Sergey Tokarev: Angel initiative to help Ukrainian Startups get funds and clients
The Ukrainian IT sector was making significant strides until the war started and brought destructive power to the industry. Acting businesses had to look for solutions to keep the IT development regarding the situation within the country. With this in mind, technology companies and international venture funds joined forces to assist Ukrainian IT and come up with a forward strategy. Sergey Tokarev, the founder of the tech company Roosh, spoke about the mission of the Ukrainian Tech Circle.
Ukrainian Tech Circle’s mission
Ukrainian Tech Circle was established to provide all-encompassing aid to Ukrainian startups. It is a global network of angel investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and tech professionals committed to supporting tech projects and startups affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Tokarev is one of the project initiators. Among others are Den Dmitrenko, a managing partner in the tech company Roosh, and Nina Levchuk, a head of Startup and VC at Google in Central Europe. The Roosh founder specifies that Ukrainian Tech Circle is aimed at supporting techies in appealing to additional investment and new customers and providing valuable consultations with leading experts in the industry.
The initiative team came up with the idea to create such a project not just for nothing. The main reason was the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that destroyed everything on its way. According to Sergey Tokarev, many projects and startups have lost almost everything: financial resources and up to 100% of their revenue. Only a few companies could adapt to the new reality: Diia, Reface, and Ajax Systems. But the rest 99% of projects are still in dire need of funding.
Supporters from Tech Circle
Since its establishment, many companies and firms have already joined to be a part of this great mission. They are BBQ Capital, Spaceсadet Ventures, Samaipata, ff Venture Capital, Caixa Capital Risc, Chamaeleon, and such companies as Neurons Lab, Alma, TheGuarantors, Libeo, Silicon Allee, Powder, Chamaeleon, Google for Startups.
The tech company Roosh and venture fund Roosh Ventures also joined the initiative. Roosh is a Ukrainian tech company focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its portfolio includes the Reface app, Pawa venture studio, ZibraAI deep-tech startup, venture firm Roosh Ventures, and educational projects AI HOUSE and SET University.
Tech Circle’s participants
All Ukrainian tech businesses in dire need of aid can apply for this project. Investors, venture capitalists, and tech businesspeople also can join the initiative if they feel like sharing their expertise, funding, etc. According to Sergey Tokarev, the project has received around 50 applications, and the number is definitely growing. More startups join the initiatives as well as partners with mentors. The project initiator believes that Tech Circle can save hundreds of Ukrainian tech projects.
Hashtag.net.au
