FINANCIAL PROVISION OF MICRO-, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES: PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR IN UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the current problem of studying the mechanisms and instruments of financial support for micro, small and medium-sized businesses and substantiating the problems and opportunities for their implementation in the conditions of war in Ukraine. The importance of micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in the country's economy is revealed in the context of ensuring economic stability, filling budgets of all levels, creating jobs, saturating the market with goods and services, introducing innovative technologies, and creating a competitive environment. The dynamics of changes in GDP during 2014–2023 and the role of MSMEs in economic growth are studied: their share is 95% of the total number of enterprises, 82% of the workforce is employed, 65% of the total volume of sales of goods, works and services. It was determined that among the 5 key problems of MSME development, such as: unpredictability of the situation in the country, unpredictable actions of the state, lack of qualified labor, lack of solvent demand, one of them is the lack of sufficient capital. The concept of financing is defined as the act of contributing resources for their allocation to programs or projects or other needs. Based on a study of the ratio of equity and liabilities of micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine, it was found that liabilities exceed own resources by 4–5 times, but there are also major problems with borrowing funds for micro, small and medium-sized businesses, which is due to a lack of information and complex procedures for obtaining financing. The article proposes mechanisms and instruments of external financing: credit lines, risk insurance and guarantees from international banks, as well as programs and grants from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Development Finance Institutes (DFI). The experience of providing financial assistance to micro, small and medium-sized businesses of Ukraine from the EBRD, the World Bank, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Investment Project Lending Program with additional grant and consulting support for business operations of the German Government is summarized.