The FINANCIAL — In order to provide modern water treatment solutions for households and businesses in Ukraine, the EBRD is extending a US$ 3 million loan to Ecosoft, the country’s leading producer of water purification equipment.
The investment will strengthen inclusion by providing customers with access to clean water at affordable rates. Inclusion is one of the six transition qualities defining the EBRD’s work. The Bank believes that a well-functioning market economy should be competitive, inclusive, well-governed, green, resilient and integrated.
A five-year loan will help the company to increase its production and storage capacity by purchasing additional injection moulding equipment. Ecosoft will also commission a new warehouse, improve its range of pitcher-type water filters and launch the production of reverse osmosis filtering membranes thus offering domestic customers an affordable high-tech alternative to imported water filters, according to EBRD.
The investment is supported by the European Union (EU) under the EU4Business Initiative which is designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the countries that will benefit from a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU (DCFTA).
The project will benefit from an €82,260 incentive grant provided through the EBRD’s Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) programme designed to transfer technology in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation, which was launched in Ukraine in February 2016. The three-year FINTECC programme is supported by US$ 7 million grant funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and a €4 million grant from the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).
It is envisaged that Ecosoft will use the grant funding to implement a range of energy efficiency measures. They will include the installation of energy management and heat recovery systems, condensing boilers and highly efficient oil cooling systems.
Sevki Acuner, EBRD Director for Ukraine, said: “Ecosoft has been known to us since 2012 through our advisory programme for small businesses. We are pleased to witness the progress and the expansion of this high-tech company, which is now exporting its filters to over 40 countries around the world. Customers will be able enjoy better-quality drinking water while spending less on its treatment.”
Ecosoft has benefited from support through the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund, which, with financial support from the United States of America, has provided US$ 2 million to moderate the risks of EBRD investment in Ukraine.
The EU4Business Initiative groups together EU support for SMEs in the region of the Eastern Partnership, which brings together the EU, its member states and six partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost €12.2 billion through 377 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
Discussion about this post