Created in collaboration
between Kyiv Independent
and KPMG Ukraine Gateway
Which sectors in Ukraine are currently seeing investment
Even as the world talks about rebuilding Ukraine after the war — a date still painfully undefined — global and domestic investors are already putting their money into the country's most resilient and exciting sectors.
Produced in collaboration with KPMG’s Ukraine Gateway team and using data derived from KPMG’s M&A Radar: Ukraine 2025, this second edition of the Kyiv Independent's series of investors' guides to Ukraine examines where capital is actually flowing in the country today, even as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fifth year.
"Naturally, defense and mil-tech are headline-grabbing investment opportunities, but one cannot overlook investment opportunities presented by post-war reconstruction, including the capacity to ‘build back better,'" said Andriy Tsymbal, Managing Partner of KPMG in Ukraine.
Recent investment activity for many sectors appears to be driven less by new market entrants and rather by companies and individuals already familiar with Ukraine, as well as those supported by large institutional donors like the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), meaning that some investment volumes remain have yet to reach the expectations of many stakeholders.
But despite the substantial barriers that remain — such as costly and limited war-risk insurance, capital controls, and a thin pipeline of bankable projects — a realistic understanding of where and how an investor can carve out a viable niche in their sector is key in finding success as a foreign investor in Ukraine.
“Real investors, real companies, know what their business is, and they stick to it," said Chris Exline, CEO of Home Essentials in Ukraine. "Focus on what’s here," Exline said.
The insights that follow draw on dozens of conversations with business leaders and investors, alongside open-source research, to identify the sectors that present the most credible opportunities for investors in Ukraine today.
in 2025 (up from $28.7 million in 2024)
It would be difficult to discuss wartime investment in Ukraine without starting with defense tech. Born out of necessity to fight Russia's invasion and recently accelerated by Europe’s belated rearmament, the sector has become one of the most active — and opaque — areas for investment. Foreign investors tend to favor joint ventures rather than full acquisitions, as Ukrainian defense tech firms have the knowledge and experience to scale businesses locally. Much of this sector's deal flow remains undisclosed for security reasons, making exact volumes hard to quantify. However, what is undeniable is that investment in the sector continues to rise.
Why investors are paying attention: Ukraine’s defense tech ecosystem benefits from a deep pool of engineering talent and overlaps heavily with product-focused IT and deep tech. While exports remain limited, Ukraine’s defense sector continues to attract capital due to rapid innovation cycles, industrial scaling, and growing global interest in all things AI.
The risks: Demand is driven by the war, and obstacles to exports can hamper growth. It remains unclear how the sector will evolve if there is a ceasefire or an end to the war. Whether defense tech becomes a long-term backbone of Ukraine’s economy is still an open question.
What they’re saying: "What’s happening in Ukraine is not just innovation — it’s constant industrial scaling of innovation. You cannot get this anywhere else in the world," said Natalia Mykolska, executive director of Diia.City United.
In spite of Russia’s sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the sector has emerged as one of the country’s most active and strategically important areas for investment. Moscow's attempts to incapacitate Ukraine's grid have instead accelerated capital flows into renewables, battery storage, grid resilience, biogas, biomethane, and distributed generation, from both domestic and foreign investors.
Why investors are paying attention: With substantial bioenergy potential and proximity to EU markets, Ukraine could become a future supplier of sustainable energy, especially as cross-border infrastructure develops.
The risks: Energy assets remain highly exposed to Russian attacks and (as is the case across many sectors of interest), war risk insurance is essential but costly and often unavailable. Most large-scale projects rely on donor-backed or EU-supported programs involving guarantees, grants, or blended finance, limiting opportunities for purely private capital.
What they’re saying: "Security is a reasonable concern due to the ongoing military situation, and investors want to know how secure their infrastructure and assets will be, what insurance or state guarantees are available, and how legally protected their investments are in Ukraine. Nonetheless, whether through local reinvestment of profits, joint ventures with trusted partners, and long-term off-take agreements, investors who are quickest to recognize Ukraine's immense potential will later derive the widest benefits and advantages," said Anna Szczodra, Partner, Head of Energy Sector at KPMG CEE.
and Logistics
Investment into Ukraine's transport and logistics sectors is being driven largely by two forces: wartime bottlenecks and the country's ongoing integration with the EU. With ports constrained by Russia's war and aggression in the Black Sea and Ukraine’s land border under pressure, demand for warehouses, rail terminals, port concessions, and cross-border logistics infrastructure remains strong.
Why investors are paying attention: Logistics projects are often purely commercial, making them more attractive to private investors. In the medium term, logistics is considered critical to post-war reconstruction, which would give early investments the future benefit of increased volumes when transport routes normalize and rebuilding begins in earnest.
The risks: Logistics assets are exposed to targeted attacks by Russia, and insurance remains a limiting factor.
Who’s investing: European Union-backed development fund Food for Impact, the EBRD, Bunge, UkrSibbank (BNP Paribas Group), OTP Bank, and domestic Ukrainian agribusiness investors like MHP, non-traditional market players (such as OKKO fuel group) looking to diversify their portfolios.
While Ukraine’s asset-heavy agricultural sector has hardly been a prime target for foreign investment in a country still actively at war, as the backbone of Ukraine's export economy, it can't be ignored. And even though private foreign equity remains limited due to war-related risks, that doesn’t mean investment has stopped; with capital flowing from development finance institutions and EU-backed funds, as well as traditional domestic investors continuing to expand their operations. Interestingly, non-traditional domestic investors, such as fuel company OKKO group, have recently made moves into the agricultural sector, sensing a good deal on strong assets.
Why investors are paying attention: Many companies in the agriculture sector are cash-flow positive, resilient, and actively investing in vertical integration and higher value-added processing, even in wartime, say Dan Yakub and Robert Monyak of Food4Impact, an EU-backed fund investing in agribusiness. Over the longer term, investors see Ukraine evolving from a bulk commodity exporter into a producer of value-added food products, biofuels, and ag-related technologies, particularly as integration with European markets deepens.
The risks: Ongoing uncertainty around the war’s duration continues to hold investors back, as well as concerns about the level of infrastructure damage and, in some cases, lingering corruption. While some risks — namely, Russian drone and missile attacks — simply can't be avoided, others can be managed by backing companies with transparent ownership, solid wartime performance, positive cash flow, and credible growth plans, as well as by relying on on-the-ground teams and the experience of local banking and industry networks to properly assess risk.
What they’re saying: "Looking at a different segment of the market — smaller projects, typically 5–25 million euros — there is no shortage of viable opportunities," said Monyak, managing director at Food4Impact. "Even after applying very conservative filters, we’re still well into triple digits in terms of investable companies."
Despite widespread destruction, real estate investment in Ukraine has not come to a halt. While large commercial developments remain limited, residential developments and small-scale projects continue.
Why investors are paying attention: Some areas of Ukraine, like the far-western Zakarpattia Oblast, have become safe havens for internally displaced people and businesses alike, pushing up real estate prices, particularly rental prices, and bringing new developments to the area. Given the nature of capital controls, purchasing apartments in cities like Kyiv and renovating them for rental income rather than resale has remained a steady activity for private investors.
The risks: Exit options remain constrained under current capital controls. As a result, real estate functions less as a speculative play and more as a long-term, income-focused investment tied to confidence in Ukraine’s eventual recovery.
consumer goods
Eva, Yabluka
Retail and fast-moving consumer goods are often overlooked in wartime investment discussions, yet they remain among Ukraine’s most reliable sources of cash flow. With capital largely trapped inside the country and everyday consumption continuing, demand has proven resilient: private consumption in Ukraine remains a high proportion of overall GDP and has been considered a key pillar of support for Ukraine’s economy.
Why investors are paying attention: Food, fuel, and telecom retail continue to generate steady revenues, particularly in major cities. Big retailers in Ukraine aren’t selling at a discount just because there’s war, evidence that they’re confident in their businesses. Urban centers — especially Kyiv — also show higher disposable income than headline data suggests.
The risks: Income inequality has widened significantly as a result of the full-scale invasion. This creates uneven demand across regions, particularly when there are widespread blackouts due to Russian attacks on the grid. Even if revenues are strong, long-term exits remain uncertain, and investors must be comfortable operating under capital controls for the foreseeable future.
What they’re saying: "We can definitely see strong interest from foreign investors (in the retail sector), including European retail chains. It’s quite substantial, and we may see more market entries happening in the near future," said Andriy Tymoshenko, Partner and Head of Management Consulting at KPMG Ukraine.
data infrastructure
billionaire Xavier Niel), Kyivstar
Telecoms have emerged as one of Ukraine’s most resilient and investable sectors during the war. Some of the largest transactions since 2022 have taken place in telecoms, underscoring the strategic interest in the sector and its strong cash-generating quality. Ukrainian companies are currently making strategic investment choices, seeking to branch out beyond their traditional roles and create holistic digital ecosystems that interface with all aspects of consumer life.
Why investors are paying attention: Beyond core telecom assets, interest is growing in data centers, digital government infrastructure and services, and cybersecurity. The sector benefits from predictable revenue streams, and Ukraine’s advanced digital government ecosystem makes it of special interest.
The risks: While the sector is "physical asset light," meaning that operational risks are lower and certain services are less bound by a specific geographical footprint, regulatory changes and capital controls still affect exit planning and can therefore impact investment decisions.
construction materials
$40 million — AXOR Industry window
and door production facilities investment in Dnipro
company Calmit, Finnish
company Peikko
Construction and construction materials are increasingly viewed as enabler sectors for Ukraine’s eventual reconstruction. While large-scale rebuilding is currently constrained by security risks, foreign investors — including from the U.S. and Europe — are actively evaluating opportunities. Considering the scale of reconstruction needed, the market for construction innovations and materials is sizeable. The question for investors is therefore not if, but when to engage with this sector to see the best returns.
Why investors are paying attention: Demand for materials, prefabrication, and construction services is expected to grow steadily as donor-funded and municipal projects expand. Early positioning enables investors to build a presence ahead of broader reconstruction efforts.
The risks: The market is often described as oligopolistic, with limited transparency and accounting practices unfamiliar (or perhaps unseemly) to Western investors. While growing as a result of reconstruction needs and state privatization efforts, M&A activity has historically been low and near-term returns are limited, making investing in the sector primarily a strategic rather than opportunistic play.
What they’re saying: "The prolonged war has reshaped Ukraine’s investment landscape, with sectors like construction and related materials emerging as increasingly attractive, driven by both immediate fundamental needs for shelter and anticipated longer-term reconstruction demand," said Svitlana Shcherbatyuk, Partner, Head of Transaction Services at KPMG in Ukraine.
Disclaimer: Data for several deals sourced from KPMG Ukraine M&A Radar 2025 and the KPMG Ukraine M&A database, which includes information regarding M&A transactions over USD5 million between two or more entities where either the target (inbound) or acquirer (outbound) or both (domestic) are Ukrainian. As such, the database does not reflect direct or organic internal investments.
between Kyiv Independent
and KPMG Ukraine Gateway
