Dragon Capital invests $20 mln in its Rebuild Ukraine Fund, plans its first closing in September
Dragon Capital, one of the largest private equity investors in Ukraine, launched the Rebuild Ukraine Fund LP (REBUF) a year ago and is investing $20 million of its own capital in it, the first closing of the fund is planned for September this year, said Andriy Nosok, Managing Director and Head of the Direct Investment Department of Dragon Capital.
"We have really made great progress in raising funds for this fund. We have received significant support from international financial institutions and development financial institutions that are investing their capital in this fund. We expect the first closing of this fund to be in September," he said at a workshop of the URC2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, dedicated to private equity investments.
Nosok recalled that Dragon Capital has been investing in private equity in Ukraine for 25 years, including managing private equity funds since 2010. REBUF is the third such fund, which follows the same strategy as the previous ones.
"This is a universal fund with a wide range of interests. We look at different industries from consumer goods and services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial technologies, construction materials and many others. But we mainly or mostly focus on small and medium-sized enterprises - a market segment that is very underestimated," the managing director noted.
According to him, SMEs with a turnover of less than $50 million make up the largest share of the Ukrainian economy and are the largest employers. However, on the other hand, they currently have virtually no access to capital from international financial institutions (IFIs) and international financial organizations (IFOs), as they usually do not fall under the criteria of IFIs and IFOs due to their size. They are also not attractive to banks, as a significant part of them is not sufficiently transparent and does not have a sufficient level of corporate governance.
“So, we are risking our own capital and continue to invest in Ukraine since the summer of 2022. This gives our partners considerable confidence that we will do everything right,” Nosok added.
The Dragon Capital representative welcomed the EU’s announcement of the creation of a European flagship fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine in the amount of EUR500 million, also aimed at stimulating private investment. At the same time, he expressed some concern that this initiative may create a certain imbalance in access to this capital for the ecosystem as a whole.