Briefly
Program description
The grant programme is implemented by Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and represents the third Call for Proposals aimed at supporting Ukraine’s economic recovery and reconstruction in cooperation with Swiss companies that have a legal entity in Ukraine.
The initiative builds on previous calls and focuses on foreign direct investment (FDI) projects that generate long-term economic value for Ukraine.
The programme seeks to accelerate economic recovery by supporting viable investments that contribute to sustainable growth, job creation, and economic transformation.
The Call provides co-financing for investment projects involving the provision of goods and/or services that benefit the Ukrainian economy and its citizens.
Projects will be implemented by Swiss companies through their Ukrainian subsidiaries, and the resulting assets are expected to remain long-term assets in Ukraine.
Main Information
Eligibility
To participate in the programme, applicants must meet all eligibility criteria, as failure to comply with any requirement or provide the requested supporting documentation will result in exclusion from further consideration.
Key participation requirements include:
- The proposal must be fully completed in the prescribed application forms and include all required annexes and supporting documents.
- Applicants must be Swiss companies and their legal entities in Ukraine. The Swiss parent company must have been registered in Switzerland on or before 1 January 2023 and hold majority ownership of the Ukrainian entity.
- The project must fall within the scope of the call and involve private investment in the construction, reconstruction, or modernization of production and operational assets in Ukraine. These assets are expected to remain on the balance sheet of the Ukrainian entity and be operated on a long-term basis.
- Applicants must provide the required co-financing contribution and demonstrate the availability of both own and, where applicable, third-party financing.
- Compliance with legal, tax, regulatory, anti-money laundering, and labour requirements must be confirmed.
- Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to implement the project, including the submission of financial statements for previous years.
- Beneficiaries are required to maintain and operate the project assets for at least three years after project completion.
- Restrictions apply to dividend distributions and the use of financial contributions during the implementation period.
- Applicants must confirm compliance with SECO’s exclusion list and certify that no prohibited activities are undertaken.
- Acceptance of possible audits by SECO and the Swiss Federal Audit Office, as well as retention of project documentation for the required period, is mandatory.
- Applicants must confirm compliance with Swiss sanctions regulations and export control requirements related to dual-use goods.
- Submission of an application constitutes confirmation that the applicant understands and accepts all programme eligibility requirements and conditions.
Financing
Under the Call for Proposals, SECO will select projects through a competitive process and provide financial support to successful applicants. The total budget of the Call is up to CHF 50 million.
The financial contribution from SECO for individual projects will range from CHF 3 million to CHF 10 million, depending on the quality of proposals and compliance with the selection criteria.
Key funding conditions include:
- SECO may finance up to 50% of the total project budget;
- applicants are expected to provide at least 50% co-financing;
- a minimum of 25% of the overall project budget must be financed directly by the applicant company;
- the remaining co-financing may be provided by eligible third-party contributors.
Additional financing above the minimum co-financing requirement will be viewed favourably during the evaluation process.
The overall project budget (including SECO, company, and third-party contributions) must not exceed CHF 30 million.
SECO reserves the right to request adjustments to the proposed project budget and the amount of financial support based on the evaluation results and the available programme budget.
Financial support may only cover actual project-related costs and must not result in undue profit for the applicant.
Applicants should also note that submission of a proposal does not guarantee funding. SECO may decide not to support any project if the submitted proposals are not considered sufficiently convincing.
Supported Activities
The grant programme supports investment projects of Swiss companies focused on the construction, reconstruction, and modernization of production and operational assets in Ukraine. Projects are expected to contribute to the provision of goods and/or services that benefit the Ukrainian economy and its citizens.
Eligible project activities may include:
- construction of new production or operational facilities;
- reconstruction and modernization of existing assets;
- restoration of damaged or destroyed assets;
- greenfield investments involving the development of new facilities from the ground up;
- project phases covering development, construction, commissioning, and initial operational activities.
Particular emphasis is placed on projects that create long-term value for Ukraine and contribute to economic recovery and revitalization. Supported projects are expected to generate benefits for:
- the Ukrainian local economy through increased productivity, economic activity, and tax revenues;
- Ukrainian citizens through job creation and improved access to locally produced goods and services;
- internally displaced persons, Ukrainian refugees, women, and veterans through new employment opportunities;
- Ukrainian municipalities through higher revenues, infrastructure improvement, and strengthened local development.
Priority sectors under the programme include:
- construction materials;
- heavy manufacturing and industrial production;
- renewable energy generation, transmission, distribution, and storage;
- transportation infrastructure;
- agribusiness and food value chains;
- IT and digital infrastructure.
Projects are also expected to align with Ukraine’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Strategic Framework, which will be considered positively during the evaluation process.
Roadmap
The grant programme is implemented through several consecutive stages, from the launch of the call to the completion of supported projects.
Key milestones include:
- publication of the Call for Proposals — 27 May 2026;
- deadline for submission of questions — 28 June 2026;
- publication of consolidated answers — 15 July 2026;
- Stage 1 proposal submission deadline — 20 September 2026;
- notification of shortlisted applicants for Stage 2 — tentatively 24 November 2026.
Applicants advancing to the next phase are expected to present their proposals between 7 and 17 December 2026 (tentative).
Subsequent stages include:
- Stage 2 proposal submission deadline — 21 February 2027 (tentative);
- communication of the final selection decision — by the end of April 2027 (tentative);
- notification of unsuccessful applicants — by the end of May 2027 (tentative);
- contract signing and official project launch — following the announcement of selection results.
All supported projects are expected to be completed no later than the end of 2031.
How to Apply
Applications are submitted through a two-stage selection process (Stage 1 and Stage 2).
Stage 1
- The applicant prepares the project proposal and supporting documentation, including the business plan and financial model.
- If necessary, questions regarding the call may be submitted to SECO through the “Questions” form available in the applicant’s profile environment.
- The Stage 1 proposal is submitted using the Application Form Stage 1 (Annex 2) together with all required supporting documents before the specified deadline.
- Before submission, applicants should verify that all required files have been uploaded successfully.
- Only one proposal per Swiss company may be submitted under this call for proposals.
Following submission, SECO assesses eligibility compliance and evaluates the proposal against the selection criteria. Based on the results, a number of projects will be invited to proceed to Stage 2.
Stage 2
- Selected applicants receive an invitation to present their project and discuss key elements of the proposal.
- Applicants then receive a summary of critical issues, open questions, and requests for additional information.
- The Stage 2 proposal is submitted using Application Form Stage 2 (Annex 3) together with updated supporting documentation.
- The submission may include an updated business plan, financial model, budget, Risk Identification and Management Framework, and other supporting documents.
- All Stage 2 submissions are reviewed and evaluated again against the programme’s selection criteria.
Important: the fundamental scope and purpose of the project must remain unchanged between Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Evaluation Criteria
Project proposals are assessed by the Selection Committee using a scoring system with a maximum of 1,000 points. Applications are evaluated against ten key criteria covering strategic relevance, development impact, implementation capacity, and financial viability.
The main evaluation criteria include:
- alignment with Ukraine’s Foreign Direct Investment strategy and Swiss priorities — up to 80 points;
- development and reconstruction impact for Ukraine — up to 100 points;
- applicant’s implementation capacity — up to 100 points;
- operational and commercial viability of the project — up to 80 points;
- quality and maturity of project planning — up to 120 points;
- financial viability and medium-term profitability prospects — up to 120 points;
- additionality and necessity of the SECO financial contribution — up to 140 points;
- applicant’s own contribution and mobilisation of third-party financing — up to 80 points;
- project risk management and mitigation measures, including ESG considerations — up to 120 points;
- contribution to Swiss expertise, innovation, quality standards and visibility (“Swissness”) — up to 60 points.
Particular attention is given to the project’s contribution to economic recovery, the quality of the business plan, the level of co-financing, financial sustainability, risk management arrangements, and the overall readiness of the project for implementation.
Required Documents
To participate in the grant programme, applicants must submit their proposal using the designated application forms and provide all supporting documentation required under the call.
The core application package includes:
- The application form completed in the prescribed format.
- A project business plan.
- A project financial model.
- All additional supporting documents and evidence required in the application forms.
Important document requirements:
- All files must be submitted in the required format and with the prescribed file naming structure.
- File names must not contain Cyrillic characters.
- Documents prepared in Ukrainian must be accompanied by an unofficial English translation.
- If a document exceeds the maximum file size limit, it should be divided into several files with appropriate part numbering.
- SECO may request additional documents, certifications, or clarifications at any stage of the evaluation process.
Applicants should also note that confirmation of receipt of submitted documents will be sent by SECO after the application submission deadline has passed.
Reporting and Compliance
Under the grant programme, beneficiaries are required to comply with SECO’s monitoring and reporting requirements throughout the entire project implementation period.
SECO financial contributions will be disbursed in instalments, linked to the achievement of agreed milestones and deliverables jointly defined by the company and SECO during contract negotiations.
To receive each subsequent payment, the beneficiary must submit:
- an operational progress report on project implementation;
- a financial progress report approved by SECO.
Financial reporting must include a comparison of actual expenditures against the approved budget. Any significant deviations from the budget must be properly justified.
The final instalment will be determined based on the actual eligible costs incurred and verified under the project and covered by the SECO contribution.
By submitting an application, the company also commits to complying with all SECO requirements related to reporting, monitoring, and evaluation of project results.
Legal Terms
Under the grant programme, applicants are required to comply with a set of legal, ethical, and regulatory obligations that apply throughout the application and project implementation process.
Key requirements include:
- Absence of conflicts of interest. SECO reserves the right to exclude applicants where a relevant conflict of interest exists. Any contractual arrangements that could affect the impartial implementation of the project must be disclosed.
- Confidentiality obligations. All non-public information obtained in connection with the application and project preparation process must be treated as confidential. These obligations remain in force even if an application is rejected.
- Information related to the proposal may not be disclosed to third parties except where required by law, regulatory obligations, or authorised procedures.
- Integrity and anti-corruption compliance is mandatory. Applicants must take all necessary measures to prevent corruption, bribery, improper payments, gifts, donations, or other undue advantages.
- Applicants who breach integrity requirements may be excluded from the call and may be subject to contractual penalties in accordance with programme provisions.
- Applicants are expected to refrain from discrimination, hate speech, incitement to violence, sexual exploitation, and any conduct that could damage the reputation of the programme.
- Any suspected breach of integrity or anti-corruption requirements must be reported to SECO without delay.
The programme is governed by relevant Swiss federal legislation, including the legal framework for international cooperation and the Federal Act on Financial Assistance and Subsidies.
Key principles governing financial support include:
- financial contributions must be properly justified;
- funds must be used efficiently and effectively;
- support must be provided consistently and fairly;
- financing must comply with applicable financial policy requirements.
Only costs that have actually been incurred and are strictly necessary for the proper implementation of the project are eligible for financing.