Startup Communities Around The World: Incubators and Accelerators in Ukraine

A growing number of ambitions entrepreneurial - minded individual and a great pool of technical specialists results into the growing number of incubators and accelerators in Ukraine.

Incubators in Ukraine mainly, provide consulting services and help to present the project to the investor. Sometimes, they also provide future office space and organize educational activities. In some cases, also startups are offered small investment. Incubators, focused exclusively on consulting usually do not push strict rules for selecting projects. Any entrepreneur or team with an idea and a desire to make it happen can become a resident of the incubator.

As for accelerators, they work individually with the project, which has passed the competition, attracting financial resources and experienced mentors. Their main objective is to share knowledge with startups for a limited period of time and create an attractive product at a working version or prototype. Often these projects have subsequently received venture capital funding from foundations, working directly with the accelerator.

Let's have a closer look at some of the  accelerators and incubators in Ukraine and  interesting fact about them.

1.  GrowthUP (Kiev) 
GrowthUP is the first Ukrainian accelerator dedicated to technology startups that works with projects from the earliest stages of development. The accelerator was established in 2008 at the consulting-firm BayView Innovations, a subsidiary of the BVU Group.

What is interesting about their program:
More than 300 mentors from Europe and the United States are mentoring projects (around 75%5 of them from C-level). The accelerator program is 4 months and including one month in Berlin and one month in Silicon Valley visits, meeting with mentors and access to the network. Possible to get see fund up to 50 000 $ from the GrowthUP+ fund.

Costs: at the final stage successful startup offer 5% equity stake

Results: More than 350 startups completed the acceleration program, more than 3,000 people attended seminars, and graduates raised more than $ 3 million of seed- and $ 45 million in Series A and B financing.

2.  Polyteco (Kiev)
Business Incubator Polyteco is based at the National Technical University of Ukraine. Youth IT Business Incubator "Polyteco" is a project the students' entrepreneurial initiative, the basis of which is formed by progressive ideas in the sphere of IT. Incubator helps to Creation of  launch and commercialize new and innovative ideas of students, postgraduates and young scientists from the University in the sphere of IT.

What is interesting about the program: It is based in technical park “Kievskaya Polytechnica” and has been established in 2013. After the successful launch startups get a chance to continue working at the park. Startups get office space and meeting with experts. Mentors team includes specialist and professors from the University, as well as, foreign experts. 

Costs: startup offers 5-20% equity stake to “Kievskaya Polytechnica”, depending on the idea and initial fundings. 

Results: Around 20 startups are taking part in the program

3. Happy Farm (Shchaslyve village)
Founded in 2012, Happy Farm is a business incubator that provides business development services for startup teams (or companies) and also assumes further support and investment attraction in startup companies. The purpose of the business incubator is the search for and commercialization of new technologies and developments in the sphere of information technology.

What is interesting about the program: The incubator offers a 2 month program, including 2 months in the United States. It is also possible to stay for additional 2 month for the post-development stage. Startups are offered day-to-day mentorship program. Mentors are serial entrepreneurs and world-class experts, examples: Bob Dorf (Co-author of the bestseller “The startups Owner’s Manual”), Mervin Liao (mentor of 500 Startups), Kristoffer Lawson (Co-founder of HOLVI), Madeline Duva (Advisor to Eye-Fi and mentor at the FOunder Institute). The program includes funding of 70 000 $ (15 000$ in cash and 55 000$ in services).

Costs: Happy Farm gets 15% equity stake for the services

Results:  More than 30 startups are taking part in the program