In February 2024, under the Ukraine Facility’s Investment Framework, the European Commission agreed to allocate an amount of EUR 40m to increase the capacity of EU4 Business Guarantee Facility and EUR 150m of budgetary guarantee to support Ukrainian SMEs in response to the economic challenges resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion, inflationary trends, and the energy crisis.
The increase of EU4 Business Guarantee facility was signed in June 2025 and on 1st of October 2025, the European Investment Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission signed the EUR 150m guarantee agreement that will allow financial intermediaries to deploy a new capped guarantee scheme. For this new capped guarantee scheme, EIF will leverage its expertise in SME financing by providing capped guarantees to financial intermediaries, thereby enhancing access to finance for Ukrainian SMEs and SME+.
The origination activity under this portfolio is expected to include local currency lending in a material manner, which is expected to play a role in boosting access to finance for small businesses in this region. Benefits of the EU support for SMEs and SME+ may include reduced collateral requirements or lower financing costs, among others.
The Ukraine Facility Capped Guarantee is aiming to increase support for access to finance to Ukrainian SMEs and SME+ leveraging on the successful deployment of both EU4Business Guarantee Facility and DCFTA Initiative East Guarantee Facility by allocating EUR 150m of Commission Budgetary Guarantee to create a new portfolio of circa EUR 1 billion to support Ukrainian companies.
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Focus
The Ukraine Facility Capped Guarantee focuses on increasing support for access to finance to Ukrainian SMEs and SME+ leveraging on the successful deployment of both EU4Business Guarantee Facility and DCFTA Initiative East Guarantee Facility by allocating EUR 150m of Commission Budgetary Guarantee to create a new portfolio of circa EUR 1 billion to support Ukrainian companies.
Objective
In February 2024, under the Ukraine Facility’s Investment Framework, the European Commission agreed to allocate an amount of EUR 40m to increase the capacity of EU4 Business Guarantee Facility and EUR 150m of budgetary guarantee to support Ukrainian SMEs in response to the economic challenges resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion, inflationary trends, and the energy crisis.
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5M iDebt financing maturity range
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Information for financial intermediaries
Only financial intermediaries based in Ukraine which have not already applied for a direct guarantee issued by EIF, should answer to this Call for Expression of Interest also considering the specific indicative terms linked to the Ukraine Investment Framework, as outlined in the term-sheet below. New applications should be submitted by the Deadline.
Financial intermediaries that have already applied for or are benefiting from a direct guarantee under the EU4Business Guarantee Facility should not submit a new application under this Call. Instead, they are invited to contact the EIF services directly to explore any potential opportunities for further support within the Ukraine Investment Framework.
Also, as the Ukraine Facility Capped Guarantee is a successor of the EU4 Business Guarantee facility programme which was increased in June 2025, priority will be given to financial intermediaries which have already applied to call already published earlier this year.
How to apply
The EIF selects financial intermediaries based on applications received in response to the Call for Expression of Interest and following its standard screening and evaluation process. Interested applicants are invited to consult the detailed eligibility criteria and complete the call documentation here below.