“Own Business” grant programme: opportunities to start and scale up a business

The “Own Business” programme offers an opportunity to receive a state grant to start or develop your own business. The amount of grant support depends on the funding area and whether the applicant meets the specified conditions.

Starting your own business

A grant of between 100 and 300 thousand UAH is available to start a business. Including the bonuses provided for by the programme, the grant amount may reach 500 thousand UAH.

Main conditions:

• an individual must register as an individual entrepreneur or establish a legal entity within 20 calendar days of receiving the decision to award a grant. Veterans are required to register a veteran-owned business entity;
• creating jobs is not a mandatory condition for starting a business.

Scaling up your own business

Grants of between 500 thousand and 1.5 million UAH are available to develop and expand an existing business. Including bonuses, the grant amount may reach 2.5 million UAH.

Main conditions:

• the business entity must conclude a grant agreement and submit documents to the authorised bank to open an account within 10 working days of receiving the decision;
• creating at least one job is a mandatory condition.

Grant amount bonuses

The programme allows the basic grant amount to be increased depending on the applicant's characteristics, the location of the business and the intended use of the funds.

+5% to the grant amount:

• for recipients aged between 18 and 25 inclusive.

+20% to the grant amount:

• for veteran-owned business entities;
• for business entities registered as VAT payers;
• where there is a valid Ukrainian patent for an invention and/or utility model related to the business project;
• for internally displaced persons who have more than 6 months of entrepreneurial experience, or relocated enterprises;
• subject to a commitment to create 2 new jobs.

+30% to the grant amount:

• for business entities operating or planning to operate in frontline regions: Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions, and the Slavutych urban territorial community in Kyiv region;
• provided that the grant is used to replace fixed production assets destroyed or damaged as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

+50% to the grant amount:

• for projects in priority sectors of the economy specified in the annex to the Procedure for awarding grants to start or scale up one's own business, approved by Resolution No. 738 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 21 June 2022 “Certain issues of awarding grants to businesses”.

Who can receive a grant

The following may apply to participate in the programme:

• individuals aged 18 and over;
• individual entrepreneurs;
• legal entities governed by private law.

What grant funds can be used for

Grant funds can be used for the following expenses:

• Equipment and production assets: purchasing equipment, production assets and vehicles: up to 100% of the grant amount.
• Rent: renting premises and land plots: up to 25%; equipment: up to 10%.
• Business digitalisation: purchasing software: up to 25%; creating websites and automation: up to 10%; technical configuration: up to 20%.
• Marketing and brand development: advertising: up to 10%; packaging design and content creation: up to 50%.
• Intellectual property protection: trademark registration and patenting: up to 20%.

Does the grant have to be repaid?

The grant does not have to be repaid if the recipient fulfils the obligations specified by the programme.

In particular, the grant recipient must:

• pay taxes and the unified social contribution (USC) for themselves and their employees during the implementation of the project in an amount no less than the grant received. If the total amount of taxes and USC paid is less than the grant amount, the difference must be repaid within 2 months of the project's completion;
• if there is a commitment to create jobs, employ workers within 3 months of receiving the funds. Their employment must last between 18 and 54 months, depending on the duration of the project.

If property purchased with grant funds is destroyed as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, the grant does not have to be repaid. In this case, the applicant may apply for a grant again.

How to apply

An application for a grant is submitted through the Diia portal together with a business plan prepared in the prescribed format.

The process of obtaining a grant includes the following stages:

1. Submitting an application. The applicant completes an application on the Diia portal and attaches a business plan.
2. Bank verification. The authorised bank verifies the applicant's details and business reputation.
3. Interview. The applicant attends an interview at a regional employment centre.
4. Assessment and decision-making. The State Employment Centre reviews the assessment results and decides whether to award or refuse the grant.
5. Receiving the funds. Once the application is approved, the recipient completes the necessary formalities and receives the grant funds by cashless payment.

How applications are assessed

The assessment of applications consists of two stages.

1. Verification by the authorised bank

The bank verifies information about the applicant and their business reputation. A score of at least 99 points is required at this stage.

For young people without a business reputation and for veteran-owned businesses, the number of points received at the bank stage is multiplied by a factor of 1.25.

2. Interview at a regional employment centre

Based on the interview, the regional employment centre assesses the applicant against the established criteria and awards between 0 and 50 points.

To receive a grant, the applicant must score at least 130 points in the overall assessment. The assessment criteria are established by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

The State Employment Centre decides whether to award a grant within 20 calendar days of the application deadline.

If the number of applications meeting the established criteria exceeds the approved funding allocation for grants in the relevant budget period, funding is awarded to the applicants with the highest scores.

Applications that did not receive funding because of the limited budget are automatically considered in the next period within the established final application deadline. No reassessment is carried out; the original assessment is used.

The regional employment centre notifies the applicant of the decision to award or refuse the grant through their personal account on the Diia portal.