EU launches ‘Business Bridge’ call for proposals to support Ukrainian SMEs affected by the war

‘Business Bridge’, launched by the European Commission on 28 February, will provide financial support to Ukrainian small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) affected by the war. This will be in the form of vouchers to access services and participate in trade fairs in the EU. The project, with a budget of €4.5 million, will be administered by business support organisations like the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), European clusters network and other organisations.

The purpose of the call is to set up a consortium of business organisations that will select up to 1,500 growth-and sustainability-oriented Ukrainian SMEs to benefit from direct support of up to €2,500. This direct support will cover the cost of Ukrainian SMEs for business support services such as: market research to identify European partners; legal, organisational or financial advice for setting up a new company or adapting an existing one; help to take part in or travel to trade fairs in the EU and legal advice on Intellectual Property Rights.

The deadline for applications is 27 April.

The call is funded under the Single Market Programme and follows the recent agreement for Ukraine to join the Programme, signed by President von der Leyen and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on 2 February 2023.

Find out more

Press release

To apply