The legal framework for venture capital in Ukraine; Venture capital, institutional quality, and the rule of law in Ukraine 

Project Investigators: Simon Deakin and Hanna Sitchenko

In the first project (October 2023-September 2024) we carried out research on the legal environment for venture capital in Ukraine, and, more generally, on the role that venture capital can play in Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction. We conducted a law-and-economics analysis of relevant features of Ukrainian law and transactional practice, and carried out empirical research in the form of interviews with VC practitioners. This phase of the research highlighted the importance of improving institutional quality if substantive legal changes, designed to support investment in entrepreneurial startups, were to have meaningful impacts. The interviews indicated a lack of trust in state institutions including the legal system, and continuing concerns over corruption, which did not appear to be reducing over time. The second project built on the first by undertaking a pilot study of the steps necessary to establish a more effective rule of law of Ukraine.