Substantiation of trends in innovative activity of enterprises in ukraine and search for sources of financing for innovative development

In recent years, the issue of innovations as a driver of progress and national economic growth has been constantly rising. The government’s support and stimulation of enterprises are important for the country’s economy. Focusing on the growth of innovative activity provides not only competitive benefits for business entities but also helps provide quicker development of the economy in countries that care for and finance such activity. This type of activity can increase the competitiveness of products/services and businesses in general several times in the long run. However, there are still very few innovatively active enterprises in our country. This is mainly due to a need for more funds, inadequate financing and support from the state, and the high risk associated with such projects. The article research problems, ways to solve them, and the need for more innovative activity in Ukraine. Firstly, it analyses the general situation of modernization in businesses in the market and considers possible sources of financial support for innovative projects. The article also analyses the share of sources of financing of innovation activity in Ukraine at manufactured enterprises. It concludes that trends in the innovation activity of businesses in recent times of uncertainty show significant shortcomings, which negatively affect the competitiveness and viability of products in our market and, despite this, in the international markets and the country’s overall economic situation. While researching the market situation, we also studied one of the forms of innovation, exactly the digitalization process of management and/or production processes, that is a necessary criterion for the economy, as the competitiveness of an enterprise and the country is increasingly interdependent on the level of digitalization and innovative progress with its transformations. Although this is a rather practical and less costly way compared to others, statistics show that the level of digitalization in Ukraine could be higher, again due to a lack of funding. The article substantiates the main directions for searching for sources of financing for innovations in modern, challenging conditions of uncertainty based on the experience of Western countries. Keywords: innovations, digitalization, development of competitive advantages, creative development, sources of funding.