The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a new €120 million financing package for Ukraine, of which €100 million will be allocated to compensate citizens for war-damaged housing under the HOME programme, while another €20 million will support microenterprises and small farms. The relevant decisions were approved by the bank’s Administrative Council, with details disclosed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance.
The new housing financing is a continuation of the HOME programme, which operates through a state housing certificate mechanism and allows citizens whose homes were destroyed as a result of Russian aggression to receive compensation for the purchase or construction of new housing. According to the Ministry of Finance, the previous €200 million allocated under this programme has already been fully utilized: these funds financed the purchase of 3,774 housing units, providing new homes for more than 13,000 Ukrainians. The additional €100 million is expected to support around 3,000 more families and extend the programme through June 30, 2028.
The second component of the package — €20 million for microfinance for small businesses and small farmers — will be implemented through the Entrepreneurship Development Fund, which serves in this programme as the National Development Institution, with funds subsequently distributed via partner banks and credit unions. According to the Ministry of Finance and the CEB, the programme is targeted at entrepreneurs affected by the war, internally displaced persons, veterans, women entrepreneurs, young people, people with disabilities, and small farming businesses.
The programme’s financial structure for business support extends beyond the CEB loan itself. In addition to the €20 million loan, it includes a €4.6 million EU investment grant under the Ukraine Investment Framework, €230,000 in technical assistance, and a €3 million CEB grant to cover foreign exchange risks. The Ministry of Finance expects that at least 50% of this financing will be directed to vulnerable groups, while 30% of investments will go toward energy-efficient and sustainable projects.
In a broader context, the CEB decision is not only a social measure but also an investment and economic signal. It provides simultaneous financing for two critical areas of recovery — housing and small business — sectors that directly affect employment, domestic demand, and the resilience of local communities. The bank itself emphasized that the microfinance programme is intended to help businesses overcome high borrowing costs, insufficient collateral, and administrative barriers that have intensified during the full-scale war.
Since Ukraine joined the Council of Europe Development Bank in June 2023, the CEB has already approved more than €670 million in financing for the country for housing, healthcare, support for internally displaced persons, and small business development. Separately, in 2025 Ukraine received €200 million from the CEB to support internally displaced persons; at the end of 2025, the Ministry of Finance also reported the receipt of a second €100 million tranche under that project.
For Ukraine, this decision means that international financial institutions continue to expand their presence not only through direct budget support, but also via targeted recovery instruments tied to specific social and economic outcomes. For the small business market, it is also an important signal of the gradual rollout of blended finance, in which loans from international banks are complemented by EU grants, technical assistance, and risk-sharing mechanisms.
