June 2024
CAP Project Support Leads to First Credit Union Loan Issued to a Legal Entity in Ukraine
Affordable finance is key to the operation and growth of every business. But micro-, small- and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in Ukraine are rarely the target audience for commercial banks, as their financing needs are too small in scale. Credit unions are often their financial partner of choice, providing loyal customer service through an individual, tailored approach, without the burdensome bureaucracy of a large bank. Yet, credit unions in Ukraine need support to strengthen their capacity and meet members’ needs, especially since the credit unions sector has lacked reform for more than 25 years.
The Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in Ukraine began as a four-year project (2016-2020) funded by USAID and implemented by World Council for Credit Unions (WOCCU). USAID has since extended the project twice, most recently through September 2024.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the USAID/WOCCU CAP Project has been responsive to market needs by working with credit unions, their national associations and the market regulator to ensure that credit unions can remain open and continue to serve their communities by providing access to savings and agricultural loans to support local food security and other individual member needs.
The CAP Project's main goal is to improve the ability of Ukraine’s credit unions to provide farmers and their micro, small, and medium enterprises with access to agricultural credit by meeting four key objectives:
As of December 2023, the CAP Project's partner credit unions extended 20,000 agricultural loans for a total of US $26 million, with over 4,000 of those loans disbursed in wartime.
2023 Year in Review
Saving Animals in Wartime Ukraine
CAP Project Support Leads to First Credit Union Loan Issued to a Legal Entity in Ukraine
Regulatory Compliance Accounts for One-Third of Ukrainian Credit Unions’ Operating Expenses