Oschadbank Has Joined the Global WE Finance Code Initiative to Promote the Financing of Women-Led Businesses

Oschadbank has officially joined the global WE Finance Code initiative after signing a letter of intent. Participation in the program confirms the bank’s commitment to expanding financing opportunities for women-led businesses, implementing international best practices in supporting entrepreneurship  and helping to remove barriers that prevent access to financial resources.

By signing the letter of intent, Oschadbank has committed to ensuring the systematic development of its support for women’s entrepreneurship, monitoring and analyzing gender-based financing indicators, and expanding specialized products and programs for women entrepreneurs. Once the transition period is complete, the bank will report on the fulfilment of these commitments to the National Bank of Ukraine for their subsequent inclusion in the annual global reporting under the WE Finance Code.

This initiative is being implemented in Ukraine by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the National Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Ministry acts as the national coordinator for the WE Finance Code and oversees the coalition's activities. The WE Finance Code coalition comprises banks, credit unions, leasing companies and relevant financial sector associations, and with Oschadbank’s accession, its membership continues to grow.

Joining the WE Finance Code is a logical continuation of Oschadbank’s systematic efforts to support women’s entrepreneurship. As of the end of June 2026, the loan portfolio for women-led businesses in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) segment had reached UAH 5.2 billion. By way of comparison, at the start of 2022 this figure amounted to UAH 1.3 billion, that is, over the period of full-scale war, the volume of lending to women-led businesses has increased fourfold.

Today, women entrepreneurs account for 34% of Oschadbank’s MSME loan portfolio. Furthermore, they make up 40% of all non-repayable grant recipients, whose applications the bank verifies and supports as part of national and international entrepreneurship support programs.

”Throughout the full-scale war, the loan portfolio of women-led businesses at Oschadbank has increased fourfold to UAH 5.2 billion. That's the best evidence that women entrepreneurs remain one of our most dynamic client groups. We witness their resilience, adaptability and high level of financial discipline even in the current extremely challenging conditions. Therefore, we are successfully developing our own ‘Women’s Business’ ecosystem, which offers not just financing, but a comprehensive solution for starting and scaling up a business. This is a great honor for Oschad to join the global WE Finance Code community. We firmly believe that market leaders should not only implement best practices but also set the direction for development. That is why we have set ourselves an ambitious goal - along with other participants in the initiative, to create new financial solutions that will expand opportunities for Ukrainian women entrepreneurs and promote the development of this sector in Ukraine,” said Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, a Member of the Management Board of Oschadbank in charge of MSMEs.

A significant component of this work involves the bank's own program “Women's Business” which provides comprehensive support for women entrepreneurs. It offers funding for start-ups to purchase franchises of up to UAH 5 million and for agricultural projects of up to UAH 10 million, preferential lending terms including a deferral of principal repayment for up to 7-9 months, competitive interest rates, rapid processing of loan applications, the option to submit documents online, personalized manager's support and advisory assistance.

WE Finance Code is a global, multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at expanding women entrepreneurs’ access to finance. It is currently being implemented in more than 30 countries worldwide and brings together financial institutions, regulators, business associations and international partners to develop the financial ecosystem for women’s entrepreneurship.