The Ministry of Economic Development, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine held a working meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — a governmental institution of the Japanese government that implements international development programs and supports partner countries in rebuilding their economies, modernization, and the development of the private sector.
During the discussion, JICA presented a new component of its project to support SMEs, which started in October 2025. Its goal is to determine what future support from the Japanese government may look like in the development of Ukrainian businesses, especially innovative companies and joint Ukrainian-Japanese projects.
Main Directions of Financial Support
- technical assistance — launching pilots of joint projects, strengthening institutions like the USF;
- financial support — creating investment funds, credit instruments, co-financing models.
The agency has processed five possible models of financial cooperation with Ukraine.
JICA emphasized that deep legislative changes are needed to launch FoF in Ukraine, while credit instruments could work faster.
Advantages of JICA's New Mechanisms
- reduce startups' dependence on grant financing;
- attract long-term investment capital;
- create more opportunities for Ukrainian-Japanese technology projects;
- help Ukrainian companies scale to international markets.
The Ministry of Economy, together with JICA, is exploring new ways of financial support for Ukrainian businesses and startups, which will contribute to their development and expansion internationally.