USAID launches new GROW project to support Ukrainian credit unions

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has started implementing the new GROW Project to support Ukrainian credit unions, Ukrainian media reported with reference to USAID's statement available on its website.

"Through a partnership with the World Council of Credit Unions, USAID will expand its support to credit unions in Ukraine, enabling them to provide more lending to firms and individual entrepreneurs," it said.

With the initial investment of $5 million, the initiative begins this month and should run for four years.

The GROW Project will work closely with credit unions in Ukraine to develop processes, products, and partnerships maximizing credit union reach and positively impacting local communities and economies, it said.

It should also expand access to finance through credit unions for Ukrainians seeking to start a business and for existing businesses looking to expand their operations, including micro, small, and medium enterprises, cooperatives, and farms in rural areas, it said.

The project will also support Ukraine's long-term priority for further integration and accession into the European Union, including through facilitating the alignment of the national regulatory environment governing credit unions with the relevant EU regulations, it said.