Investments of Ukrainian companies-2022: What Alfa-Bank Ukraine, TECHIIA, TA Ventures, Kyivstar, Group DF, Roosh Ventures, Mastercard, and Glovo are investing in.
The total losses of the Ukrainian economy as a result of the war at the end of April 2022 reach approximately $600 billion, according to a study by the Kyiv School of Economics. A significant part of the losses are shortfall in investments.
However, a lot of businesses that continue to operate in Ukraine do not stop investing, although the focus has shifted to helping our country. The Page interviewed several companies from different industries on their current investments and plans for 2022.
Investments of Alfa-Bank Ukraine during wartime
Alfa-Bank Ukraine focuses on lending to businesses during the full-scale war. First of all, this refers to providing critical imports of industries that meet the needs of the population with essential goods, namely: pharmaceuticals, retail, food products, importers of fuels and lubricants, etc. The bank also lends to agriculture and the primary processing of its products (livestock, dairy products, vegetable oil, etc.), so that farmers have funds for sowing, food processing and other things.
"With regard to the post-war recovery, in addition to the above mentioned fields, infrastructure projects and local production will become a priority for investment," Alfa-Bank noted in the interview to The Page.
TECHIIA investments in Ukraine in 2022
TECHIIA Holding plans to invest in real estate construction, TECHIIA Chief Public Engagement Officer Marianna Konina said. The holding will soon launch a new company that will be engaged in development. TECHIIA will also invest in the development of new construction technologies.
"TECHIIA is an international holding with a deep diversification of businesses and target markets. Therefore, we will continue to develop our businesses on different continents: product IT companies, premium merchandise production, financial consulting, development, carsharing, services based on drone data, etc. At the same time, we are testing the hypotheses of several innovative startups," Konina says, adding that the war should arouse investor interest in renewable energy, cybersecurity and agricultural technologies.
How TA Ventures is investing in 2022
According to Elia Chechieneva, investment director at TA Ventures, the fund continues to invest in start-ups at the initial stages, and also focuses on helping portfolio companies.
TA Ventures continues to invest in fintech, digital health, mobility and logistics, enterprise software, and Web 3.0. The focus has shifted from B2C to B2B business models, which are more predictable in the face of macroeconomic volatility.
"Upon the completion of the war active phase, we consider the following verticals to be the hottest: construction technologies, logistics, agricultural technologies, education, digital health, financial technologies, cybersecurity, and military technologies," adds Chechenieva.
Kyivstar investments during wartime
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian telecommunications company Kyivstar has focused its efforts on the construction of new communication facilities and the protection of the telecom network, investing 659 million UAH in this in Q1 of 2022.
"Despite the difficulties of wartime, Kyivstar will implement its plans to build new telecom facilities in 2022. This is the construction of new base stations, increasing the capacity of the network, connecting modular camps for migrants to the free Internet. So the investment process will continue," the company noted.
What Group DF plans to invest in
According to Group DF Corporate Communications Director Oleh Arestarkhov, the war had a great impact on the group's investment priorities. Now the main task has become the restoration of partially destroyed assets (Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk, the Mykolain port Nika-Tera). It is clear that we will continue to invest in nitrogen chemistry because ensuring Ukraine's food independence is a priority. We are talking about the urgent recovery of entire industries and thousands of jobs. The same chemistry, most likely, will become a driver for the recovery of the Ukrainian economy," he says.
Group DF will also continue to invest in its core assets in chemistry, logistics, gas infrastructure, titanium and port industries, as well as in agricultural projects that strengthen it.
"The group will seek synergy: projects where new businesses are built into existing ones. They are combined by the fact that at launch we focused on customer requests. I think that this principle of implementing investment projects remains unchanged," Arestarkhov says. He adds that the group is focused on helping the state, so the working capital has decreased and some investment projects of Group DF will start a little later.
Oleh Arestarkhov
Corporate Communications Director at Group DF
Roosh Ventures investment during wartime
The Ukrainian venture fund Roosh Ventures says that the full-scale war did not significantly affect the resource the fund invests in. It continues to make investments in accordance with the strategy it had before the war, namely in technology companies in Europe and the United States at the Seed-Series C stages. The company considers all technology sectors, but with a slight focus on fintech, gaming, and AI. In particular, Roosh Ventures recently took part in the Series C funding round of the American fintech startup TheGuarantors, as a result of which the latter managed to raise $50 million.
Roosh Ventures began to actively consider investments in Ukrainian businesses. "This will be an important and necessary support for Ukrainian technology projects that have found themselves in a difficult situation as a result of the war," the company added.
Mastercard investment in Ukraine in 2022
Mastercard in Ukraine has focused on investing in projects that help Ukrainians. According to Inga Andrieieva, General Director at Mastercard in Ukraine and Moldova, the company continues to invest in innovative technologies and experience in developing the digital economy and further growth of the country.
During the all-out war, Mastercard invested in increasing the number of trade networks with the available Cash at the Checkout service (from 13 to 45), and cash withdrawal limits increased 12 times. Another program the company continues to actively invest in to help Ukrainians is Digital First, thanks to which one can issue a card through a mobile application in digital form. Mastercard, in partnership with PayPal and other organizations, simplifies P2P transfers, supports small and medium-sized businesses, and start-ups, for example, by canceling the interbank commission for cashless payments in Ukraine for two months. Moreover, in May, Mastercard and the Ministry of Digital Transformation opened the Diia.Business center in Warsaw, where Ukrainians can get all the necessary information and professional advice to start or support their business.
Glovo investments in Ukraine
According to Dmytro Rasnovsky, Regional General Manager at Glovo in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the extension of the service’s work means the extension of Glovo's investments in the Ukrainian delivery market.
By investing in charitable projects (for example, the Help Ukraine! project in an application that is planned to be developed after the war), the company also returns to basic things: it activates new restaurants in the cities where it is present, connects couriers, and invests in the safety of its employees.
Glovo will also further develop its own innovative projects: b2b last mile delivery, the development of the Q-Commerce vertical and dark stores, as well as the Cook Room (cloud kitchens).
"Glovo continues to implement its development strategy in Ukraine, only the context and horizons for its achievement have changed."
Dmytro Rasnovsky
General Manager at Glovo in Eastern Europe and Central Asia