More than a year into the war, many European and global investors are still considering how and where they can support the Ukrainian startup ecosystem. Much progress has been made, with various grant programs launched by governments and private entities, as well as special support programs for Ukrainian entrepreneurs.Today, we can already see the results of these efforts, but it would be nothing without the incredible resilience of the Ukrainians themselves. They continue to create amazing things, even under fire or in the face of blackouts. Over the past year, our team has encountered a significant number of such talents. Some of them have relocated, but the majority have kept at least a part of their operations or team in Ukraine. Most Ukrainian startups (and all of the Startup Wise Guys portfolio) operate globally, serving foreign customers as a chance to survive a challenging situation in the country.While we should undoubtedly support Ukrainian businesses passing through the crucible of war, we must also consider how to encourage the emergence and establishment of new early-stage startups to avoid a "demographic gap" in the ecosystem

Startup of the Day: Ukraine’s Zeely, a sales-growth mobile app . . Zeely was founded by Ukrainians Dmytro and Yaroslav Samoiluk, and Alina Bondarenko, who were previously included in Forbes’s 30 under 30 list of young leaders in Europe. The startup develops AI-powered app designed for small and micro businesses to increase their online sales. Zeely’s solution can create a landing pages, build advertising campaigns, and provide app-based client-management tools. The startup has recently secured $1 million in a seed round led by Ukrainian VCs Vesna Capital and Angel One Fund

As Gen Z turns into their early-to-mid 20s, a new generation of business owners is coming online. Many of these new entrepreneurs do the vast majority of work on their phones. This is especially true in emerging markets like Latin America, where SMEs comprise 99.5% of firms in the region. In Mexico, for instance, 97.4% of businesses are micro-enterprisesBut although small businesses are generally considered to be the primary driver of new job growth, few have the technical capability to spin up decent branding and an online presence. While platforms such as Wix and Squarespace have made it easier to do this, these are primarily aimed at desktop users. This is perhaps why, with Gen Z coming on stream, we are now seeing mobile-first startup appear to cater to this new wave of businesses.Thus we’ve seen the funding of mobile-first website builder Univer.se, which raised $47M from Google Ventures, General Catalyst, and Addition