- OneUkraine was founded by a European team of top-level tech entrepreneurs and investors who combine expertise and resources to deliver sustainable humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine at scale, speed and efficiency
- Three immediate priorities of OneUkraine: get Ukrainians to safety, efficiently deliver humanitarian aid to where it is needed most, and preserve and rebuild infrastructure through support for Ukrainian SMEs and tech entrepreneurs
- OneUkraine’s unique operating model is based on collaboration with Ukrainian experts, suppliers and companies wherever possible
- OneUkraine invites donors and other partners who want to support Ukraine effectively and with an immediate and lasting impact to join the initiative
Berlin, May 24, 2022. OneUkraine, a charitable organization providing sustainable humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine, today announced the official launch of its platform. Built by an established group of European founders and investors, OneUkraine leverages their pooled skills, resources and experience in founding, managing and scaling multi-billion dollar technology companies and applies them to support Ukrainians in a time of urgent need. OneUkraine’s immediate priorities are to support Ukrainians at home and abroad, provide humanitarian aid, and rebuild Ukraine’s broader and technology infrastructure by supporting small and medium-sized businesses and tech entrepreneurs on the ground. Since many of the organization’s founding members are from Ukraine or have strong family ties to the country, OneUkraine has direct access to unique local networks and up-to-date information on exactly what is most urgently needed and where.
Since the beginning of the war, the OneUkraine team has already evacuated more than 5,500 people, mostly women and children, to safety and has provided over 4 million euros in aid to Ukraine. They also built the first fully accredited Ukrainian school for 175 Ukrainian students and 25 teachers in Lithuania to provide education for refugees. OneUkraine’s main goal is to ensure continuous support to the people of Ukraine in the fastest, most efficient and agile way by pooling relief efforts, connecting people and initiatives, and providing real-time updates on its activities via its all-digital platform.
Martin Reiter, CEO and co-founder of OneUkraine: “With many of our founders born and raised in Ukraine, we felt compelled to help our friends, family and colleagues. All of our founders have a proven track record leading or founding tech unicorns, and now we’re collectively doing what we do best: working quickly and efficiently at scale, providing immediate and much-needed humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine. We believe we can best help by bringing an entrepreneurial, data-driven, and sustainable approach to the world of humanitarian aid, complementing other major relief efforts. We began evacuating refugees and providing aid on the first day of the war three months ago, and we will continue to do so for as long as necessary. We know we can make a huge difference and we welcome donors and other partners to join us in this vital and lifesaving mission. »
The founding team of OneUkraine:
- Martin Reiter: Martin managed Groupon Ukraine in 2011 and still has many friends in Ukraine. Martin previously held leadership positions at Airbnb and Wayfair Europe and co-founded mademoisellemartina.org to help evacuate Ukrainian women and children.
- Martina Kojic: Martina grew up in post-war Croatia, with the impact and trauma of the post-war situation shaping much of her childhood. Martina co-founded mademoisellemartina.org to help evacuate Ukrainian women and children.
- Markus Fuhrmann: Markus, whose wife and family are from Mariupol, Ukraine, is CEO and co-founder of GROPYUS, and previously co-founder of Lieferheld.de and Delivery Hero.
- Wolfgang Heigl: Wolfgang, who lives in Lithuania, is the co-founder and CSO of HomeToGo and the founder of NFQ Technologies UAB.
- Victory Tigipko: Viktoriya, born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, is a founding partner of TA Ventures and founder of ICLUB Global, the network of angel investors. She is the founder of WTECH, a network of more than 5,000 women in the technology sector, chair of the board of directors of the Ukrainian Startup Fund and founder and president of the Odesa International Film Festival.
- Johannes Reck: Johannes, whose grandfather grew up in a small village that is now part of western Ukraine, is the co-founder and CEO of GetYourGuide.
- Dmitry Gorilovsky: Dmitry, whose mother is from Rovno, Ukraine, has been organizing adoptions of Russian orphans with disabilities since 2014, when the Russian government banned adoptions by foreigners. He is a serial founder of product design, IoT and machine learning companies such as Woodenshark and Moeco.
- Klaus Hommels: Klaus is the founder and president of Lakestar and one of the largest European venture capitalists. Klaus is also a leading voice for the European tech ecosystem with the aim of strengthening Europe’s position in times of digital transformation.
- Jens Hilgers: Jens, whose wife is from Ukraine, is a serial entrepreneur and has built and managed international gaming and technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. Among others, Jens is founding GP at BITKRAFT Ventures and is co-founder and president of G2 Esports.
- Alexa Sinyachova: Alexa, born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine, is the co-founder and CEO of IoT platform Moeco.
OneUkraine’s unique operating model is based on the replication of the entire humanitarian aid lifecycle. The organization’s highly scalable, data-driven platform, maintained by Ukrainian experts, matches Ukrainian needs, based on direct input from government departments, with Ukrainian manufacturers. It therefore helps Ukrainian businesses not only to survive, but to find new sources of demand and enables donors to provide much-needed help while strengthening Ukrainian supply chains and businesses in the long term.
The organization evacuates refugees from several cities in Ukraine by employing Ukrainian bus drivers and using Ukrainian shelters where it supplies food procured within Ukraine. Post-operative care in destination towns and cities across Europe is provided to Ukrainian refugees often through fellow expatriates and refugees. OneUkraine helps with accommodation, registration and integration for a quick transition to employment and continuing education in the host place. The same idea is being applied to the construction of schools, which are staffed by Ukrainian teachers who have been forced to leave their country and who are now supporting Ukrainian refugee children.
OneUkraine was established as a long-term initiative and requires substantial donor funds to help create a sustainable outlook for Ukraine and its people. The founders built a full-time team to manage the growing portfolio of helping efforts, partnerships, and execution capabilities. While the cost of the operations team will be financed entirely from the personal funds of the founders, OneUkraine is inviting donors and other partners to help finance projects and support Ukraine efficiently. The platform is incorporated in Germany as gGmbH, a charitable limited liability company and is audited by Ecovis, a leading auditor specializing in charity.
For more information about OneUkraine, please visit www.oneukraine.com
Contact with the media
Knut Engelman
Kekst CNC
Telephone: +49 174 234 2808
Email: press@oneukraine.com
Donor contact
Roman Kostirko
OneUkraine
Telephone: +49 3022 0468 11
Email: donate@oneukraine.com
