UkraineConnect: DEG launches new programme for investment in Ukraine

First commitments at the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum

Through UkraineConnect, DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, is offering German and European companies the opportunity to tap into a market with future potential and at the same time strengthen Ukraine’s economic resilience. The new programme, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), complements existing instruments such as export credit and investment guarantees. The goal is to enable private sector activity even under difficult conditions. The first financing agreements have now been signed at the 8th German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin.

Notus Energy: wind power for energy security

One of the enterprises active in the country with the help of UkraineConnect is Notus Energy GmbH from Potsdam. DEG is providing the company with a UkraineConnect loan for the development of a 120 MW wind farm. Notus Energy has been developing and building wind and solar farms in Europe and Latin America since 2001. The company employs 436 people and, since it was founded, has installed over 1.6 GW in the wind energy segment alone. The wind farm in Ukraine will contribute to the country’s energy supply and support the expansion of renewable energies.

VKF Renzel: production and jobs

At the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum, DEG also committed financing for the VKF Renzel Group. Based in Germany’s Münsterland region, this company has been developing and producing retail product presentation solutions, such as brochure holders and displays, since 1985. It has around 900 employees at 29 locations worldwide. VKF Renzel is receiving a UkraineConnect loan to build a new production and storage facility. The project will create around 35 jobs with fair working conditions and strengthen local value creation.

Combining economic activities and social responsibility

“The first UkraineConnect loans show how diverse the investments can be: VKF Renzel is creating new jobs and strengthening the local economy, while Notus Energy is helping to shape Ukraine’s energy future with a wind farm. These are precisely the kinds of projects we want to facilitate – investments that combine economic activities with social responsibility,” emphasised DEG’s CEO Roland Siller.

DEG has been financing and advising private companies in Ukraine since the mid-1990s. Since the start of the war in February 2022, it has been working with its subsidiary DEG Impulse to help customers strengthen the country and its people.

UkraineConnect - Taking responsibility, shaping the future