The International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are providing a loan to Ukraine’s leading yeast producer Enzym to expand production. With lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in brewing, baking and cooking at home has turned yeast into a hot commodity. This project will allow Enzym to capture a rapidly growing market segment and opportunity. In addition to support from the TaiwanICDF and the EBRD, EU4Business Fund has financed the environmental and social due diligence and legal costs of the project.

The pandemic is still far from over and businesses worldwide have been severely impacted. However, the lockdown baking boom has fueled demand for some food industries such as the yeast market. As conventional yeast is a commodity-type product with limited market growth, and with growing demand for food safety and environmentally-friendly food, Enzym owners Olena and Rostyslav Vovk are now investing in the construction of a state-of-the-art facility for yeast-based food ingredients – a fast growing market segment.

Enzyme aims to use the funds provided by the TaiwanICDF and the EBRD to construct the first-of-its-kind-in-Ukraine plant for specialty yeast products in Lviv, diversifying its product range to include high value-added products and grow export sales. In contrast to the already saturated baker’s yeast market, the yeast extracts market has stronger growth potential in European countries, which is the target market after project completion. Enzym is the leading speciality yeast producer that has been increasing its production capacities in this segment. Made from the same fresh yeast that is used in bread, beer and wine production, yeast extract creates opportunities for moving to a more plant-based diet, promoting a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and healthier lifestyle.

In response to the global issue of food security, the TaiwanICDF together with the EBRD have launched two agribusiness funds since 2015: the Financial Intermediary and Private Enterprises Investment Special Fund-Agribusiness Account and its successor, the Sustainable Agribusiness Value Chain Account. Both programs ensure that private agribusinesses will have access to financing for development in the EBRD region. Since then, the TaiwanICDF and EBRD have successfully financed eight agribusinesses in Turkey, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Ukraine and assisted them in obtaining the finance needed for growth expansion. These joint efforts help realize the development of a more sustainable food value chain, fostering greener and more inclusive agribusinesses.

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• Update: 2020/12/30
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