Kyiv, 4 December 2025 — The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and with funding from the governments of Japan and Switzerland, has held the Ninth National SME Forum in Kyiv.

This year’s forum was dedicated to practical solutions for business development in times of war and recovery. The event brought together about 100 representatives of business support organizations, international organizations and the expert community.

The forum served as a platform to showcase effective tools developed by the MSME (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise) support ecosystem, with participation from UNDP and its partners. A significant portion of these initiatives were realized with the generous support of the Governments of Japan and Switzerland.

The participants discussed the experience of implementing the Business Barometer from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The barometer is a tool that helps to determine entrepreneurs’ expectations for the business environment, collecting data from more than 2,000 companies every month. 

During the event, the opportunities that digital platforms open for domestic and international B2B communication were also presented: in particular, the Virtual Pop-up Zone and the International Business Partnerships Platform, which are already being used to unite almost 500 Ukrainian companies. Special attention was paid to the launch of the Volyn business brand, which was created with the support of UNDP and is intended to strengthen the investment attractiveness of the region during recovery.

Support for veteran entrepreneurship and inclusive economic solutions was also discussed. Participants noted that the scaling up of training models to support SMEs was made possible thanks to funding from the Government of Japan. The national programme "Trajectory" has already covered more than 1,000 veterans and their family members who have completed a two-month intensive training course, and of whom 442 have received personalized mentoring.

Meanwhile, the support of the Government of Switzerland has ensured the work of the Alliance of Business Associations. This Alliance today is used to unite 457 business associations and is strengthening the voice of entrepreneurs at the national level, thereby contributing to the formation of policies sensitive to the needs of SMEs.

Gennadiy Chyzhykov, the president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted at the opening of the forum that small and medium-sized businesses account for more than 90% of Ukrainian enterprises.

“And it is SMEs that most need the support of communities and international donors,” Chyzhykov said. “I thank our partners for the joint implementation of projects to support entrepreneurship in Ukraine – especially those of veterans and women. Small businesses mean social stability, self-confidence. We’re interacting with our partners; sharing the tools we have developed with our own hands to support the success of Ukrainians.”

Maksym Boroda, UNDP Project Manager for Economic Policy and Private Sector Development, noted that “UNDP's cooperation with the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the systematic support of the governments of Japan and Switzerland, have made it possible to create effective tools that today help MSMEs survive and grow despite the war.”

Together, we have built a physical infrastructure to support businesses, developed business intelligence, digital solutions, and training programmes that are already bringing practical results to entrepreneurs across the country. This forum demonstrates how effective a partnership approach can be when national institutions and international donors work as a team."

Media inquiries: 

Yuliia Samus, Head of Communications and Advocacy at UNDP Ukraine, yuliia.samus@undp.org