Shmyhal urges population to buy Ukrainian goods, asks retail chains to prioritize Ukrainian products
MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has urged people to buy Ukrainian goods and asked retail chains to prioritize Ukrainian products.
"Support to Ukrainian business under the current circumstances means support to the Ukrainian economy. I am urging everyone to buy Ukrainian goods and use Ukrainian materials, while retail chains should prioritize Ukrainian products," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Friday.
This is what every citizen can do to make the national economy stronger, he said.
Meanwhile, the government has launched three grant programs to support business, Shmyhal said. "Firstly, there are grants to open and develop processing enterprises. They could be operating in the areas of woodworking, metalworking, processing of agricultural produce, furniture production, and construction," he said.
The government will give grants up to UAH8 million to the existent owners of processing businesses or those wishing to start such business, Shmyhal said. The grants can be spent on buying equipment. The main requirement is to create at least 25 jobs. The business owner must invest at least 30% of own equity in the project to qualify for the grant. It is also necessary to present a working business idea, he said.
The government has approved a grant program for the IT sector and high-tech startups. The grants will be ranging from UAH750,000 to UAH3.5 million and at least five jobs must be created.
In addition, the government has launched a grant program, Start in IT, for IT education with a budget of UAH8 billion, Shmyhal said. Thus, the government is planning to fund education grants of up to UAH30,000 for 60,000 Ukrainians. The money could be spent on paying for classes or courses to be named by the Digital Transformation Ministry.
This is not a program for students or professionals; it is for people who have lost their jobs or are having downtime and wish to acquire new skills as an IT developer or web designer, Shmyhal said.
