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Proparco backs Horizon Capital Catalyst Fund to accelerate Ukraine’s reconstruction and long-term growth

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Signing ceremony, Davos. - DR

Proparco announces its investment at first close in the Horizon Capital Catalyst Fund, a reconstruction-focused equity vehicle launched by Horizon Capital, a leading private equity firm operating in Ukraine and Moldova. In a record six months since fundraising began at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome last July, the Fund has secured over 50% of its €300 million target, reflecting strong momentum and investor confidence in Ukraine’s recovery despite a challenging context.

Proparco is investing as an anchor investor alongside other International and European development finance institutions, helping catalyse private capital into sectors that are essential to Ukraine’s economic resilience and future growth. The Catalyst Fund was created to address the shortage of equity capital in Ukraine, with a focus on critical sectors such as renewable energy, digital infrastructure, construction and other asset-heavy, labour and capital-intensive industries.

Building on Horizon Capital’s long-standing strategy of backing entrepreneurs and fast-growing companies, the Catalyst Fund expands the firm’s investment reach beyond technology and export-oriented businesses to greenfield projects and companies at the core of Ukraine’s reconstruction. By deploying catalytic equity, the Fund aims to increase the number of bankable transactions, accelerate capital mobilisation and unlock debt financing into sectors that will power recovery and reconstruction.

We are proud to announce our commitment as an anchor investor in Horizon Capital’s Catalyst Fund, building on Proparco’s long-standing partnership with Horizon Capital. By supporting the Horizon Capital Catalyst Fund at first close, we are backing Ukraine’s strategic sectors, particularly infrastructure and renewable energy. In current critical context, catalytic equity plays a vital role in mobilizing private capital and helping lay the foundations for a more resilient and prosperous future for the country.

Françoise Lombard

  • Chief Executive Officer of Proparco

Launching Catalyst Fund is a significant milestone for Horizon Capital during our twentieth anniversary year. It is the second Ukraine-dedicated fund that we have launched since the full-fledged invasion, propelling the firm to over $1 billion raised for Ukraine in the last decade, and enables investing in high-impact, labor and capital-intensive sectors that generate over 10% of Ukraine’s annual GDP and employ over 650,000 people while equity capital remains scarce. We are grateful to our esteemed investors for backing this asset-heavy, domestic-focused fund in record time to enable capital to be deployed in Ukraine immediately.

Lenna Koszarny

  • Founding Partner and CEO, Horizon Capital

This equity investment is strongly aligned with Proparco’s mandate to build more resilient economies, promote gender equality and support climate action. Investments will contribute directly to the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The Fund will support job creation, promote best-in-class ESG standards in a post-war context, attract EU funding and facilitate market entry for long-term investors.

Gender equality is a core pillar of Horizon Capital’s approach. Across its portfolio, 49% of employees are women, and the firm has been awarded the 2X Challenge Flagship Fund status twice. The Catalyst Fund is working towards full 2X Challenge certification, reinforcing its commitment to advancing women’s economic participation.
 

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