A United Arab Emirates business incubator – venture fund FasterCapital based in Dubai – has announced it is entering the Ukrainian market, promising up to $3 million in investment in Ukrainian startup companies.
According to Sergiy Andriychuk, the head of FasterCapital’s Ukrainian unit, the incubator is mostly interested in technology startups that develop software, online projects, and mobile applications, but other options are also possible.
“Those startups that are at the level of an idea will be able to attract $5,000 to $500,000, depending on the concept,” Andriychuk told Ukrainian online tech journal AIN.UA on Dec. 21. “FasterCapital may offer $300,000 to $3 million to startups that already have a ready-made product and possibly even income.”
In addition to financial support, the incubator promises to help with assessing ideas, conduct feasibility studies, market analyses, product development, and sales and marketing until a startup breaks even.
The venture fund has no plans to become a leading investor in startups, but is ready to fund them in equal proportions either with their founders or with other investors, the company says on its official website.
“Our incubator/investment company will not give entrepreneurs full cash funding. Instead, we will co-fund and co-develop tech and internet start-ups,” the company says. “We believe that if entrepreneurs have a ground-breaking idea and they are extremely passionate about it, then they should invest a certain level of cash funding on their own — this will demonstrate their true commitment towards their business idea.”
Established in 2010, FasterCapital, which cooperates with Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware, has brought 18 startups onto the market, including cross platform messenger Meody, online marketplace BazarMaker, and mobile device search engine Dooet. Another 20 startups are about to be brought to market.
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at krasnikov@kyivpost.com. The Kyiv Post’s IT coverage is sponsored by Looksery, Ciklum, Steltec Capital and SoftServe. The content is independent of the donors.
