A Ukrainian bank issued the first available loan under the preferential lending programme for defense industry manufacturers developed by the Ministry of Strategic Industries. The first loan, amounting to 100 million UAH for working capital for one year at 5% interest, was granted to a manufacturer of electronic warfare (EW) and radio-electronic protection (REP) systems.
“The government is constantly working to ease the conditions for Ukrainian defense manufacturers. It is important for us that companies have the resources to develop production capabilities, update equipment, and improve products. The affordable loan programme, which started this year, has financing for the next year — 500 million UAH. We hope that this funding will contribute to the development of enterprises, and as a result, to faster delivery of weapons and equipment to the Defense Forces,” said the Minister for Strategic Industries, Herman Smetanin.
Recall that the preferential loan programme was launched this year. Ukrainian defense manufacturers can receive up to 100 million UAH for working capital for up to 3 years or up to 500 million UAH for investment projects for up to 5 years. For enterprises, the interest rate is 5%, with the rest covered by the state.
The goal of the loan programme is to provide manufacturers with financial opportunities to scale production, acquire equipment and individual machines, purchase components, create new developments, and launch them into serial production.
The only requirement for obtaining the loan is that the enterprise must be designated by the Ministry of Strategic Industries as critical for the functioning of the economy in a special period within the defense sector.
