Ukrainian Small and Medium Enterprises Plan to Scale Through Grants, Exports, and Digitalization

Most Ukrainian small and medium enterprises are demonstrating a desire to scale their operations in 2025. According to the annual Mastercard SME Index, 67% of entrepreneurs intend to expand their businesses using various development strategies.

This is reported by AgroReview

Main Strategies for Business Scaling

Among the primary growth directions, entrepreneurs cite opening new sales points and increasing production — this goal is set by 44% of respondents. At the same time, 40% of respondents plan to actively implement digital sales channels, while 35% aim to expand their range of products and services.

“Two-thirds of small and medium entrepreneurs (67%) plan to scale their businesses, according to the results of the annual Mastercard SME Index 2025 survey. Among the main ways to expand the business are opening new sales points and increasing production (44% of respondents), utilizing digital sales channels (40%), and expanding the range of products and services (35%).”

Growth in Exports and Implementation of Digital Technologies

Grant programs are becoming increasingly popular among Ukrainian SMEs: 41% of respondents have already participated in such initiatives, which is 14 percentage points higher compared to last year. Regarding exports, 38% of enterprises are currently selling their goods and services abroad, indicating a growth of 22 percentage points over the year. Another 24% plan to start export activities in the near future. The most popular export destinations are Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, and the USA.

In addition to scaling and exporting, Ukrainian entrepreneurs are actively integrating digital tools and artificial intelligence technologies. This helps increase customer engagement and ensures a personalized approach to each consumer, which is a key factor for competitiveness in the modern market.