A bevy of individual investors from prestigious funds has invested in Ukrainian startup Rentberry, which is developing an online platform for long-term apartment rentals. The startup, which is still at the prototype stage, has been valued at $3 million, according to its founder.
Among the investors are executives from Carlyle Group, Synergo Private Equity, Pegasus Capital and Abris Capital as well as World Bank subsidiary IFC and Ericsson, Rentberry’s CEO Alex Lubinsky told Ukraine Digital News.
Rentberry, which will target the US market, aims to make rentals easier for tenants and landlords. Scheduled for launch in March 2016, the platform will feature online procedures for visits, contract signature and rent collection.
Rentberry will also check the future tenant’s credit history.
Founded by Ukrainians Alex Lubinsky, Lily Ostapchuk and Arsen Kostenko, the startup has its team split between Kyiv (Kiev) and San Francisco.
“This is a truly huge market to disrupt, and Rentberry’s business model looks workable. Since the founders have a relevant business background, including three years in the Valley, I believe they will be able to execute properly and build a susessful company,” commented Andrey Kolodyuk, a figure of the Ukrainian venture industry, in an exchange with Ukraine Digital News.
Almost simultaneously, Berlin-based long-term rental startup Nestpick raised $2 million from Russia’s Target Global (previously know as Target Ventures) and Switzerland’s B-to-V Partners, following up a $11 million Series A investment last month.
