The initiative is aimed at actively developing innovations, strengthening the country’s economy and increasing the global competitiveness of Ukrainian projects. The program will provide a total of USD 2.5 million to support promising Ukrainian companies at the pre-seed and seed stages.
“The relaunch of the USF grant program with the support of WNISEF is great news. This is an important program for the ecosystem, because there are not many investors and angels in Ukraine who make small checks at early stages. Just today I spoke with a funder from a Northern European country and he was surprised to learn about this opportunity for Ukrainian startups – they don’t have it. Many startups that have already received USF grants have gone on to complete the planned milestones and raise venture capital funding from institutional funds. Some startups were unable to find their niche, and this is also normal – in the early stages, the mortality rate of startups is the highest, and even betting on a strong team does not always work – the market shows everything. The main thing is that the program fulfills its mission – it improves access to capital for Ukrainian founders, especially equity free. And it’s great that after two years of pause, the program is active again – the need for early capital has grown significantly during this time,” – Andriy Brodetsky, investment analyst at Horizon Capital.
On May 17, 2024, the first Pitch day for seed-stage projects under the grant program took place. The 15 projects that received the highest scores based on the results of the expert evaluation had to compete for grants. The winners were 7 projects:
- Nanit Robot is an educational solution consisting of self-study videos and an electronic kit designed to teach the basics of electronics, automation, and programming on the Nanit microcontroller, which incorporates the best features of ARDUINO and ESP.
- Input Soft provides web-based process management solutions for airports, airlines, and ground handling companies, helping to optimize resources, reduce costs, and collect and analyze data on ground handling operations.
- Knopka is a modern system that digitizes operational processes in hospitals. Thanks to this system, emergency departments are able to promptly call doctors to provide emergency care to patients, control the time of such care, and comply with the global standards for providing such care, which is 5 minutes.
- Uspacy is an online service, a single digital workspace for organizing the daily processes of small and medium-sized businesses. It’s about communication, collaboration, and sales (CRM). All in one.
- The Great Catalog is a marketplace that brings together all 3D and BIM models for architects and designers in one place. On the site, an architect-designer can find a 3D model and use it in a project. He can insert the 3D model into both visualizations and drawings, get the specification of the objects to be purchased, and know where to buy the exact product that was in the project. AI search and recommendation systems make the work of designers more efficient.
- Melt Water Club is the world’s most advanced water purification technology and devices for home and business, implemented using environmentally friendly and efficient cryotechnology.
- Formsniper is a SaaS that automates the filling of registration/tax forms and other documents.
“The winners of the first pitch day are very different teams. A lot of B2B SaaS, robots, clean tech. There were lively discussions among the jury members, and some teams scored very close. In the end, seven teams will receive $50K each, which is quite an injection into the ecosystem, given that a significant portion of this capital will be spent here in Ukraine. Let’s hope that all the winners will squeeze the most out of this check, will be able to achieve the planned milestones, and the next time we will hear about them in the announcements of new rounds. To all the founders who are hesitating, believe in yourself, do your homework, communicate with other founders and investors, learn from other people’s mistakes, and analyze the markets. And when you are ready, come to USF for grants. We exist in an environment where we all need to be very efficient. Let’s make sure that the energy of funders and investors’ capital are used in the best possible way,” commented Andriy Brodetsky, Investment Analyst at Horizon Capital.
On May 24, the second Pitch day took place, but for projects at the pre-seed stage. The rules have not changed – 15 teams with the highest ratings competed for a grant of $25,000. This time, 6 teams won:
- Humancreed is a technological social elevator, a platform for supporting gifted children from vulnerable groups through targeted scholarships that provide them with access to quality education and talent development. They are building a community of sponsors, influencers and partners in a single mission – to create opportunities for every child to realize their potential, stimulating social change and restoring demographic development in Ukraine and the world.
- Genery is an ecosystem for searching and generating references for creators and film industry professionals.
- Interview.top is a web platform for conducting technical interviews in IT on demand. The project helps companies hire the best candidates faster and at lower costs, and helps candidates audit their technical knowledge and skills.
- CheckEye is an artificial intelligence-based screening platform that is revolutionizing the detection of chronic diseases and preventing complications.
- Laboratory of Functional Textiles is a chemical laboratory for working with polymers aimed at creating fire-resistant fiber (fabric and clothing) in Ukraine to protect people doing the most dangerous work in the world.
- Playmanity is a gaming platform that allows players to play paid games for free by watching ads. The main goal is to fight piracy in the gaming industry, which harms both the industry and developers. With the help of the platform, players get access to a wide range of games for free just by watching ads.
“The Fund’s grant program with the support of WNICEF is extremely important for the Ukrainian startup ecosystem, as it is now one of the few real opportunities to attract funding for new projects at the early stages. At the pitch day, we selected really high-quality projects that will receive grant funding as winners. I am confident that this will give them a good impetus for development and an opportunity to quickly unleash their potential,” commented Alexey Orap, Founder & Chief Growth Officer at YouScan.
