Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company has suspended its investments in Russia due to the Ukraine crisis, one of its top executive said last week. “What is happening in this crisis between Russia and Ukraine is a travesty, with catastrophic consequences, in terms of human life and in terms of the impact it’s having on economies all …
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund suspends investments in Russia Read More
On Sept. 1 KupiVIP, once a top Russian fashion site, and its affiliate Mamsy.ru, wound up their operations Sept. 1, unable to compete with Russia’s new generation of online retail giants. “For 13 years we made you happy with each purchase [but] our story is over now,” says a statement posted on the KupiVIP site. …
Western-funded KupiVIP shuts down after 13-year e-commerce story Read More
Update July 9: Yandex announced the cancellation of the deal, for undisclosed reasons, according to media reports. The company is considering “other options to enter the fashion segment.” Yandex.Market is in the process of acquiring KupiVIP, one of the most established e-commerce brands in Russia, founded back in 2008 by German entrepreneur Oskar Hartmann. Also …
Glorious story but modest exit for online fashion pioneer KupiVIP Read More
More than 500 industry professionals, including 300+ investors interested in the CEE region, are expected to participate in the 2nd edition of 0100 Virtual CEE, a major PE/VC regional conference. The event will take place online from 16th to 18th March, 2021. Participants will include senior level General Partners from renowned PE/VC funds and Limited Partners — including pension funds, funds of funds, family …
0100 Virtual CEE: Hundreds of PE/VC professionals to meet online (March 16-18) Read More
Since the COVID-19 shockwave hit Russia in March 2020, East-West Digital News has been following closely the impact of the pandemic on the country’s tech industries. These articles highlight the best of Russian innovators’ response to the virus, the high-tech approach of the authorities to manage the crisis, online retailers’ reaction to demand surge, and …
Russian tech amid the pandemic: Impact and response Read More
DMarket, a Ukraine-born startup that uses blockchain to build “a user-owned gaming economy,” has just attracted $6.5 million in equity funding. The round was led by Almaz Capital with participation from video game company Xsolla. No details of the deal were disclosed. Now headquartered in California, DMarket has developed a platform that “enables transparent and secure buying, selling, and …
Almaz Capital leads $6.5 million for in-game item trading platform DMarket Read More
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided finances to a Russian company for the first time in more than five years under its emergency coronavirus support fund. The EBRD stopped making active investments in the country in 2014, following Western sanctions stemming from the events in Ukraine and Crimea. The group has also wound …
EBRD provides rescue financing to Travelata and other Russian portfolio companies Read More
On Wednesday, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced its intention to invest in three big Russian startups. The sovereign wealth fund is teaming up with Baring Vostok, a leading Russian private equity firm, and unnamed funds from the Middle East, to invest in CarPrice. Founded in …
Earlier this month Da Vinci Capital – a major EBRD-backed and PE firm focusing on Russia and neighboring countries – announced an investment of 100 million rubles ($1.57 million at the current exchange rate) in BitRussia. BitRussia presents itself as an international blockchain-based crowdfunding platform. It aims to put together projects and investors using distributed ledgers, asset …
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and RVC, the Russian state fund-of-funds dedicated to innovation, have inked an agreement to create a new venture fund dedicated to IT innovation in the field of education. The fund will target projects using the latest word of IT technologies on the global market. The parties are committed to provide …
Russian state to put more than $100 million in edtech fund Read More
Last week German development finance institution DEG announced it provided equity funding to DataArt, a leading global developer of complex IT solutions. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Alongside DEG, this venture round was backed by Da Vinci Capital – a major EBRD-backed and PE firm focusing on Russia and neighboring countries which already provided funding to …
Bas Godska, an international e-marketing veteran and one of the most prolific business angels in Eastern Europe, announces the launch of Acrobator Ventures. This startup fund plans to invest up to €20 million in the coming three years “from pre-seed stage to later stages.” Its sweet spots will be SaaS, Big Data/ML/AI and HR tech, not …
Dutch business angel Bas Godska launches venture fund, targets startups from across Europe Read More
