EBRD and partners boost Ukraine’s telecoms industry

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, with support from the European Commission and the government of France, announced on 10 October a new investment programme to modernise, expand and improve telecoms service quality in Ukraine.

The EBRD and IFC are jointly providing a total of US$ 435 million in long-term debt (US$ 217.5 million each organisation) to support a landmark project involving two leading Ukrainian telecom groups, lifecell and Datagroup-Volia, which recently merged to form a new group, Datagroup-Volia-lifecell. The investment will support the merged group in enhancing the resilience of the phone network and improving digital connectivity across Ukraine.

Through this high-impact transaction, the merged group will deliver improved mobile connectivity to 10 million subscribers and provide faster and more reliable fixed broadband access to around 4 million homes.

Leveraging its scale, the operational expertise of its new shareholders, and support from the EBRD and IFC, the group will also enhance protection against cybersecurity threats, introduce more competitive products and services, and implement best practice standards at a critical time.

The project will also support the telecoms sector’s recovery from the estimated US$ 1.9 billion in direct damages and US$ 750 million in losses incurred since Russia’s invasion.

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