Open for Business: Supporting Ukraine's Small Businesses In Wartime

When Russia's invasion began in 2022, it was the second time that Tetiana Byts, a small business owner, had to shut down her company to wait out the war. Tetiana is the co-owner of UNIKS, a company that makes cosmetics and household chemicals. Founded in 2001 in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, UNIKS closed in 2014 when Russia occupied the area and Tetiana and her co-owner fled toward Kyiv. Two years later, they restarted the company from scratch in Makariv, with a team of four people. By 2022, UNIKS employed 33 people. When the invasion started, Makariv was among the first towns to be occupied. The frontline ran directly along the fence of UNIKS’s production facility. “All our employees were forced to leave the town, and production stopped,” says Tetiana. Three months later Makariv was liberated, but the building was damaged. “There wasn’t a single intact window left, the roof was damaged, and some walls were pierced through,” Tetiana recalls. But most of the equipment remained intact. “The [cream] reactor was working. We realized that we could continue operating and that everything would be fine, that things would get back on track.” Tetiana had previously purchased the cream reactor with financing from Ukraine’s Affordable Loans 5-7-9 program, a government initiative that subsidizes borrowing costs for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Implemented by Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the program compensates banks for the difference between the market interest rate and the preferential rate (5%, 7%, or 9%) paid by the borrower. The 5-7-9 program is financed as part of the World Bank Group’s Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship” (RISE) program to support Ukraine’s private sector during wartime. RISE is helping businesses stay open, workers stay employed, and exports reach global markets—while laying the foundations for recovery, reconstruction, and EU accession. Through financing, reform, and institutional strengthening, it has already mobilized $1.7 billion in private capital, supported around 21,000 SMEs, helped create or preserve over 50,000 jobs, and generated $318 million in export volumes. UNIKS accessed $385,000 in loan financing through 5-7-9. The funds covered operating costs, and in 2024 the company purchased an additional 50-liter cream reactor and packaging machines.