Swedfund, Sweden's development finance institution, is opening an office in Kyiv to support the reconstruction and economic development of Ukraine.
The fund, which currently invests in "small and medium-sized enterprises in the IT/technology sector, promoting job creation and export earnings," is now looking for opportunities to invest a recently expanded budget earmarked for Ukraine.
Swedfund is seeking to hire a head for its office in the Ukrainian capital, who will focus on networking, deal sourcing, generating a local pipeline and supporting transactions in due diligence processes and commercial discussions in cooperation, the fund said.
"The office will initially be staffed by one investment professional reporting to the Chief Investment Officer based in Stockholm," the fund said in a job ad. "The Swedfund office will also include personnel for Swedfund’s project development, and the office is co-located with other Team Sweden representatives."
The Swedish government in April proposed a SEK 300 million ($29 million) capital injection to "increase Swedfund’s opportunities to invest in Ukraine, and strengthen both Ukraine’s resilience and its reconstruction."
And in May, Swedfund signed an agreement with Ukrainian state-owned energy firm Naftogaz to support upgrades of combined heat and power plants and renewable energy development.
In April of 2023, Swedfund invested $15 million in Ukraine's Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV for investments in small and medium-sized companies in the IT sector in Ukraine.
Ukraine is hosting a rapidly expanding cohort of development finance institutions, Earlier this year, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also established a full-time presence in Kyiv with a staffer moving into the US Embassy.
