Ukrainian PE & VC Summit 2024: Institutional Investors Panel Highlights

Continuing the Ukrainian PE & VC Summit notes from the field, this Wednesday we dedicate to the highlights of the Institutional Investors panel featuring Barbara Nowakowska, Piotr Matczuk, Eliza Kruczkowska, Iliya Mihov, Karol Tofil, and Aziza Zakhidova. What interesting did they talk about?

The discussion began with a crucial one — Ukrainian reconstruction. Per The World Bank Group and European Commission estimates, Ukraine needs $486 bln to recover from the war. The main role in rebuilding will be the private sector. Development and financing institutions and governments however should lend a hand, speed up, and provide better instruments for private businesses to shine and be able to fulfill that mission.

For example, since the war started, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided a $2 bln program for the Ukrainian private sector to survive. Although it seems small, IFC like all other institutional investors has limits, and besides that, it does its best to mobilize resources to help other investors and entrepreneurs to mitigate risks.

European Investment Bank (EIB) has also set up $2 bln of emergency funding for reconstruction and repair, plus $4 bln for refugees’ support in EU countries. On top of that, EIB is pulling out funds from EU countries to the “EU for You” fund and gathers equity commitments.

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) on the other hand established blended support for Ukrainian SMEs in the form of credits and guarantees to compensate for war losses and boost investments. The initiative totals 20 mln euros that are distributed through Kredo Bank.

Polski Fundusz Rozwoju S.A. (PFR) is a Polish Fund of Funds, with programs reaching beyond Poland. All of them have been opened for Ukraine, too, to help tech startups with acceleration. There’s an interesting point: PFR was inspired by the BRAVE1 initiative and already made a pilot of their own dual-use accelerator.

Last but not least was EBRD. They support Ukrainian entrepreneurs and funds with direct investments. As per Aziza, Ukraine, and CEE region overall struggle with follow-on investments and late-stage funding, thus it’s been the main focus for a long time.

However, EBRD slowly broadens its strategy to also include early-stage companies. They are aiming to do so by, for example, funding accelerators who help Ukrainian scale-ups. As for overall results so far, EBRS has already deployed $4 bln after the war started. Also, it’s worth mentioning that due diligence stays mostly the same despite the ongoing turmoil.