Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The last column by EWDN Chief Editor Adrien Henni highlights the most notable industry facts and trends in the first quarter of 2021.
Almost no major local deals took place in this period, but Eastern European tech companies continued asserting themselves on the global scene. This trend was exemplified by major financial deals involving airSlate, Arrival, Creatio, Ozon, Preply, Telegram, Wrike.
Meanwhile, Russian or Russia-connected investors kept a high profile in the global game: from such venture investors as RTP Global, Runa Capital and Sistema-affiliated funds, to corporates Dating Group and Mail.ru Group, which made acquisitions in the West.
The first months of the year were marked by constant political turmoil in the region. In Belarus, as the intensity of the revolutionary unrest, which began in August 2020, tended to diminish, the startup ecosystem entered an uncertain process of recovery. Startups took protective measures – typically, moving headquarters abroad and resuming development outside Belarus while keeping IT teams in Belarus.
In Russia, the turmoil around Alexey Navalny – a fierce opponent to Vladimir Putin who survived a poisoning attempt last year and was sent to jail in January 2021 – did not have major visible consequences on startup or venture activity. However, these events ignited a digital rebellion on TikTok, which in turn triggered the authorities to restrain the activity of Twitter and other social networks in Russia.
Eastern Europe quarterly review: Major deals secured abroad; local startups escape political turmoilRead More
