IFC — Backed by the EU and France — Invests in Horizon Capital Fund to Help Rebuild Ukraine’s Critical Infrastructure

Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026 - IFC announced today a new investment aimed at accelerating Ukraine's infrastructure recovery by helping restore electricity, expand construction capacity, and upgrade digital networks. It is expected to boost economic activity and jobs at a time when public resources remain severely constrained.

To deliver this impact, IFC is making an equity investment of up to €50 million in the Horizon Capital Catalyst Fund, one of the first private equity platforms mobilizing capital for Ukraine's critical infrastructure - including energy, construction, and digital networks. These sectors are essential to both immediate recovery and long-term resilience.

Why it matters

Without private capital, Ukraine cannot rebuild infrastructure at the scale required. Energy shortages, damaged housing and transport links, and under-invested digital networks continue to weigh on growth and living standards. This investment is designed to translate capital into functioning infrastructure, helping businesses operate, households stay connected, and jobs return.

The details

• IFC investment: up to €50 million (equity) into the fund.
• Fund target size: €300 million.
• Strategy: acquire minority stakes in companies in:
  • Energy
  • Construction
  • Digital infrastructure
• Co-investment: IFC has also set aside a €50 million co-investment envelope to invest alongside the fund in select companies.

To help de-risk the investment:

• Around half of IFC's equity investments in the fund will be covered by guarantees from:
  • the European Commission under the Ukraine Investment Framework, and
  • the Government of France in support of IFC's Economic Resilience Action (ERA) Program for Ukraine.

By the numbers

• Reconstruction needs: about $524 billion over the next decade (latest Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA).
• Infrastructure impact: nearly 40 percent of total damage and about one-third of reconstruction needs.
• Women entrepreneurship: at least 25 percent of the fund's portfolio companies will be women-owned or women-led.
• IFC track record in Ukraine (since Feb. 2022):
  • Close to $2.8 billion delivered to support the private sector
  • including over $1 billion mobilized under IFC's ERA Program
  • This deal marks IFC's fourth private equity fund investment in Ukraine since the invasion, bringing IFC's fund investments to $190 million.

What they're saying

"The launch of the Catalyst Fund is a significant milestone for Horizon Capital in our twentieth anniversary year. It is the second Ukraine-dedicated fund we have launched since the full-scale invasion, bringing the firm's total capital raised for Ukraine to over $1 billion in the past decade. The fund enables investment in high-impact, labor- and capital-intensive sectors that generate more than 10% of Ukraine's annual GDP and employ over 650,000 people, at a time when equity capital remains scarce. We are grateful to our investors for backing this asset-heavy, domestically focused fund in record time, allowing capital to be deployed in Ukraine immediately."

- Lenna Koszarny, Founding Partner and CEO, Horizon Capital

"Equity capital is vital to Ukraine's recovery. In a high-risk environment, it provides the patient capital companies need to withstand shocks, rebuild, and grow. IFC's investment in the Horizon Capital Catalyst Fund helps absorb risk, catalyze additional private investment, and restore the critical infrastructure that businesses and communities rely on. This is how private capital can move - even under the most challenging conditions."

- Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, IFC

Who's in

Other investors participating in the fund's first close include:

• EBRD
• Proparco (AFD Group)
• Swedfund
• Norfund
• FMO

The backdrop

• Energy: widespread damage has driven rolling blackouts, higher reliance on imports, and business disruption.
• Housing & transport: among the worst affected; rebuilding requires large volumes of traditional and innovative materials - with major investment and jobs potential.
• Digital: resilient and export-oriented, but needs faster 5G and fiber rollout to sustain growth.

About the fund manager

The fund is managed by Horizon Capital, an IFC client and established private equity firm in Ukraine. Horizon has:

• Over $1.6 billion assets under management; its funds have invested in 191 companies, and
• Helped create 18,000 jobs, despite geopolitical uncertainty and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The bottom line

This investment goes beyond a single fund. By backing one of Ukraine's first private equity platforms for infrastructure - and pairing equity with co-investment - IFC is de-risking the market, crowding in global capital, and accelerating the rebuild of systems Ukrainians rely on daily, from power and housing materials to digital connectivity. The goal: move Ukraine's recovery from emergency support to scalable, private-sector-led growth, even amid Russia's invasion.