55% of Oschadbank’s New MSME Customers in 2026 Will Be Women: The Bank Presented Its Experience in Women’s Entrepreneurship Support at the EFSE Conference

Yurii Voichak, the Director of the MSME Sales Department at Oschadbank, made these remarks during a panel discussion entitled “How to Turn Women’s Resilience into Growth” at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the European Fund for South-East Europe (EFSE), held in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event brought together around 250 representatives from financial institutions, the business sector, investors and international partners.

Oschadbank was represented by Yurii Voichak, the Director of the MSME Sales Department and Yulia Zhulanova, the Director of the MSME Lending and Support Department.

As part of the panel discussion, representatives from the financial sector and the business community discussed women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, barriers to business development and the role of banks and international partners in overcoming them.

Particular attention was paid to the Ukrainian experience during the discussion. According to Mr. Voichak, despite the full-scale war, women entrepreneurs are taking responsibility for their businesses and teams, relocating companies, restoring supply chains, entering new markets and continuing to operate amidst shelling and power cuts.

Currently, women comprise 43% of Oschadbank’s MSME active customers.

“The figures show just exactly the importance of women’s role in entrepreneurship for the Ukrainian economy. 55% of more than 10 000 new MSME customers that Oschadbank attracted in the first eight months of this year are women. For us, this is no longer just a niche market supported solely through social initiatives. It is a strategic customer segment and a vital component of economic recovery. We aim to help women-led businesses move from stability to growth. This requires long-term financing, guarantees and mechanisms for sharing war-related risks, along with training, mentoring, digital services and access to new markets’,” said Yurii Voichak.

Meanwhile, equal access to finance means not lowering risk assessment standards. As he pointed out, the banks should take into account the actual characteristics of the business and remove specific barriers faced by clients, such as excessive collateral requirements, complex documentation or lengthy decision-making processes.

Oschadbank promotes an ecosystem-based approach to supporting entrepreneurship, combining finance with partnership programmes, grants, training, advisory support and digital channels. For start-ups and franchise projects, financing of up to UAH 5 million is available, including a grace period of up to seven months; for agricultural businesses, up to UAH 10 million is available, along with a grace period of up to nine months. Partner guarantees help address issues of insufficient collateral, whilst digital channels make the financing process faster and more accessible.

As at September 1, 2026, women-led businesses accounted for 26 per cent of Oschadbank’s MSME loan portfolio. Between January and July 2026, they generated 36% of the bank’s commission income from MSME services.

Oschadbank’s international partnership plays an important role in supporting Ukrainian businesses. In particular, as part of its cooperation with EFSE, the bank currently has an agreement worth EUR 20 million in hryvnia equivalent. These funds are channelled into lending to Ukrainian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), enabling them to finance their development, preserve jobs and strengthen their resilience in the context of the war.

By way of participation in international professional discussions, Oschadbank shares Ukraine's experience in supporting entrepreneurs and discusses required instruments for further business development and economic recovery with financial institutions, investors and international partners.

“After three years, hopefully we will no longer be talking about how to help women-led businesses survive, but rather about how an increasing number of women-led companies are entering international markets, attracting investment and becoming new leaders in the recovery of Ukraine and the region,” concluded Yurii Voichak.

The European Fund for South-East Europe (EFSE) is one of the largest development funds of its kind, established in 2005 to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. EFSE operates through local financial institutions, providing them with resources to lend to entrepreneurs and promoting the development of accessible finance. Over the course of 20 years, the fund has invested over €5.3 billion in the development of MSMEs across 16 countries.