On November 18, Černín Palace in Prague hosted the Czech-Ukrainian Investment Summit, which our association co-organized for the first time! The meeting brought together over 50 investors, including many UVCA and CVCA members, PE and VC fund managers, family offices, and government officials from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and the EU. The event featured several panels and the highlights are the following.

1Firstly, the summit was honoured by the Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) CEO Zuzana Pickova, and the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, who supported the gathering with the Czech Embassy in Kyiv.

Head of the East Europe, West Balkans and Central Asia Division at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Václav Lídl made an appearance, presenting the guests with an astonishing initiative that we cannot talk about just yet. Still, the endeavour might kick off as early as the beginning of 2025, and it is going to have an impact on the Ukrainian investment ecosystem.

2Then, the Private Equity panel was led by Olena Tertyshnyk 🇺🇦, who covered post-war investment opportunities, the stories, and cases with Nadiia Kaznacheieva, Volodymyr Khmurych CFA, Oleksiy Yergiyev, Konstantin Magaletskyi, and Jakub Kučera many of whom not only plan but are already investing in Ukrainian projects.

The Venture Capital panel came next. Moderated by Dmytro Kuzmenko, the session focused on co-investments, integration into the EU investment ecosystem, dual-use tech, brain-drain prevention and bolstering collaboration between Ukraine and Czechia.

More than that, UVCA Chairman Andriy Kolodyuk presented the first Ukrainian Fund of Funds that is open to LPs. Among other participants were Roman Nikitov, Andrii Brodetskyi, and Ondrej Homola from N1 Ventures, who entered the Ukrainian market shortly after the full-scale invasion.

The summit concluded with several pitches from Ukrainian companies and tech experts, including Tetiana Honcharenko, Sergii Kravtsov, Maksym Zubenko, Kirill Goncharuk, Taras Bachynskyy, and Ivan Osadchyy.

Special gratitude and appreciation goes to Economic Diplomat at the Czech Embassy in Kyiv Ivan Galat, the Ambassador of Ukraine, His Excellency Vasyl Zvarych, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, His Excellency Matt Field OBE, Czech officials and partners along with Jan Marian, Helena Schulzová, David Müller, Roksolana Dryndak, Eva Hartmann, and the Ukrainian delegation as well as Maxim Soloviov, Ivan Petrenko, and Igor Verkhogliad.