Ukrainian venture capital fund Flyer One Ventures has announced the launch of a new €50 million fund. Two major international organizations have already joined it: the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Ukrainian venture capital fund Flyer One Ventures has announced the launch of a new €50 million fund. Two major international organizations have already joined it: the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Flyer One Ventures (F1V) will invest the money from its fifth fund in startups aimed at the global market and founded by entrepreneurs from Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe.
“Founders from Ukraine continue to prove their ability to adapt to extremely difficult conditions and continue to make cool products,” says F1V co-founder and partner Oleksiy Yermolenko. “With this fund, we want to help them grow even faster.”
The EBRD is providing the Ukrainian company with €6.5 million and is considering increasing this amount to €10 million. IFC is investing another €5 million. Of this, €3 million is money from the Japanese government, provided through ERA, Ukraine’s Economic Resilience Program.
“We are the first Ukrainian venture fund to receive money from both the IFC and the EBRD. This is a great responsibility and an even greater honor,” says Yermolenko.
F1V invests up to $1.5 million in pre-seed and seed stage startups. The fund has already invested nearly $45 million in over 90 startups that solve real problems in critical industries.
The portfolio includes, for example, Fintech Farm, which launches neobanks in emerging markets; Liki24.com, which improves the delivery of medical supplies; Jome, an AI-based platform for finding housing; and Mate academy, which trains IT professionals and places its graduates in employment.
F1V has two exits: VOCHI, sold to Pinterest, and Greenscreens, acquired by Triumph Financial.
“We are delighted to support the new F1V fund as it is a way to help local founders bring their ideas to life,” says Matteo Patrone, EBRD Vice President for Banking Operations. “This collaboration will enable strong companies to take their business to the next level. This is exactly what the market and the region need right now.”
F1V was launched in 2018. Its managing partner is Vitaliy Laptenok, who also co-founded Genesis. Together with him, the fund is being developed by partners Oleksiy Yermolenko and Olena Mazhuga, both of whom are members of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list (2024) and the Forbes Ukraine “30 Under 30: Faces of the Future” rating (2022).
In addition to money, F1V helps startups with operations, hiring, PR, sales, and fundraising. The investment company invests in the early stages, but more than 50% of portfolio startups have already raised Series A and gone further.
“Investing in the new F1V fund is our way of supporting IT entrepreneurs from Ukraine,” says Ines Rocha, IFC’s director for Europe. “We want to help strengthen the country’s venture capital market so that talented people stay and private investors invest more actively in its growing tech sector.”
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