The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to invest EUR 80 million in the Amber Dragon European Fund for Ukraine—a flagship European fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine managed by Amber Fund Management and Dragon Capital. The fund’s total target size is EUR 500 million.
“This project is implemented within the framework of the ‘Team Europe’ initiative and aims to support Ukraine’s economic growth and reconstruction. It covers strategic sectors, including renewable energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, as well as private sector enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations,” according to the information on the bank’s website.
The EIB reminded that the fund is a flagship initiative supporting the private sector in Ukraine through investments in infrastructure projects and private enterprises. The project is backed by the European Commission and the Team Europe Development Financial Institutions, which includes the EIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Association of 15 European National Development Finance Institutions (EDFI).
As previously reported, the creation of the EU Flagship Fund for Reconstruction of Ukraine was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome (URC2025) in July 2025, with its first closing expected at URC2026 in Gdańsk, Poland, in late June.
The fund aims to mobilize EUR 500 million by the end of 2026 through strategic, result-oriented investments, primarily in equity capital. The fund’s initial capital was announced at EUR 220 million.
Tomas Fiala, founder and CEO of the Ukrainian investment company Dragon Capital, informed earlier this year that Dragon Capital, alongside Amber Infrastructure, was selected as the winner of the competition to manage the EU Flagship Fund for Reconstruction of Ukraine. They emerged victorious among 12 applicants, four of whom made it to the finals.
According to Fiala, Dragon Capital is ready to commit EUR 40 million of its own funds to the project. Other investors, as with the two previous funds, will include five European IFIs (International Financial Institutions) and DFIs (Development Financial Institutions).
“We are currently in the due diligence process… We plan to start investing from the middle of this year,” Fiala said in mid-January.
Matteo Rivellini, Head of the Division for Lending Operations in Ukraine at the EIB, announced in Luxembourg in early March this year that the EIB, with the support of the European Commission, together with Germany’s KfW, Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), France’s Proparco, and Poland’s Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), will provide first-loss guarantees to investors. This mechanism is designed to significantly mitigate investment risks within the fund.
He also noted that the EIB aims for the EU Flagship Fund for Reconstruction of Ukraine to work “hand-in-hand” with the US-Ukraine Investment Fund for Reconstruction (URIF). The URIF was established last year on a parity basis by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Ukraine, and currently holds a capital of around $175 million.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua
