The USAID Competitive Economy Program for Ukraine announced a grant program to create and support associations of enterprises into export alliances with a total funding of $1.5 million, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reported on Friday.

"Grant support for export alliances will strengthen the potential of Ukrainian enterprises, push them to unite for the common goal of conquering new markets," Natalia Petrova, USAID project manager, said.

The program provides for the provision of about 15 grants with a volume of $35,000 to $150,000. Applications will be accepted until September 30, 2023. Given the significant interest, the acceptance and consideration of applications will take place in stages on June 30 and September 30, 2023.

The Ministry of Economy added that the purpose of the grant program is to support enterprises seeking to jointly promote their products on international markets. The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office and the national project Diia.Business.

As the press service clarified, the priority sectors for grant support are information technology, engineering, manufacturing, as well as creative industries and services. However, this USAID program is open to applications to support other eligible sectors.

The USAID Competitive Economy Program for Ukraine supports start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to increase their competitiveness in the domestic market of Ukraine and in international markets, helps develop a simplified and transparent business climate, and provides Ukrainian companies with opportunities to take advantage of international trade. The key tool for implementing the USAID program is a national-scale grant program with a budget of $12.5 million for 2018-2023.