The competition committee of the Ukrainian Startup Fund according to the results of the 13th Pitch Day has defined three more startups, which will be considered by the supervisory board and approved for a grant of $50,000, the press service of the fund reports on Facebook.
In total, ten projects took part in the pitching, of which three projects at the seed stage became the winners, scoring 15 points or more:
– a platform that allows hospitality companies to automate voice communications with clients using the artificial intelligence Outloud.ai (20.7 points);
– the Esper Bionics startup, developing the next generation of hand prostheses and a cloud platform as a service that teaches prostheses the user’s habits, improving management (20 points);
– the online application for organic development and monetization of social media profiles IGnation (15.3 points).
The funds will be transferred after the relevant decision of the fund’s supervisory board.
In general, as of October 2020, there are 2,178 applications.
The Ukrainian Startup Fund is a state fund established at the initiative of the Cabinet of Ministers. Its purpose is to provide financing to technology companies in the early stages of development (pre-seed and seed).
Lviv Brewery LLC, a large supplier of drinks and food products in Western Ukraine, became a guarantor of Pro Tek Vikna Ukraine LLC on a credit line of EUR 8 million from JSC Raiffeisen Bank Aval. According to a company’s report in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, the decision to sign the respective agreement with Raiffeisen Bank Aval was taken on September 20, 2019. The deadline for credit redemption is by December 31, 2026.
The agreement provides for the transfer of a separate launch complex to the bank in mortgage with a total area of 31,790 square meters, land plots with an area of 2,500 hectares and 2,900 hectares (all in Yavorivsky district of Lviv region) of the company Pro Tek Vikna Ukraine.
Lviv Brewery began its activity in 1997 as a wholesale warehouse of food products of all categories, now a large distributor of FMCG in western Ukraine. Main areas of activity: distribution of beer brands Carlsberg, alcoholic beverages Nemiroff, Oreanda, Shabo, grocery products Oleina, Rollton, Runa and others.
Pro Tech Vikna Ukraine is engaged in the production of wooden containers, wholesale of food products, etc.
According to the Unified Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the final beneficiaries of both companies are Vasyl Novak, Andriy Panas and Roman Paskovych.
The European Commission (EC) is preparing an international project of assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 25 million for the development of the digital economy and e-government. The issues were discussed at a meeting of representatives of the EC with advisor to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“During the meeting, representatives of the European Commission reported on the preparation of an international project to assist Ukraine in the amount of EUR 25 million for the development of the digital economy and e-government, and also provided their recommendations for the “State in the Smartphone” concept. Key proposals related to the development of citizen identification, the introduction of an effective structure for managing… the implementation of ambitious tasks,” the press service of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In turn, Fedorov told about plans and prospects: “For us, we have very clear plans for the year and key performance indicators until 2024. The “State in the Smartphone” for me is when a Ukrainian can solve any life or business situation online in one click and preferably from a smartphone, when our citizen will forever forget what an official looks like and where he is, when Ukrainians will be able to actively participate in the development of the state through a smartphone.”
First Deputy Head of the State e-Government Agency Oleksiy Vyskub told EC representatives about the eBaby project, through which parents of newborns will be able to get 10 online services.
According to the press service, representative of the Support Group for Ukraine (SGUA) in the European Commission Frank Paul, representative of the Delegation of the European Union in Ukraine Martin Klaucke and Coordinator of the Public Administration Reform Sector of the EU Delegation in Ukraine Serhiy Ladny took part in the meeting at the president’s office.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide grant assistance to the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) to develop a feasibility study for the construction of the Lviv-Mukachevo-Uzhgorod highway with a branch to the Hungarian border, the agency’s press service has reported. “This corridor is very important for Ukraine, because the export flow to the countries of Southern and South-Western Europe is directed through it. In addition, the new road will also provide a stable communication with Zakarpattia region,” Oleksandr Kava, the adviser to the Ukravtodor head, said.
According to the report, the new road will connect with the Hungarian M3 highway through the Dyida checkpoint and the Slovak D1 highway through the Uzhgorod checkpoint.
The maximum speed on the highway will be 130 km/h.
“This road will reduce the trip time in the direction of Lviv-Mukachevo to an hour and a half instead of the current 3.5 hours,” the report says.
