Brussels, 18 September 2026 – The European Commission has published the latest EU4Business Annual Report on EU support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the five Eastern Partnership countries.
The report sets out how EU assistance reached businesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine over the course of 2025, covering three pillars of support: access to finance, business development services, and a stronger business-enabling environment.
In 2025, €135.2 million was disbursed to drive SME growth across the Eastern Partnership. EU4Business supported 76,378 MSMEs, with 89,388 new jobs created and more than 474,000 jobs sustained. These businesses generated €8.9 billion in turnover, with average turnover increasing by 11.7%.
Access to Finance
In 2025, €80.7 million was disbursed to improve SMEs’ access to finance, supporting 48,006 businesses. EU-backed financing helped 46,590 SMEs secure loans worth €1.2 billion in total, with an average loan size of €25,251. Full country-level breakdowns, along with entrepreneur stories, are available on the EU4Business website – among them a Georgian bread baker who helped revive a community near the administrative boundary line with South Ossetia and an Azerbaijani specialty coffee roaster that lifted turnover by 12% with EU4Business-backed financing.
Business Development Services
The EU disbursed €32.5 million in 2025 to strengthen SME skills and competitiveness, supporting 28,372 SMEs through business development services. Consultancy remained the most widely used form of support, reaching 26,715 SMEs, while 290 business support organisations strengthened their capacity to serve SMEs. Behind these numbers are businesses such as a medical clinic in Chernihiv, Ukraine, which received EU-backed advisory support to strengthen its resilience during wartime, and a herbal tea producer in Armenia that expanded into international markets with EU-funded training and advisory support.
Business Enabling Environment
The EU disbursed €22.0 million in 2025 to improve the business environment across the Eastern Partnership. EU4Business support strengthened the capacity of 517 government institutions, including policymakers, regulators and enforcement agencies, contributed to the reform of 178 normative acts, and supported 177 public-private dialogue events across the five countries. In Moldova, a woman mayor from Peresecina used EU4Business support to strengthen participatory local governance and improve public services.
About EU4Business
EU4Business is the umbrella initiative bringing together all EU support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It works to expand SME access to finance and business development services, and to promote a more favourable business regulatory environment.
