France tops up Ukraine investment fund after initial success
France will renew its Ukraine Fund after a successful first round, allocating 71 million euros ($84 million) to foster investment from French companies in Ukraine next year.
French Ambassador Gael Vessier and Ukraine's Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev signed the agreement in Kyiv on Feb. 20, which will funnel investment into critical civilian sectors, including utilities, healthcare, and digitalization.
First launched in 2024, the fund granted 200 million euros ($235 million) to French companies investing in Ukraine across 19 projects.
Sobolev said that the fund had a "good track record," pointing out that all but one of the 19 financed projects were successful, with the other project facing delays.
France's newly appointed special envoy to Ukraine, Muriel Lacoue-Labarthe, who was present at the signing ceremony, also said that both the French companies and their Ukrainian counterparts are satisfied with how things turned out.
"Some other countries are asking us for advice on how we did it," she said.
Sobolev said that he expects roughly 30 or 40 applications for 10 projects.
The fund is already accepting applications from French companies, who have until April 9 to apply.
