UkraineConnect – investment financing for renewable energy and Ukraine’s economic reconstruction

Rebuilding Ukraine will require substantial private investment in the coming years—especially in power generation, grid infrastructure, storage solutions, and energy-efficient industrial facilities. At the same time, the conditions remain challenging in an environment shaped by war.

To enable private-sector engagement under these conditions, DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft has launched UkraineConnect, a foreign trade promotion instrument that already enables German and European companies to become active in Ukraine and strengthen their international competitiveness. The instrument is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).

UkraineConnect combines straightforward, attractive financing with accompanying support and risk-mitigation instruments, creating a practical entry point for private-sector engagement under difficult conditions.

The promotion instrument was launched by the BMWE at the end of 2025 and is implemented by DEG, a subsidiary of KfW. UkraineConnect builds on the successful predecessor program ImpactConnect. With more than 90 projects—including initiatives in Ukraine—it has shown that viable projects can be implemented even in challenging market environments when financing, risk sharing, and project experience come together.

Tailored financing for investments in a challenging environment

UkraineConnect is aimed at established German and European companies that are already active in Ukraine or want to set up and expand their business there. The program provides attractive loans between EUR 250,000 and EUR 5 million, generally without collateral. Terms range from three to seven years and can be structured flexibly, for example with grace periods for principal repayment. Particularly eligible projects also receive interest rate reductions.

UkraineConnect deliberately focuses on maturity-matched group financing with a low-threshold, streamlined review process instead of the otherwise common non-recourse financing of the project company (SPV).

Disbursement is generally made in euros to the parent company, which then transfers the funds internally within the group to Ukraine.

Holistic approach

UkraineConnect is designed as a holistic instrument. Investments can be covered in the structure described above by federal investment guarantees against political risks, including war-related risks. UkraineConnect covers the costs through a corresponding interest rate reduction. In addition, non-repayable grant components can be used via DEG’s develoPPP program, which uses funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to support actions with additional development-policy impact.

This integrated structure reduces both financial and political risks and creates planning certainty in an otherwise highly volatile environment.

Particular relevance for energy transition projects

Given the central importance of Ukraine’s energy sector for reconstruction, UkraineConnect specifically supports investments in this sector with a holistic support approach that includes political risk cover and grant components. In this context, factors such as decentralized power generation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and resilient grid infrastructures are of particular importance. One example of our engagement is the Notus Energy project.

Notus Energy GmbH from Potsdam has been developing and building wind and solar parks in Europe and Latin America since 2001. The company employs around 400 people and, since its founding, has installed 1.8 GW in wind power alone. Notus Energy has been active in Ukraine since 2019. For the development of a 120 MW wind farm, UkraineConnect is providing the company with a loan.

Notus Energy’s wind turbines make a significant contribution to rebuilding critical infrastructure in Ukraine. In addition, decentralized energy capacities are essential for the population’s security of supply, and future-proof energy sources are a fundamental component of Ukrainian-German cooperation.

The wind farm enables other German companies to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction by supplying components. The UkraineConnect loan can be combined with federal investment guarantees against political risks in Ukraine for targeted cover. The early loan commitment to Notus Energy helps the company secure additional funding.

In this way, Notus Energy is doing pioneering work in a challenging operating environment, and UkraineConnect is making an important contribution to strengthening the private sector through German companies in Ukraine.

Opportunity for German companies

Further successful examples from manufacturing (e.g., building materials or the automotive supplier industry) underline that the program offers opportunities for German companies from all sectors to contribute their technological strengths, build an early market presence and competitive position, and at the same time contribute to reconstruction.

UkraineConnect is particularly interesting if you…

• are an established German or European company,
• want to set up or expand a subsidiary in Ukraine,
• are planning investments and
• are looking for flexible, unsecured financing with a long-term horizon.

More information and contact

You can find more information about UkraineConnect on DEG’s website: UkraineConnect | DEG

If you are interested, DEG’s UkraineConnect team is available for an initial, non-binding contact.

Author: Alexander Klein
Vice President, German Business Department at DEG
and program expert for UkraineConnect

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