When Sergiy Tsivkach, CEO of the Ukrainian government’s investment promotion office, UkraineInvest, arrived at the Fortune offices this week, he was coming from Washington, D.C., where more than 400 people had gathered to discuss how to do more business in Ukraine.
“I have a pile of business cards like that,” Tsivkach told Term Sheet as he widened his hands.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February 2022, interest in investments into Ukraine’s agricultural processing, automobile industry, and heavy engineering has spiked, Tsivkach said. UkraineInvest is now fielding three to four requests every month from prospective international corporations and investment firms, particularly in manufacturing, up from two to three requests every six months before the war. His department is supporting some $500 million of capital that has been invested since February 2022, nearly 30% of the $1.7 billion in total investments committed since 2020.
As countries worldwide have rushed in to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia, the war has ignited a sense of urgency from global power players to infuse fresh capital into the Ukrainian economy, or make reinvestments.
UkraineInvest, in particular, is focused on attracting investment into Ukraine’s agriculture and manufacturing businesses, for industries including aerospace, textiles, and renewable energy. Tsivkach says his team has been working with companies and investors to support potential investments, including Irish building materials group Kingspan, for example, which is going to build a manufacturing facility in Ukraine that will cost some $300 million; and Nestle, which has said it is launching a new production facility in Western Ukraine. Tsivkach pointed out that most of the investments are coming from companies or firms based in countries or republics including Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, France, and America.
Of course, Tsivkach and his office are hoping that Ukraine will win the war, and that the country will subsequently be permitted to become a member of NATO. “If we will join NATO after the end of the war, then investors will come in bigger numbers,” he says.
As for now, he says the influx of capital has been a source of encouragement for him and his team.
“It's hard to focus when you see missiles over your head being shot down,” Tsivkach said, adding later: “When you see real companies come in and invest, and then you see the result of your work—that gives you wings.”
The Fearless lawsuit…Yesterday we got an update on the ongoing affirmative action lawsuit filed against Fearless Fund, the Atlanta-based venture capital firm focused on investing in founders of color. In advance of the trial, the advocacy group American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by conservative activist Edward Blum, had asked the judge to approve a motion barring Fearless Fund from continuing their grant program as both parties prepare for a trial. Court filings show the presiding judge sided with Fearless Fund, denying the motion and allowing Fearless Fund to continue offering grants to Black women small business owners ahead of the trial.
The latest with Linda…The newly-minted CEO of X Corp./Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, took the stage yesterday at Vox Media’s Code Conference in what turned out to be a rather contentious interview, as detailed by Fortune’s Kyle Robison, who was covering the event in Dana Point, Calif. Yaccarino faced pointed questions about X’s relationship with advertisers, content moderation measures, and Elon Musk’s involvement in management. You can read more about the interview here and here.
Until Monday,
Jessica Mathews and Anne Sraders
Twitter: @jessicakmathews and @AnneSraders
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com and anne.sraders@fortune.com
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