The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it will allocate €1 million to Ukrainian businesses developing or adopting eco-friendly technologies in 2017 and 2018.
The funding will be provided in the framework of the Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change” (FINTECC), a technology transfer program which the EBRD is launching in Ukraine.
FINTECC is the main technology transfer programme of the EBRD in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. It was created to facilitate technology deployment in countries where technology market penetration is currently low. The programme fulfils its objectives through a combination of policy dialogue, technical assistance and grant financing.
In Ukraine, the program will target some 50 local businesses which may receive some €20,000 on average per company.
These companies will be provided with an “innovation voucher” to partially pay for an external expertise to facilitate innovations, development and improvement of climate technologies.
“Climate innovation is a fast-growing global market, which needs to be supported worldwide, including Ukraine. We believe that innovation vouchers will stimulate a rapid growth of small initiatives to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in Ukraine,” commented Sergiy Maslichenko, senior manager of Energy Efficiency and Climate Change at EBRD Ukraine.
Greencubator, a local NGO which promotes green entrepreneurship in Ukraine, has been selected to coordinate the project in Ukraine, Roman Zinchenko, head of Greencubator, told Ukraine Digital News.
Ukrainian eco-minded businesses can apply for the voucher starting today, March 28. The best candidates will be chosen by a team of experts from Greencubator and the EBRD’s Kyiv (Kiev) and London teams..
