The team pivoted to delivering humanitarian aid amidst the war, but faced emotional and physical exhaustion, and the stress of relocating their business outside Ukraine, according to founder Vyacheslav Levchenko.
Thanks to practical support and interest-free financing from the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund, VanOnGo was able to focus on expanding its business in the EU, nearly doubling its annual revenue and completing over 500,000 successful deliveries. "The Ukraine Support Fund became a lifeline that inspired the team to move forward," Vyacheslav said. "All founders of VanOnGo are Ukrainians. We support our country and want to help its economy recover as soon as possible."
In partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Google is now expanding its support with an additional $10 million fund. Starting today, Ukrainian startups can apply for up to $100,000 in non-equity financing, along with mentoring and product support from Google.
Applications are open until June 5, 2024, via the provided link. Moreover, startups can receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits to aid their teams in working efficiently and achieving more with fewer resources. So far, the initiative has supported 58 startups with a total of $5 million in free grants and technical assistance to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy.
To be eligible, startups must have at least one legal entity registered in Ukraine and a minimum viable product (MVP) with demonstrated business effectiveness. While not mandatory, priority will be given to companies leveraging AI to solve social problems. The equity-free cash reward can be used to foster growth, rebuild war-damaged operations, or develop core products to address new challenges.
The winners of the new Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund will be announced in phases: in June and September 2024, and throughout 2025.
