in four southern regions of Ukraine, this project was funded by the Government of Canada and increased the incomes of thousands of small farmers and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the horticulture sector.
It provided incentive funds to encourage the development of new technologies, investment matching grants, production, post-harvest handling training, enhanced business capabilities and market linkages between SMEs and smallholder farmers. The project also included cooperative development and workforce competencies.
Highlights of the project include:
- 44,000 small farmers and horticulture small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) increased their incomes.
- 109 loans (with a total value of $7.3 million CAD/$5.79 million USD) were provided by MEGABANK, a local financial institution, to Ukrainian horticulture businesses. All loans have been fully repaid.
- $3 million CAD/$2.3 million USD was given to the First Loss Credit Guarantee Facility (FLCGF) which supported MEGABANK in providing access to funding for small and medium agri-business enterprises to grow local/regional supply chains and foster economic gains.
Through its FLCGF, MEDA incentivized MEGABANK to offer business loans to small horticulture enterprises in rural areas that lacked access to finance because of inadequate collateral. By covering half of the loans that could not be paid back, MEDA’s credit guarantee improved the financing that was offered to small enterprises such as fruit and vegetable growers, fruit and vegetable seedlings producers and exporters. As a result, these businesses and farmers further created value and market demand for their horticulture products.
MEDA is grateful for the hard work of the UHBDP staff and the support of its partner, the Government of Canada, to ensure that farmers and entrepreneurs in Ukraine can strengthen their ability to grow and improve their farms and businesses.
