Oschadbank Teamed Up with Mercy Corps at URC 2026 to Support Ukrainian Businesses and Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship

Oschadbank and Mercy Corps international organization signed a memorandum of cooperation at Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk.

Under the memorandum, the parties agreed to join forces to restore and enhance the resilience of Ukrainian businesses through the development of digital lending, implementation of inclusive financial services, and joint training initiatives. The partners will focus their efforts on supporting women’s entrepreneurship, particularly by improving women leaders’ access to capital through the FinanceHer program.

“Oschadbank consistently supports the development of women’s entrepreneurship. Today, women lead a significant portion of the businesses in our MSME customer portfolio: they account for 38% of individual entrepreneurs and 32% of legal entities. The loan portfolio for women-led businesses has grown 4.2 times since the beginning of 2022 and exceeded UAH 5 billion as of the start of the year. At the same time, we see significant demand for targeted support programs for women entrepreneurs. Therefore, developing our partnership with Mercy Corps and implementing initiatives such as FinanceHer are crucial for expanding economic opportunities for women in Ukraine,” noted Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Member of the Management Board of Oschadbank in charge of MSMEs.

“The war has brought unprecedented challenges for Ukrainian entrepreneurs, in particular for micro- and small businesses, which form the backbone of local economies. Our collaboration with Oschadbank will enable us to pool our resources to overcome business-related challenges, particularly those of an informational and financial nature. Our shared focus on digitizing services and expanding economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs will contribute to creating a more resilient and inclusive ecosystem for Ukraine’s recovery,” said Vicki Aken, Mercy Corps Country Director for Ukraine.

The partnership will be guided by the principles of voluntary cooperation, transparency, and personal data protection pursuant to Ukrainian law and European GDPR standards. The memorandum is a framework agreement on cooperation and does not entail any financial obligations between the parties.

The need to strengthen such support is also confirmed by market research data collected by Oschadbank to gain a deeper understanding of business needs. According to a survey of women entrepreneurs, 54% of respondents are highly interested in targeted banking programs. At the same time, 62% of those surveyed had already sought financing, and 43% intend to seek further financing in the coming year. Among the key challenges to scaling their businesses, female entrepreneurs cited a lack of capital (67%), challenges in finding qualified staff (43%), and a lack of relevant knowledge (23%).

The joint initiatives of Oschadbank and Mercy Corps are focused on addressing these pressing issues facing Ukrainian businesses, building on the systematic development of financial instruments, an area where Oschadbank is already leading the way. In particular, women account for 34% of the Bank’s business borrowers and 40% of its business grant beneficiaries.

For reference:

Mercy Corps is an international non-governmental organization focused on humanitarian aid and development, operating in more than 40 countries worldwide. In Ukraine, the organization supports the recovery of small and medium-sized businesses, the agricultural sector, and self-employment; implements economic resilience programs; and provides multi-purpose humanitarian aid to the public.