News From Agro-Industrial Complex

IFC announced a $40 million investment in Astarta, a leading Ukrainian agricultural group, to support the construction of the country’s first soy protein concentrate plant. This investment is in line with up to $80 million financing package approved by IFC’s Board of Directors on April 1, 2025. The project is expected to boost employment, enhance agricultural productivity, and drive economic growth.

The financing package includes a $27 million loan for IFC’s own account, and a $13 million concessional loan from the government of the Netherlands. IFC’s financing is backed by guarantees from the European Commission’s Ukraine Investment Framework, and the government of the Netherlands in support of IFC’s Economic Resilience Action (ERA) Program for Ukraine.

The pending agreement between the United States and Ukraine regarding minerals and natural resources will not include financial aid provided to Kyiv prior to the signing of the deal, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 27.

On March 24, at the conference “Economy of Experience: Active Longevity – Strategy for the Future,” organized by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine with the support of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the UK Government, business leaders, experts, and the public sector discussed how to turn experience into a competitive advantage and ensure active longevity by effectively engaging older workers in economic life.

According to Oksana Zholnovych, the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, the average age of Ukrainians has risen from 41 to 45 over the past three years. Therefore, it is now crucial to rethink the role of older people and create conditions where they can remain economically active, pass on knowledge, and continue to develop.

Astarta has answers to these questions. Viktor Ivanchyk, co-founder and CEO of “Astarta-Kyiv,” shared the company’s experience of engaging older workers:

On the evening of March 11, Russian war criminals launched a ballistic missile strike on the port of Odessa. As a result, the civilian ship “MJ PINA” under the Barbados flag was damaged. At the time of the strike, it was loading wheat for export to Algeria.

Four people, Syrian citizens, were killed in the strike. The youngest victim was 18, the oldest was 24. Two more people were injured, a Ukrainian and a Syrian. They are receiving necessary assistance.