IFC joins EUR 40 mln Ukraine infrastructure fund with EBRD, EIB

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group plans to invest up to EUR 40 million in the capital of the new Amber Dragon Ukraine Infrastructure Fund I with a stated target size of EUR 350 million, in which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have previously announced their intentions to invest EUR 60 million and EUR 40 million, respectively.

As noted on the IFC website, its board of directors plans to consider this project on September 30 of this year.

The corporation indicates that the Fund will be jointly managed by Amber Fund Management Limited, part of Boyd Watterson Global Asset Management Group LLC, and Dragon Capital Advisors Limited. It is noted that the fund will focus on the reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine's critical infrastructure and will invest in energy transition (generation, transmission and distribution of renewable energy, storage), digital infrastructure (data centers, telecommunications towers, fiber optic networks), as well as transport and logistics (ports, roads, railways, industrial parks, cold storage, intermodal terminals).

According to IFC, Amber, with more than 175 infrastructure investments around the world, has established itself as a global infrastructure fund manager with a strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe, while Dragon Capital is an investment group based in Ukraine with deep local roots and significant experience in private equity and real estate in the country.

IFC’s investment in Amber Dragon Ukraine Infrastructure Fund is expected to be supported by the participants of the blended finance under the Economic Resilience Action Program (ERA) for Ukraine: with the participation of France and other guarantors, a first loss guarantee of up to EUR 20 million will be provided.

Evheniy Baranov, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure at Dragon Capital, said at the Ukrainian Recovery Conference URC2025 on July 10-11 in Rome that Dragon Capital and Amber have formed a solid portfolio of projects over the past year that can absorb even more capital than the fund plans to attract.

As noted at URC2025 in the fund’s presentation, its strategy involves investments in controlling stakes or co-investments with like-minded investors, with an average ticket size of EUR 20 million to EUR 50 million.

The EIB noted in late June that the project is at the appraisal stage, while the EBRD board of directors plans to consider it on September 24 this year.

Baranov emphasized that the first project of the Amber Dragon Ukraine Infrastructure Fund was announced at URC2025 - the Power One distributed energy project, to which the EBRD plans to provide EUR 21.1 million in financing.

Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment groups in Ukraine in the field of investments and financial services, providing a full range of investment banking and brokerage services, direct investments, asset management for institutional, corporate and private clients. The company was founded in 2000 in Kyiv. According to the founder and CEO Tomasz Fiala, the group's investment portfolio currently includes almost 50 different companies or real estate projects. The company invested about $700 million in Ukraine from 2015 to 2021, excluding reinvestments, and plans to invest $100 million in 2025.