Top Stories Feb. 6: BlackRock Advises Ukraine

UKRAINE

BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky agreed to cooperate on economic recovery projects after a series of meetings last year, according to Ukrainian business site InVenture. According to BlackRock’s European Communications Head Marc Bubeck, the firm is advising pro bono on an investment structure that would help attract foreign investments. [Source: InVenture]

Startup Stash identified the top 21 Ukrainian startups to watch in 2023. The companies’ sectors range from fintech and machine learning to online marketing. [Source: StartupStash]

MONEY FLOWS

Startup Fibery, a no-code platform for management of companies, raised $5.2 million from funds Tal Ventures and Altair Capital. The investments will be directed at “marketing and sales operations, speeding up the company’s growth with a focus on expansion and new channels”, Fibery’s founder Michael Dubakov said. [Source: Fibery]

Moscow-based I2BF Global Ventures invested in an American startup Portside that produces cloud-based service for business aviation operators. It is the fourth investment of the fund in the startup, the first happened in 2018 during a pre-seed round. [Source: Tech Crunch]

Russian investor Viktor Kharitonin acquired Frankfurt Hahn airport in Germany that went bankrupt two years ago. At the moment, the airport sees an increase in passenger traffic that’s been restoring after COVID-related restrictions had been dropped. [Source: Spiegel]

BINANCE EXPANSION IN KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan sees “many opportunities stemming from the synergy of traditional and decentralized finance, regulators, and the market”, according to the Chairman of the Center for the Development of Payments and Financial Technologies of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Binur Zhalenov. He made the comments at the presentation of the first bilateral report on cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the country made by the bank and the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in which both sides state that they are “working to overcome key challenges common in the crypto space.” [Source: Binance]

Binance and three Kazakhstan non-government organizations signed a memorandum on education of the country’s law enforcement specialists in the field of cybersecurity. The initiative will help the police, the General Prosecution and other government bodies to better tackle money laundering that’s often committed through cryptocurrency operations. [Source: Digital Business] 

Kazakhstan airlines Air Astana signed a partnership with Binance on the conversion of loyalty points into cryptocurrencies. Air Astana became the first partner of Binance, while the exchange is going to expand its initiative to other companies having customer loyalty programs. [Source: Forklog]

TECH

Andrey Ivashentsev, Microsoft’s former regional director, launched startup Metaplan, a zero-code platform for creation of metaverse-based applications. The user can form its own metaverse in seconds and integrate it in its own various corporate IT systems. [Source: Andrey Ivashentsev]

Telegram has rolled out its first major update in 2023 adding 10 features. Among key novelties are translation of entire chats and channels, a 40%-discount for a yearly premium subscription and a profile photo maker. [Source: Telegram]  

RUSSIAN BUSINESSES 

Armenia-based investment company Armbrok offers global depositary receipts of Russian companies that had been traded on international exchanges before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company offers receipts of VK, Tinkoff bank, HeadHunter, Yandex at a significant discount. [Source: RBC] 

Russian cybersecurity solutions provider Positive Technologies closed its offices in the Czech Republic and Great Britain in late 2022, with no comments from the company on the reasons for the closure. The firm plans to open new offices abroad. [Source: RBC]

Russian food tech startup Edadil, an aggregator of discounts of food retail supermarkets and part of the Russian Internet giant Yandex, has started operations in Belarus making the neighboring country its first foreign market. Edadil is planning a wider expansion beyond Russia. [Source: RB]

Yandex will open its office in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 1. The office will host teams responsible for development and promotion of Yandex’s services in the Turkish market. [Source: TASS]