Diligent Capital Partners and 2ndAries Launch Food4Impact to Rapidly Revitalise Ukraine’s Agribusiness and Food Backbone via a EUR 150 Million Fund

Agriculture in Ukraine is about to receive a large and swift boost to help it overcome the challenges of the war. Leading Ukrainian private equity firm, Diligent Capital Partners (DCP), has joined forces with Dutch 2ndAries to launch Food4Impact (F4i).    It is a pioneering private initiative designed to rapidly restore access to finance for Ukraine’s agricultural value chain and keep the country’s food exports flowing to global markets.

With Ukraine’s agri-food sector under immense pressure from the ongoing war, speed is now essential. Countless agri-companies, from producers and processors to logistics and storage firms, have seen working capital vanish and investment pipelines stall. F4i is designed for swift, targeted deployment of funds, ensuring that viable agribusinesses get the financing they need within months, not years.

The initiative will mobilize commercial funding, secured by a EUR 75 million guarantee from the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF) via sub-delegation by Dutch Cardano Development. This innovative structure allows F4i to move quickly and efficiently, bridging the critical liquidity gap facing Ukraine’s agricultural enterprises.

F4i complements DCP’s long-term private equity strategy, serving as a rapid-response vehicle that provides flexible, fast-deploying growth capital to help companies operate and expand during war.

“Farmers and agri-entrepreneurs can’t afford to wait, they need liquidity now to plant, process, and export,” said Dan Pasko, Co-Managing Partner at Diligent Capital Partners. “Food4Impact was built for rapid deployment. It’s about turning commitment into capital, fast.”

Leveraging its deep local network and long-standing relationships with agribusinesses, Diligent Capital Partners will ensure that funds flow swiftly and transparently to where they are most needed.

• The funding will go directly to Ukrainian companies in the food & agriculture value chain as private debt and mezzanine loans, giving them capital to sustain and scale operations.
• At least 20% of funding will go to green projects, in line with European Commission sustainability criteria, supporting climate-smart farming and low-carbon logistics.

“We’ve designed Food4Impact for speed and scale,” added Mark Iwashko, Co-Managing Partner at Diligent Capital Partners. “Our goal is to get capital working in the field within months, supporting the companies that literally keep Ukraine and the world fed.”

Food4Impact is a 50/50 joint venture between Diligent Capital Partners (DCP) and 2ndAries Capital BV, combining DCP’s on-the-ground execution and strong deal pipeline with 2ndAries’ international expertise in blended finance structuring.

“This partnership demonstrates what’s possible when local know-how meets global financial innovation,” said Dan Yakub, Partner at Diligent Capital Partners. “Ukraine is not just the focus of Food4Impact, it’s driving it.”

Ukraine’s agricultural sector is a cornerstone of global food security, especially for markets in MENA and Asia. The war has disrupted production and exports, with ripple effects worldwide. Food4Impact aims to reverse that trend quickly, delivering flexible financing to keep supply chains moving, farmers producing, and Ukraine exporting.

Agriculture continues to be the backbone of Ukraine’s economy. It contributes more than 10% of the country’s GDP and accounts for 55% of all exports.

NOTES: Diligent Capital Partners (DCP)  is a Kyiv-based mid-market private equity firm created to mobilize both private and public capital to support the strengthening of the Ukrainian and wider regional economy. With over 30 years of experience in Ukraine and the region, the DCP team has deployed more than € 400m of equity capital in over 30 transactions in Ukraine.