Almost all of Ukraine’s businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES). Supporting them is crucial for economic recovery, ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton told the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome.  

Ukraine has $30 billion in untapped export potential, according to the ITC Export Potential Map. Throughout the war, the International Trade Centre (ITC) has worked with small businesses to adapt by tapping into opportunities in the digital economy and providing training for entrepreneurs to have a better chance of accessing finance. 

‘These SMEs will have a vital role in shaping Ukraine’s economic engagement with trading partners around the world, both today and in the years to come, making them the cornerstone of every possible scenario for Ukraine’s recovery,’ said ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. 

‘In other words, these SMEs are the social stabilizers that are helping communities grapple with some of the most trying circumstances, and they are the ones responsible for Ukraine’s economic successes and future possibilities.’ 

The annual conference has emerged as a key high-level forum focused on sustaining Ukraine’s economy and paving the way for long-term recovery. The conference emphasizes private sector engagement, business partnerships, and economic strategies. 

Part of that means mobilizing private capital and large businesses. Just as important is making sure that small businesses can engage with Ukraine’s trading partners.  

ITC has seen firsthand how digital tools and platforms have provided opportunities for Ukrainian small businesses to find new buyers, understand export requirements, and scale their businesses. For people forced to leave their homes, starting online businesses also lets them make a fresh start in a new community. That’s helped women work remotely, aided by the Ukranian government’s Diia.Business online platform.  

Among the conference’s goals is to look for special arrangements for Ukraine’s economy, including finance. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that means more than just providing money. It’s about making it possible for people to earn a decent living.  

‘Many Ukrainian SMEs are still facing one roadblock after the next when it comes to accessing the finance they need to establish and grow their businesses, including for export,’ Coke-Hamilton said. ‘That needs to change—and that means changing the perception of these businesses as too risky for insurance or other financial support.’ 

Among various activities on the ground, ITC works to address this perception through trainings run with the Agency of Regional Development of the Tavria Association of Territorial Communities, an NGO, to support internally displaced persons in several Ukrainian hromadas. 

The School of Changemakers programme, now in its third year, gives displaced people, business representatives and entrepreneurs support to write and pitch grant applications, develop budgets, and adapt their financing requests to meet international standards. 

Last year, participants wrote 255 grants and submitted nearly 150 of them. Over 40 of these grants have been successful so far, raising nearly 17 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($410,000). 

ITC has been present in Ukraine since 2016 through various projects, and since 2022 expanded its programming through Japanese funds to work with internally displaced people, relocated entrepreneurs, and hromadas.