The Polish Development Fund (PFR) is set to make its first investment in Ukraine by financing the expansion of the IT consortium Euvic Group. In 2022, Euvic began acquiring small Ukrainian outsourcing companies and now plans to expand, according to Puls Biznesu.
Euvic has invested in four Ukrainian IT companies: Exoft in Lviv, Artkai in Dnipro, 7Devs in Kharkiv, and Lampa Software in Vinnytsia. These companies collectively employ around 300 people, and all of their clients are foreign, with about 60% based in the USA.
Currently, the Polish company holds minority stakes (20–40%) but plans to acquire a controlling interest. In the future, Euvic aims for 100% of the shares to belong to Euvic Ukraine, with the founders of the Ukrainian companies becoming co-owners. The total number of employees is expected to grow to 500.
"We believe this is a good time to build a brand in the Ukrainian market and position ourselves well. We are very satisfied with the investments we have already made. The founders of these companies are ambitious, motivated, and honest people. They decided to collaborate with us to accelerate the development of their businesses, leveraging our experience. Two companies grew much faster than we expected—they increased their EBITDA by 2.5 times in two years. The other two grew by 15–20%, as planned," said Lukasz Czerniecki, Vice President of Euvic and President of Euvic Ukraine.
Another deal is planned—the acquisition of a Lviv-based company with more than 80 employees and an annual revenue of around $3 million. It will be purchased in a 60/40 ratio, together with the founders of Exoft, the first Ukrainian company acquired by Euvic.
"Foreign expansion is becoming essential for the further development of Polish companies. Within the PFR group, we have the tools and opportunities to support them in this. Ukraine is particularly interesting to us. Poland's location means we can play a significant role in its recovery process as a logistics center, construction and capital base, as well as a partner in IT, innovation, and technology," explained Piotr Machuk, President of the PFR Fund.
Half of the capital for the investment is provided by the Polish Development Fund through the FEZ2 fund, which will loan Euvic $2.5 million. For the PFR group, this is their first project related to investments in Ukraine.
"The sooner we enter as Polish businesses and financial institutions, the greater our chances of participating in Ukraine's recovery," emphasized Tomasz Orlik, Board Member of PFR.
