Vestbee continues its journey through the global startup and venture capital landscape, spotlighting inspiring female entrepreneurs who are driving business growth. We have already highlighted impactful female leaders from countries like France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Norway, and Germany.
Here, Vestbee presents a list of female startup founders, co-founders, CEOs, COOs, top executives from tech clusters and associations, and venture capital fund partners from Ukraine. To create this collection, we analyzed the most active Ukrainian VC and CVC funds and researched female-founded and female-led startups, as well as non-profit and governmental organizations that make significant contributions to the ecosystem. Using data from platforms like Dealroom.co, Crunchbase, and LinkedIn, we compiled a comprehensive list of the most influential women in Ukraine's startup and VC landscape. Below is the result.
Viktoriya Tigipko, Founding Partner at TA Ventures, Founder and President at ICLUB, Chair of the Board at Ukrainian Startup Fund
Viktoriya Tigipko is a serial entrepreneur and investor. As a Founding Partner of TA Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, she supports startups across Europe and North America. In 2018, she founded ICLUB Global, an angel investor network that partners with TA Ventures to invest in emerging companies. Additionally, Viktoriya chairs the Board of the Ukrainian Startup Fund, a government-backed initiative supporting domestic startups.
Lenna Koszarny, Founding Partner & CEO at Horizon Capital
Lenna Koszarny is the Founding Partner and CEO of Horizon Capital, a leading private equity firm based in Kyiv, managing six funds with over $1.6 billion in AUM. Lenna has been recognized nationally and internationally for her leadership, including first place in the Business Category of Ukrainska Pravda’s ‘Top 100 Power Women Leaders’ in March 2024, as well as inclusion in Forbes Ukraine's ‘Top 50 Women Leaders Leading Ukraine to Victory’ in May 2023.
Hanna Shuvalova, Principal at Horizon Capital
Hanna Shuvalova is a private equity and venture capital investor with experience in machine learning, consumer internet, e-commerce, and marketplaces, focusing on emerging markets. She currently serves as a Principal at Ukrainian private equity firm Horizon Capital.
Alexandra Balkova, General Partner at Startup Wise Guys
Alexandra Balkova has a decade of experience in the venture capital industry and is currently a General Partner at Startup Wise Guys. It is a global accelerator and venture capital group that supports early-stage startups through tailored programs, mentorship, and investment. As a generalist early-stage investor, Alexandra also serves as an expert and member of the Competition Commission at the Ukrainian Startup Fund.
For more about the Startup Wise Guys brand, read our interview with Alexandra.
Elena Mazhuha, Partner at Flyer One Ventures
Elena Mazhuha takes on the role of Partner at Flyer One Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in European startups developing software-first products with global ambitions. She has led over 15 investments in companies such as Awesomic, 99math, Field Materials, Scalestack, Quantivly, RemotePass, and others. In 2024, Olena was included in Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ Europe list.
Veronica Korzh, Partner at SID Ventures, Co-founder & CEO of GeekPay
Veronica Korz is the co-founder and CEO at GeekPay, a platform dedicated to simplifying and securing batch payments in digital currencies, including stablecoins and tokens, particularly for gig workers. Additionally, she serves as a Partner at SID Ventures, a Ukrainian venture capital fund that, despite being relatively young, has quickly established itself as one of the most active players in the market since its launch at the end of 2021.
Galyna Isakiv, Head of Portfolio & Operations at SID Venture Partners
Galyna Isakiv serves as the Head of Portfolio & Operations at SID Venture Partners, one of the most active Ukrainian VC funds that supports early-stage technology companies. Additionally, she is a mentor at the Ukrainian Startup Fund.
Daria Yaniieva, Investment Director at Sigma Software Labs
Daria Yaniieva is an Investment Director at Sigma Software Labs, the corporate venture capital arm of Sigma Software. The fund manages a portfolio of $2.1 million invested in 18 companies and is recognized as one of the most active early-stage investors in Ukraine during the full-scale war. She also serves as a Board Member and Mentor at Defence Builder.
Eveline Buchatskiy, Managing Partner at D3 Venture Capital, Partner at TA Ventures
Eveline Buchatskiy serves as a Managing Partner at D3 Venture Capital, Ukrainian early-stage fund and accelerator for defence tech startups. In addition, she assumes the role of Partner at TA Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm backing companies in Europe and North America at the pre-seed and seed stages.
Elya Chiechienieva, Partner at D3 Venture Capital, Co-founder of UFTM
Elya Chiechienieva assumes the role of Partner at D3 Venture Capital, a VC firm and accelerator supporting defence tech startups. Moreover, Elya is a co-founder of UFTM, a non-profit organization that empowers engineering education in Ukraine.
Kateryna Bezsudna, Co-founder & COO at Defence Builder, Co-founder & CRO at Buntar Aerospace
Kateryna Bezsudna serves as the COO of Defence Builder, a 4-month acceleration program designed for Ukrainian defence startups. Additionally, she is a co-founder of Buntar Aerospace, a startup focused on developing complex solutions for UAV navigation and control.
Nataliia Kushnerska, COO at BRAVE1
Nataliia Kushnerska is the Chief Operating Officer at BRAVE1, a Ukrainian defence tech cluster co-founded by several ministries including the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces, National Security Council, Strategic Industries, and Economyt. It fosters collaboration among companies, startups, government agencies, investors, and media.
Kateryna Hrechko, CEO at Techosystem
Kateryna Hrechko is the CEO of Techosystem, a civic union representing key players in Ukraine's tech ecosystem, with a focus on product companies. The organization aims to bring together market participants to create more favorable business conditions in Ukraine, promote the tech ecosystem, and showcase its global potential.
Nataliya Mykolska, Executive Director at Diia.City United
Nataliya Mykolska is the Executive Director of Diia.City United, the Association of Ukrainian IT and tech businesses that hold the status of Diia.City residents. Diia.City is a special legal regime introduced by the government of Ukraine in mid-2021 with the intention of supporting Ukraine's IT sector and promoting innovative development.
Katherine Kostereva, CEO at Creatio
Katherine Kostereva is the CEO and co-founder of Creatio, a no-code platform that automates workflows and CRM solutions to enhance operational efficiency for businesses. The company recently surpassed a $1.2 billion valuation. With over 20 years of experience in the tech industry, Katherine is recognized as a leading figure in SaaS and actively promotes the no-code movement through educational initiatives and her co-authored book, The No-Code Playbook.
Anastasiia Smyk, Co-founder & CEO of INPUT SOFT
Anastasiia Smyk is the co-founder and CEO of INPUT SOFT, a web-based platform that helps optimize resources, reduce costs, and collect and analyze data from all processes at airports. With over nine years of experience in the aviation industry both in Ukraine and globally, she now describes her mission as creating value for the aviation sector.
Alyona Mysko, CEO & Founder at Fuelfinance
Alyona Mysko serves as the CEO of Fuelfinance, an all-in-one financial platform designed to help startup founders make their finance functions more efficient. She believes that financial management is outdated in today’s economy and does not keep pace with modern business needs. Therefore, Fuelfinance's mission is to support seed and Series-A stage companies with their financial models, pitch decks, business plans, and more.
Anastasia Kukhar, CEO at Petcube
Anastasia Kukhar has been the CEO of the pet tech startup Petcube since 2022. Petcube develops connected pet cameras and software that allow people to care for their pets remotely by seeing, talking to, playing with, and treating them.
Dana Sydorenko, Founder & CEO at GameTree
Dana Sydorenko is the Founder and CEO of GameTree, an app designed to help gamers organize gameplay sessions across multiple platforms within the community. In 2024, she became one of the LPs at the Ukrainian Flyer One Ventures fund. This year, Dana was included in Forbes Ukraine’s ‘30 Under 30’ list.
Tanya Chaikovska, Co-founder of Salto X
Tanya Chaikovska holds the position of CEO and Team Lead at LIFT99 Kyiv Hub that supports startups and entrepreneurs in their growth journeys by providing resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Additionally, in November 2021, she co-founded Salto X, a cap table management platform for growing teams.
Victoria Repa, Founder & CEO at BetterMe
Victoria Repa is the founder of BetterMe, a health and fitness app with over 110 million downloads since its launch in 2017. With a background in consumer goods and experience at Procter & Gamble and Genesis, she transitioned into the tech sector. Under her leadership, BetterMe has become a significant player in the wellness industry, focusing on physical and mental health.
Yuliya Sychikova, Co-founder & COO at DataRoot Labs
Yuliya Sychikova is a co-founder and COO of DataRoot Labs, a company that provides AI and data science R&D services, specializing in custom AI solutions, MVP delivery, and fundraising support for startups across various industries. Previously, Yuliya worked as a director at AVentures Capital.
Margaryta Sivakova, Co-founder & CEO at Legal Nodes
Margaryta Sivakova is a CEO of Legal Nodes, a legaltech startup she co-founded in 2018, aimed at transforming the operations of the legal market. She was recognized by Forbes Ukraine in its ‘30 Under 30’ list in 2022 and by Forbes Europe in its ‘30 Under 30’ (Technology) list in 2024.
Anna Belevantseva, Co-founder & COO at Esper Bionics
Anna Belevantseva serves as the COO of Esper Bionics, which she co-founded in 2019. Esper Bionics is a human augmentation startup that builds robotic limbs and controllers for people with limb differences.
Stacy Pavlyshyna, Co-founder & COO at Awesomic
Stacy Pavlyshyna co-founded Awesomic in 2019 and now serves as its COO. Awesomic develops an AI-powered app that connects companies with designers and developers within 24 hours.
Alina Bondarenko, Co-founder & COO at Zeely
Alina Bondarenko is a co-founder of the startup Zeely, which develops an AI-powered app designed to help small and micro businesses increase their online sales.
Anna Apostol, Co-founder & COO of Mate Academy
Anna Apostol co-founded edtech Mate Academy in 2014. The company runs an online school for IT careers, offering a four-month programming course with payment deferred until after securing a job, based on a percentage of the future salary.
Viktoria Nalyvaiko, Co-founder & CEO at BazaIT
Viktoria Nalyvaiko is the CEO and co-founder of BazaIT, a career and talent development platform aimed at advancing the IT industry in Ukraine. She is also a Board Member of Techosystem, a civic union representing key players in Ukraine's tech ecosystem.
Valeriia Synenko, Co-founder & CMO at SKELAR
Valeria Synneko serves as the CMO at SKELAR, a venture builder that helps create international tech companies, with a focus on high tech, data, and analytics.
Daria Leshchenko, CEO & Managing Partner at SupportYourApp
Daria Leshchenko is the CEO and Managing Partner at SupportYourApp, a Support-as-a-Service company that has been providing secure technical, customer support and CX services to growing companies around the globe since 2010.
Julia Bialetska, Co-founder & CEO at S.Lab
Julia Bialetska is the CEO of S.Lab, which she co-founded in 2021. S.Lab produces green packaging by combining two plant-based components — agricultural waste and mycelium — thus supporting businesses in both growth and sustainability.
Daria Voevoda, CEO at Spend with Ukraine
Daria Voevoda is the CEO of Spend with Ukraine, a platform dedicated to promoting Ukrainian products, services, and companies globally. The company’s mission is to bolster the Ukrainian economy by showcasing world-class offerings and connecting them with customers.
Evgeniya Glizer, Co-founder & CEO at Choice31
Evgeniya Glizer is the co-founder and CEO of Choice31, a digital career development platform that provides online education with a focus on non-technical IT and marketing skills. The platform offers courses, mentorship, and career support.
