Private equity firm Horizon Capital has announced the launch of Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV (HCGF IV), raising $125 million in its first phase. With the first close, Horizon Capital achieved a record high first closing, reaching 50% of its $250 million target.
The Fund’s first closing was backed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) and a subsidiary of KfW Group, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, and the Zero Gap Fund, an impact investing collaboration between The Rockefeller Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The official signing ceremony occurred at IFC’s London office with Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO Lenna Koszarny and Senior Partner Vasile Tofan.
Further, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, joined the Fund’s investors today at the official signing ceremony from Ukraine via video link.
The fund will support visionary Ukrainian entrepreneurs who lead fast-growing technology and export-oriented companies.
$1.2B AUM
Horizon Capital is a private equity firm in Ukraine, backed by over 40 institutional investors with over $1.2 billion under management in six funds. Horizon Capital-managed funds have invested in over 160 companies employing more than 77,000 people in the Region.
“We are honored to make history by launching the first fund for Ukraine and Moldova since February 24th, and the first to back these countries since they achieved well-deserved and hard-won EU Candidate Status in June”, says Lenna Koszarny, Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner, and CEO.
She adds, “We dedicate this Fund to the people of Ukraine, who inspire the world with their bravery and tenacity in defending their homeland, thus ensuring a future where Ukraine assumes its rightful place among European nations. Ukraine needs partners who believe in the country, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its people, are ready and willing to lead the way, and leave no stone unturned to ensure that investment capital is available right now, not when hostilities end. Ukrainians must have access to sufficient resources to lead their country’s economic rebound, renewal, and revitalization. Horizon Capital has stood with Ukraine since 2006 and stands with Ukraine today and for years to come. We are immensely grateful to our esteemed Limited Partners for committing capital that may be deployed now, for their steadfast belief in our team, our track record, our strategy and our vision, and this strong signaling effect on the market. We are confident this historic fund will succeed, delivering both returns and impact.”
Vasile Tofan, the Senior Partner, continues, “I am proud of my fellow compatriots in Moldova for welcoming more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other country, as well as their strength and resilience throughout. This spirit of resilience is also demonstrated by technology companies throughout the Region, especially in Ukraine, where the tech sector fuels a high pace of innovation and digitalization, expanding 23% YoY during the first half of 2022 and delivering record-high export revenues of $3.74 billion, with over $8 billion forecast for 2022. The new Fund will continue to focus on tech and export-oriented companies, led by visionary entrepreneurs with a proven track record of leveraging competitive platforms to succeed globally, building on the success of our vintage 2017 US$ 200 million fund, whose stellar results are driven by the outstanding performance of the underlying companies and their talented founders and management teams. We look forward to continuing to back founders with an average of $10-30 million in growth capital, as well as the strong value-add contribution of our team.”
“At a moment when Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support, through our Zero Gap Fund, the Ukrainian businesses that have proven critical to the nation’s resilience and will prove critical to its future,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. “Given the war’s continued ramifications on global markets and the billions whose access to food has been upended by the crisis, keeping Ukraine running and getting it back up to speed is essential to our institution’s century-long commitment to lifting humanity.”