In Wartime Ukraine, Small Businesses Are Still Refusing to Close down
Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted operations for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses across the country, as employees fled, facilities were destroyed, and access to finance was constrained.
Black News 
A cosmetics company.
A workwear manufacturer.
Both faced devastation after Russia’s invasion.
Both kept going.
With backing from a World Bank loan program, over 21,000 Ukrainian firms have stayed open for business, created 50,000 jobs, and generated hundreds of millions in exports — all while the war continues.
Open for business
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 percent, 7 percent, or 9 percent) paid by the borrower.
The World Bank’s input
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 US$1.7 billion in private capital, supported around 21,000 SMEs, helped create or preserve over 50,000 jobs, and generated US$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.
The 5-7-9 program is a very good opportunity to access loan financing, whether for acquiring additional equipment that we need or for working capital.
This is extremely important, because in such a difficult period, it matters to know that you can keep operating and service loans with low interest rates.
Today, UNIKS employs more than 50 people and sells over 300 products, ranging from bath bombs and face masks to children’s hygiene products and household chemicals.
It exports to Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan and is looking to expand to other markets within the EU.
Promo-Tex Thrives
Lesia Maliuta founded Promo-Tex in 2011, sewing work gloves and simple clothes. Today, the company specializes in corporate, promotional and work clothes, and serves Ukraine’s largest employers: banks, pharmacies, retailers, gas stations, and delivery companies.
When the invasion began in 2022, most employees fled the Kyiv region, where the company is based.
Of Promo-Tex’s 154 employees, mostly women, only 54 remained.
“At the beginning of the war, we were almost left like tin soldiers.
There was no work.
There was fear; there was numbness.
And no understanding of how to live on,” Lesia reflects.
The financial pressure came quickly.
Suppliers demanded 100 percent upfront payment, while clients extended their payment deferrals.
Facing a cash flow gap, Lesia turned to the banks, which offered a 5-7-9 loan.
And then came the World Bank
The company took a loan for 13 million UAH [approximately US$295,000] to pay suppliers on time and redirect recovered funds to cover salaries and training for new employees who were internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Mariupol, Kharkiv, and other regions in eastern Ukraine.
In addition to the 5-7-9 program, the government provided Promo-Tex with a grant to upgrade its equipment, which attracted new workers and increased productivity.
In 30 years of work, I never thought that the government could help in any way and without demanding something in return. When we got this loan, this aid, frankly, I shed tears. I sat and thought to myself: maybe something is changing in the country.
RISE’s Impact on Ukraine’s Private Sector
With US$1 billion in financing, RISE disbursed 97 percent of its funds allocated for 2024 and 2025.
RISE consists of US$700 million from the ADVANCE Ukraine Trust Fund, supported by Japan, US$300 million from the World Bank Special Program for the Recovery of Ukraine and Moldova (SPUR), and US$10 million from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF).
RISE combines financing, policy reform, and institutional strengthening, focusing on improving the efficiency of SME support programs; strengthening the business environment and expanding digital government-to-business services; and enabling firms to access export markets.
RISE links disbursements directly to verified reforms and outcomes, ensuring accountability and impact at scale.
As such, it demonstrates how to deliver measurable, high-impact results in fragile and conflict settings, and provides a replicable model for private sector support in crisis environments.
Key results achieved by the end of 2025 include:
Over 97 percent of allocated funds disbursed, all linked to verified results
US$1.7 billion in private capital mobilized, including 20 percent to women-led SMEs
Around 21,746 firms benefited from the firm support programs of RISE
Around 50,222 new jobs have been created by the firms supported by RISE
US$318 million of export volumes generated by firms supported by RISE
Launch of Diia.Business 2.0 platform, with more than 500,000 visits and 90,000 SME accounts simplifying government to business interactions
3,000 SMEs supported through tailored advisory services
Adoption of a new Export Credit Agency Strategy, including war-risk coverage
Support to 10 export-oriented SME projects
Adoption of an ESG policy by the National Development Institution
More than 20 banks integrated ESG systems, covering 90 percent of 5-7-9 lending
