25.09.2026
Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses are investing increasingly actively in their own energy supply, while the share of energy storage systems in loan applications is growing alongside solar power projects. Denys Samchuk, Deputy Director of the Sales Department for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Businesses at Oschadbank, discussed financing trends, equipment supplier requirements and available guarantee and grant instruments during the Energy Club forum “Energy Freedom: Resilience and New Opportunities in Ukraine’s Energy Storage Market,” held in Kyiv on 17 September.
At the beginning of his presentation, Denys Samchuk explained that Oschadbank’s micro, small and medium-sized business segment includes legal entities with annual revenue of up to UAH 2 billion. The figures he presented related specifically to this category of clients and did not include financing for large corporations, with which the bank also works.
According to the Oschadbank representative, business demand for financing energy projects was almost non-existent in 2022. The situation remained similar throughout 2023. Significant growth began in 2024 and continued in 2025-2026. “Demand for energy projects at our bank has effectively grown from zero. It was almost non-existent in 2022 and remained at nearly the same level in 2023. In 2024-2025, the volume of financed projects already amounted to approximately UAH 1 billion per year, while we are closing 2026 at the level of UAH 2 billion,” Denys Samchuk reported.
These figures demonstrate that investments in self-generation and energy storage are gradually moving from individual emergency measures to a systematic area of capital investment for small and medium-sized businesses.
Initially, solar generation projects accounted for the majority of loan applications. According to Denys Samchuk, solar panels represented approximately 60% of the energy projects financed.
In recent years, the bank has been receiving an increasing number of requests to install energy storage systems. Some clients are adding batteries to solar power plants constructed earlier. At the same time, new applications increasingly involve integrated solutions in which solar generation and storage are designed and financed together. “Most of the initial projects – around 60% – involved solar panels. Only in recent years have we begun receiving more requests for energy storage systems. Many applications concern adding storage to existing solar power plants, while the latest requests already involve integrated solutions combining solar panels and storage,” the Oschadbank representative said.
As an example, he referred to a project in the Khmelnytskyi region for which the bank signed an agreement approximately one week before the forum. The project involves the construction of a large solar power plant with a 50 MW energy storage system. “This is one of the most recent projects that we have approved and already financed: the construction of a large solar power plant in the Khmelnytskyi region together with a 50 MW storage system,” Denys Samchuk reported.
He identified the government’s Affordable Loans 5-7-9% programme as one of the main instruments supporting energy investments by small and medium-sized businesses. According to him, a significant share of these projects is financed using this mechanism.
Oschadbank also develops joint lending programmes with manufacturers and suppliers of energy equipment. Under these models, the manufacturer may cover part of the interest rate, reducing the cost of financing for the final customer. “We develop dedicated programmes together with manufacturers of energy equipment. The manufacturer covers part of the interest rate, and the rate for the final customer can sometimes be reduced to as little as zero per cent during the first year,” the speaker said.
The identity of the equipment supplier and installer is important to the bank. Oschadbank works primarily with accredited manufacturers, suppliers and installers that have already completed the bank’s internal assessment process. Projects submitted through these partners can be reviewed more quickly and generally do not require additional technical verification. “We work almost exclusively with accredited equipment manufacturers and installers. These partners have a simpler route into the loan application process, and decisions on their applications can be made considerably faster,” Denys Samchuk explained.
If a project is submitted by a company that is not a bank partner, Oschadbank involves independent experts to conduct an additional review of the technical solution, equipment costs and justification for the proposed configuration. “If a project does not come through one of the bank’s partners, we additionally verify it using independent experts. This takes more time and creates additional costs for the final customer,” he noted.
Responding to a question about the origin of the equipment, Denys Samchuk explained that Oschadbank’s accredited partners include Ukrainian and European companies. Ukrainian suppliers may work with Chinese-manufactured equipment, which accounts for a significant share of the solutions available in the market. However, at the time of the forum, no Chinese manufacturers were directly included in the bank’s list of accredited partners. “Most equipment is imported from China, so our partners include Ukrainian companies that supply Chinese equipment. However, we do not have directly accredited Chinese manufacturers – our partners are primarily Ukrainian or European companies,” the Oschadbank representative clarified.
A separate part of the presentation focused on guarantee instruments that allow the bank to finance projects when conventional collateral is insufficient.
According to Denys Samchuk, Oschadbank signed its first guarantee agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for EUR 200 million, followed approximately one month before the forum by a second agreement for EUR 500 million. This figure represents the volume of loans that the bank can provide to micro, small and medium-sized businesses with EBRD guarantee coverage. “The EUR 500 million guarantee instrument means that we can provide micro, small and medium-sized businesses with loans for the corresponding amount, backed by an EBRD guarantee,” the speaker explained.
State guarantees represent a second available mechanism. As a state-owned bank, Oschadbank received a UAH 5 billion guarantee instrument from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. “This is also the volume of loans that we can provide with the support of the state guarantee instrument,” Denys Samchuk said.
In addition to loans and guarantees, grant support from international partners is available to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. In particular, a separate grant facility operates alongside the guarantee mechanisms within Oschadbank’s cooperation with the EBRD.
Denys Samchuk identified war-risk insurance as the most widely debated and still unresolved issue. The bank partially mitigates its own exposure through guarantee instruments, while the borrower is expected to insure the facility with an insurance company accredited by the bank. “The bank covers part of the risk through guarantee instruments. The final customer addresses the risk through war-risk insurance provided by insurance companies accredited by the bank,” he explained.
Insurance premiums for such transactions remain high. At the same time, a state programme for compensating insurance payments is available in the market and may partially reduce the corresponding cost for the customer. “Insurance premiums for these transactions are quite high. Guarantees, insurance and state compensation for insurance payments are the instruments currently available in the market,” Denys Samchuk concluded.
