11.07.2023

4 years of the USF activity: key results

On 11 July 2019, the official presentation of the Fund and its Supervisory Board took place, and since then we have been actively improving the conditions for the development of the startup ecosystem in Ukraine. The main goal of the Fund is to help innovative projects and tech startups raise funds at the early stages and launch their own projects. The Fund drives the development of the startup ecosystem, provides conditions for the growth of the sector, creates a positive investment image of the Ukrainian tech industry abroad, and represents Ukrainian innovative solutions around the world. Key achievements and figures to date:
  • $8.2 million financed in grants
  • 352 startup teams received funding
  • 330+ events held (hackathons, bootcamps, educational lectures, mentoring sessions)
  • 119 startups attended 23 of the world's largest tech events 
  • 199 pro bono experts joined the USF 
The year 2022 put the tech sector to the test and showed the strength of our ecosystem. Despite the full-scale war, Ukraine was ranked 57th in the ranking of the most innovative countries in the world. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Fund has switched to a focus on military industry, supporting defense tech and deep tech projects. The following programmes are currently active: support for dual-use projects and the innovation voucher programme. In April 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Defence, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Security and Defence Council, Ministry of Strategic Industries, and Ministry of Economy launched the BRAVE1 Defence Technology Cluster, which operates as a one-stop shop for defence tech projects in Ukraine. The cluster operates on the basis of the Innovation Development Fund. In the 2 months of its operation, BRAVE1 has received more than 320 developments, 138 have passed military expertise (currently, more than 500 General Staff experts are evaluating projects in 12 priority verticals), more than 100 have received BRV1 status, and 66 developments have been sent by the General Staff to the Ministry of Defence. The first 7 grants for defence tech projects were issued. The Fund's grant activity in figures after 24 February 2022: 
  • 33 Ukrainian startups received grants 
  • only 3 startups suspended their activities
In addition, the Ukrainian Startup Fund topped the ranking of the most active funds with investments after the full-scale invasion, having concluded a record number of deals with Ukrainian projects during this time. Last year alone, alumni of our grant programmes attracted more than USD 10 million in investments! Among our winners are globally successful companies: Esper Bionics, Awesomic, Upswot, Finmap, Zeely, and many others! And before that, the amount of investments in our startups exceeded USD 45 million. Among our achievements in the previous year alone: we became the first Ukrainian partner of the European Innovation Council under the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support programme. We joined the pan-European consortium InterHEI EIT Food&Health and Govteh, provided grants to Ukrainian knowledge-intensive startups totalling USD 125 thousand, supported Ukrainian SMEs with grants in the framework of cooperation with EU4Business totalling EUR 100 thousand, and together with partners received a grant of EUR 20 million for the development of Ukrainian deeptech innovations, as well as implemented more than 80 joint projects and initiatives with partners (which is an average of 25 events per month!). We are grateful to the Ukrainian Defence Forces, who play a driving role in the startup ecosystem today. Thanks to you, we are able to continue our work on developing innovations, attracting investments and supporting solutions for rebuilding the country! However, the team of the Ukrainian Startup Fund does not stop there, but continues to work every day for the victory and development of our country as a whole. More positive news from the Fund is coming soon, so stay tuned and follow the updates!  Your USF team!