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In late April the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association
(UVCA) released an overview of the Ukrainian venture market in 2019.
Investments in tech startups and IT companies registered or born in Ukraine
reached $510mn, up 50% from the previous year. This number may seem
modest by international standards, but it set a record in the history of this
young market – with a 50% increase over one year.
However, the better part of these deals took place in the USA, involving
startups, which were born in Ukrainian but moved abroad as soon as they
began developing at a significant scale.
A Kyiv-based venture fund, Genesis Investments, led a $1.5mn seed funding
round for Vochi. This Belarusian startup has developed an app for creative
video editing. Neural networks are used to enable the addition of effects to
individual objects in a video on a mobile device – “in real time and without
quality loss,” says the startup.
No other major deals took place in Ukraine and Belarus this spring. However,
international organizations demonstrated their commitment to support these
countries. USAID announced a $10mn program to support startup ecosystem
development in Belarus while the EIB, a financial institution of the European
Union, provided a €50mn loan to UNIT.City, Ukraine’s largest innovation park.
9.1.8 Tourism sector news
Last year, Ukrainians made 26mn trips out of the country, while foreigners made 15mn trips here, according to the State Statistics Service. Tourism accounts for only 1.5% of Ukraine’s GDP, well below Belarus – 6.4% -- and Georgia – 26.3%. To generate more inbound tourism, Ukraine has dropped visa requirements for Chinese tourists and allowed Indians, South Africans and Filipinos to apply for visas on line. “Simple arithmetic shows the advantages of visa liberalization: the average check of one Chinese tourist in Ukraine is about $950,” says SkyUp, Ukraine’s discount airline. After coronavirus and visa barriers drop, SkyUp mulls launching flights to: China, India, Bahrain Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia.
9.1.9 Utilities sector news
Ukraine pays one of the highest electricity prices in Europe, according to the EU -- €46.9 per MWh, while the European average was €33.5 per MWh. Countries paying the most are: Greece at €50 per MWh, Malta at €45 per MWh, Bulgaria €42 per MWh, Romania at €41 per MWh, Hungary and Poland €41 per MWh. The lowest are: Norway at €15 per MWh and Sweden at €17 per MWh.
Ukraine’s electricity consumption in July was only 0.7% below last year’s level, according to Ukrenergo, the nation’s state power transmission company. Industrial consumption was down 3.2% y/y, but household consumption was up 4.7% and consumption by chemical industries was up 15%.
Energy traders imported 345,000 megawatts of electricity in the first quarter of 2020, reports NERC. The imported electricity was from Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Belarus.
64 UKRAINE Country Report September 2020 www.intellinews.com
