{"id":26844,"date":"2025-10-06T12:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scroll.media\/2025\/10\/06\/fintech-it-group-becomes-unicorn\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T00:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:22:50","slug":"fintech-it-group-becomes-unicorn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scroll.media\/en\/2025\/10\/06\/fintech-it-group-becomes-unicorn\/","title":{"rendered":"Fintech-IT Group Becomes Ukraine\u2019s First Fintech Unicorn After UMAEF Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fintech-IT Group, the developer behind monobank, has become a unicorn, reaching a valuation of over $1 billion after attracting investments from the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF) and a consortium of private investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This deal is significant for several reasons \u2014 notably because it marks the first time in a long while that a tech company with a valuation of $1 billion or more, operating in Ukraine with a clear local identity and registration (and not just Ukrainian founders abroad), has emerged. Scroll.media<\/a><\/em> <\/a>editorial team explains what makes this deal so interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$1+ Billion for Fintech-IT Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fintech-IT Group has become the first Ukrainian tech company since the start of the full-scale invasion to receive an official $1+ billion valuation from a third-party investor and the first Ukrainian fintech to reach unicorn status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s worth noting that the developers of monobank had already achieved unofficial unicorn-level valuation before<\/em> the invasion. At that time, Letter One, owned by Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, reportedly offered $1 billion (according to some sources $1.1 billion) for monobank. The parties failed to reach an agreement before February 2022, and negotiations were not resumed afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence, UMAEF\u2019s investment has now confirmed that earlier valuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this deal, Oleg Gorokhovskyi and Mykhailo Rogalskiy \u2014 Fintech-IT Group\u2019s co-founders \u2014 now have personal net worths of several hundred million dollars.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a reminder, Fintech-IT Group includes Fintech Band, Kbyte1024, Shake-to-Pay, AC DC Proc\u0441essing, and several other companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Was Invested?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That remains unclear. Market experts are reluctant to reveal details, citing many unknowns surrounding the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with UMAEF, formerly known as WNISEF. Originally launched in 1994 by the US government, the fund has not been known for making large investments. Sources interviewed by Scroll.media estimate the amount to be around $5 million, and in exceptional cases, possibly up to $10 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s the \u00abconsortium of American private investors.\u00bb Who they are and how much they contributed remains undisclosed. It\u2019s also unclear whether UMAEF acted as the lead investor or simply coordinated the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other interesting details here. In 2017, WNISEF founded u.ventures, which focuses on early-stage investments, making it unsuitable for a mature company like Fintech-IT Group. Meanwhile, in 2006, WNISEF helped launch Horizon Capital, participating in three funds totaling $65 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why didn\u2019t Horizon Capital invest in Fintech-IT Group? Market insiders suggest a few possible reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n