Ukrainian venture capital firm Flyer One Ventures has announced its new €50 million fund backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The new Fund V will focus on supporting early-stage tech companies from Ukraine and across CEE.
“Founders across CEE — and Ukrainians in particular — have already shown they can build world-class products under the hardest conditions,” says F1V co-founder and partner Oleksii Yermolenko. “With this new fund we can double-down on the next wave and help them scale globally faster.”
The first Ukrainian VC backed by EBRD and IFC
The EBRD has committed €6.5 million to the first closing of Fund V, with the possibility of increasing that to €10 million. The IFC has pledged €5 million, including up to €2.65 million sourced from Japan via its Economic Resilience Action (ERA) Program.
“We are proud to support F1V’s new fund and, in doing so, help local founders turn their ideas into reality. This partnership will help promising companies to take the next step — and that’s exactly what innovation needs. It’s what the whole region needs,” EBRD vice president, banking Matteo Patrone.
F1V invests up to €1.3 million in software startups at pre-seed and seed stages. To date, it has invested nearly €40 million across more than 90 startups that aim to solve real-world challenges in key industries.
“We’re the first Ukrainian VC supported by both IFC and EBRD. It’s a big responsibility, and an even bigger honor,” adds Yermolenko.
Backing high-growth startups with two exits to date
Founded in 2018, F1V is led by General Partner Vital Laptenok, who also co-founded tech company Genesis, alongside partners Oleksii Yermolenko and Olena Mazhuha.
Its portfolio includes Fintech Farm, which builds neobanks in emerging markets, Liki24, which improves last-mile delivery of health products, Jome, an AI platform that simplifies buying new homes, and Mate academy, which trains people in tech for global jobs.
The Ukrainian VC firm has already seen two exits: VOCHI (acquired by Pinterest) and Greenscreens (acquired by Triumph Financial).
