1. A Look at the Entrepreneurial
Ecosystem in Eastern Europe and the
Black Sea Region
Venture Connect, 28 May 2013, Bucharest, Romania
Barry Kolodkin, Regional Programme Manager
UNDP Black Sea Trade & Investment Promotion Programme
2. OUR WORK IN IT
INDUSTRY
Co-sponsor of
Venture Connect in
Bucharest, 2013
Co-sponsor of IT
Matchmaking Forum
in Izmir, 2013
Sponsor of CONNECT
in Bucharest in 2011
Speak at conferences
like this
Purpose of program is
to promote trade and
investment in key
sectors in the Black
Sea region
6. Policy – OK –
Markets – OK –
Supports – Good –
Finance – Bad –
Culture – Bad –
Human Capital –
Good -
Domain
Assessment
7. Regional Issues
• Lack of early stage
capital
• Control/exit strategy
• Need to make ends
meet
• Understanding debt v.
equity
• Ability to sell
• Deal size – US context
Some people still
really don’t get it.
8. MIDDLE CLASS
Romania, Bulgaria, Greece
– Good entrepreneurs
– Limited exit ability
– Medium environment
– Some scalability
PAYOUT
Poland, Turkey??
– Big markets
– Some ability to exit
– Good entrepreneurs
– Rapidly improving
environment
BIG WAVES
Russia, Ukraine
– Big potential
– Unsure environment
– Strong in heavy industries
– Local money
BOUTIQUE
Czech, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia
– Small markets
– Small labor pool
– Success stories
– Good engineers
9. There is money …
• Commercial banks
• SME banks
• Government programs
• World Bank/IFC
• EBRD
• EIB
• BSTDB
• EU
– SME grants, subsidies
– Innovation
– FP7
• Big companies
– Google, Microsoft
• VC
– Twilio, Accel IV – started in
March
• PE
• Angels
• Crowdfunding
• Individual investors
• Microfinance
10. THINK ABOUT
BERLIN, PRAGUE, TEL AVIV AS MODELS
M&A IS STILL A DECENT EXIT STRATEGY
DISRUPTION GREAT; MARKET DIFFERENTIATION IS
GOOD
WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER AND KNOW YOUR
CUSTOMER
KNOW WHERE TO GET MONEY AND HAVE THE RIGHT
PITCH READY – NEED MORE THAN ONE ROADSHOW
UNDERSTAND THE PAYOUT/DEAL SIZE AS WELL AS THE
COSTS
TO GET AHEAD IN THE MARKETPLACE
