At IT Arena in Lviv, American entrepreneur Justin Zif announced the launch of Green Flag Ventures, a fund that will invest in Ukrainian startups. According to Justin, Ukraine shares many similarities with Israel, making it a country with significant potential for the development of startups and the IT industry.
The fund will invest in pre-seed and Series A stages, and the exact amount of investments and specific areas of interest are yet to be disclosed. However, it is reported that the fund is particularly interested in defense tech projects.
The fund is primarily focused on Ukrainian projects, and several criteria determine their affiliation with Ukraine:
- The founders must be Ukrainians.
- Ideally, a significant portion of the team should be based in Ukraine, although this factor is not decisive.
- If the team is located outside of Ukraine, the project should have a positive impact on the country's image.
Justin Zif first visited Ukraine in 2022, delivering humanitarian aid. Since then, he has paid close attention to the local business, entrepreneurs, and startup ecosystem. Despite the full-scale war, startups in Ukraine continue to grow, build products, and create. The only thing they lack is resources, which is why he launched the fund.
The name of the fund, "Green Flag Ventures," is not just a random choice; it alludes to the concept of "green flags," indicating things that encourage certain actions. In this case, Justin saw many advantages in Ukraine, which served as "green flags" for launching the fund, hence the name.
