The amount planned for the program of financing Ukrainian startups is UAH 440 million. The State has previously allocated UAH 390 million, we have increased this figure by another UAH 50 million, Oleksiy Honcharuk said during a briefing on the start of receipt of applications for grants by the Ukrainian Startup Fund. This is the first step towards the development of Ukraine as the State of innovation.

“As part of the work of the Ukrainian Startup Fund, starting today the accepting applications for financing Ukrainian business projects at the initial stages of their development has been launched, namely the pre-seed and seed funding. By the end of this year, we will give out the first share of UAH 40 million to business projects that will be selected. The next year the funding will be UAH 60 million per quarter, that is UAH 240 million in total for 2020,” the Head of Government explained.

He added that the main areas of financing include artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Big Data, blockchain, cybersecurity, defense, medical industry and healthcare, travel, financial technology, educational technology, robotics, professional services, software as a service, manufacturing, e-commerce, the internet of things.

“The Government will not directly interfere with business. Instead, our victory will be that by supporting startups and encouraging Ukrainians to engage in entrepreneurship, we will enhance the Ukrainian economy development and create more jobs. These aspects are the factors for the overall well-being of our people,” said Oleksiy Honcharuk.

The Prime Minister added that the first Pitch-event, that is, a brief presentation of business concepts in front of the competition committee, which will entail in the determining the startups that receive grants, should take place by the end of this year.

Background

Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF) is a state-owned fund launched by the initiative of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The mission is to support innovation projects and help the most talented Ukrainian entrepreneurs create successful companies at scale.

The Fund provides funding in the form of grants and does not take any equity stake. The selection process is competitive: companies are judged and selected by a panel of independent іnvestment experts.

To submit an application here https://usf.com.ua/uk/