Interview with Olga Afanasyeva, the CEO of the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA), for the podcast “Made in Ukraine Tech Startup Edition’ by Michael Buryk, technology writer and the producer.
The podcast is about the UVCA exhibit with Ukrainian tech startups at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Ukraine House alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
CES 2020:
- For the last three years UVCA has organized the participation of Ukrainian startups at CES – the most prominent electronics conference in the world;
- This year six startups took part in it after 3-stage selection: 1 – the contest all over Ukraine, 2 – the boot camp training before the CES 2020, 3 – pitching and showcase of the products in Ukraine:
- CES is like press-conference of the year: C-level representatives of TOP global companies, investors, VC’s, massive media coverage. It’s also essential for the country to represent the potential of the national innovations – we need to show it as France which this year had its pavilion with the best examples of French tech – a lot of companies supported by the country;
- After CES we visited California with startups and a couple of investors – 3,5 days with a focus on business: accelerators, experts, law aspects of doing business in the USA;
- Unusual aspects of the Ukrainian exhibit: teams and founders – the most important thing; a lot of women from different parts of Ukraine, diversity, and inclusions. Also, our products improve people’s lives – make a quality of life better.
World Economic Forum in Davos 2020:
- Within World Economic Forum we in Ukraine House Davos strengthening the image of Ukraine as a modern, European country offering a wealth of opportunities;
- We got more backers for this year and better exposure to the event;
- welcomed over 8,000 registered guests, sixteen engaging panel discussions, world-renowned speakers, evening events, investors – from the USA and EU, and Asia as well which was untypical previously;
- This venue is interesting and important for new people who expect to see Ukraine in Davos. And it’s the first step for them to start communication and cooperation with Ukrainian tech companies.
The next things for UVCA:
- Angel investor activity – institution and individual investors
- Negotiations with partners from Davos to support the Green Tech Festival
- Work fund-to-fund: more capital to invest in Ukraine – help VC fund to fundraise
Listen to more in the podcast “Made in Ukraine Tech Startup Edition” by Mike Buryk – here.
