Keren Beit-Cohen

The trend is picking up. Investing in #deterrance & #defence to further support competitiveness and resilience of #European countries. This time Netherlands Ministerie van Defensie is joining other #EU MoDs and national development agencies to facilitate access to funding for #defence #DualUse and #security innovations. Our fund Coinvest Capital was the first in the region, fully authorised to invest in pure #defense already back in March 2023, shortly joined in April by Baltic Sandbox Ventures with #DeepTech focus and the launch of dual-use accelerators by ScaleWolf in October. Just our fund alone already coinvested 6.8mEUR in #aerospace and #defense, including one of the largest regional #VC rounds in Unmanned Defense Systems. Today we will be watching and supporting two teams from #Lithuania - winners of our joint prizes with DEPO Ventures - pitching on stage at #DefSec innovation challenge hosted by Dr. Kristina Soukupova with their solutions for #cyber #security and #drone enhancement, that enables all drone makers to get faster time-to-market. Wishing the best of luck and a solid pitch to the teams of AI Drone.Tech with co-founders Laurynas Česūnas and Domantas Brucas, winners of our prize at the defence #hackathon The Flaming Shield of Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga , and CBRX with co-founder Kazimieras Sadauskas, winners of our prize at the Startup Lithuania annual event #StartupFair

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Lithuania: The Startup Nation Karolis Žemaitis, Lithuania’s Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation, describes Lithuania as "a startup itself compared to big countries." With limited resources and a small population, the nation embodies a startup-friendly mentality. This ethos is all about being agile, bold, and resourceful—qualities essential in today's fast-paced global landscape. This mindset has not only enabled Lithuania to navigate its complex history but also to thrive in its current transformation into a tech-savvy, innovative hub. The resilience built over decades now drives the country's dynamic startup ecosystem, proving that sometimes, having less can indeed mean creating more. We invite you to read the inspiring article by Ioanna Lykiardopoulou about Lithuania’s thriving ecosystem and find out what makes it flourish. https://lnkd.in/diw8bx7e #Lithuania #StartupCulture #LithuaniaCoCreate #CoCreateSolutions

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In Kiev Oblast, the provincial government of Kiev region in Ukraine, looking for the needs of the people on the ground, face to face with the client, searching for alternatives at a time of brutal war. The conflict should not stop investments in infrastructure. People need to live, travel, have access to healthcare and education, electricity, heating, housing, bridges, roads, trains. There are guarantees available for those investing in Ukraine. We at Weaver Advisory want to reach out to investors in America , to finance projects that will help the lives of every person in this wonderful country. #infrastructurefinance #ukraine #standwithukraine #america #projectfinance

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Analysis of the U.S.-Russia Spy Exchange Agreement --- On August 1, 2024, a spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia took place, generating significant political resonance. This raises questions about the timing and why Putin agreed to this deal, thereby giving political leverage to President Biden and Vice President Harris. Context of the Agreement: - Gershkovich's Detention. Evan Gershkovich was detained on March 29, 2023. - Paul Whelan's Imprisonment. Whelan has been in custody since December 2018. - Krasikov's Imprisonment. Vadim Krasikov has been imprisoned since 2020. Gershkovich's detention aimed to strengthen Russia's negotiating position, similar to previous instances involving basketball player Brittney Griner and Israeli Naama Issachar. The Agreement and Its Impact: - Long-Term Preparation. The deal was in the works for many months. Jake Sullivan's statement that the Ukrainian case was not considered in this process indicates parallel activities by the White House. - Significance for Biden. The implementation of the agreement occurred when the Democratic Party's position had weakened, and Trump started gaining ground. - Biden's Role. Biden managed to consolidate European support for this agreement. Such a deal would have been nearly impossible under Trump. Benefits for Putin: - Convenient Partner. Biden proved to be a convenient partner for Putin, as achieving consensus with European states on a spy exchange would have been more challenging under Trump. - Strategic Timing. Delaying the agreement until the U.S. elections could have led to unpredictable outcomes. Conclusions: The agreement is beneficial for both sides, except for Ukraine, which remained outside the process. This underscores the importance of strategic diplomacy and the influence of domestic politics on international relations. ✍️Information and Analytical Center of Ukraine https://lnkd.in/dJ_NJn2n #Ukraine #USA #Russia #Putin #Biden #InternationalDiplomacy #Politics

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The President of Ukraine signed the Law on the protection of the interests of owners of land shares, as well as the application of administrative procedures in the field of land relations. Among the main provisions of this law, I will single out the main changes: ➡️ the deadline for registration of unclaimed (unallocated) land plots, land shares (shares) has been extended until 2028, ➡️ the implementation of the pilot project on registration of the land plots in the State Land Cadastre by certified land engineers has been extended until 2026. ❓why was it decided to extend the term of registration of ownership of unclaimed shares? The main reason for the extension of the term of registration of the right of ownership of unclaimed land shares (shares) is the armed aggression of Russia, as many people left Ukraine due to the milinary aggression. These circumstances make it impossible for the owners of the land shares to comply with the previously determined deadline - January 1, 2025. ❗️According to the StateGeoCadastre data, as of 2024, the number of unclaimed land shares (shares) was 104,453. In other words, more than 100,000 citizens of Ukraine who received ownership of a land share (share) did not complete the registration procedure. ❓what is required to register ownership, what is the procedure? The algorithm is as follows: 1. The owner submits a petition or application to the local self-government body with his certificate or supporting document. 2. Development of technical documentation regarding the establishment (restoration) of land plot boundaries on site. 3. A land plot is formed and registered in the State Land Cadastre, an extract of the relevant registration is provided. 4. Approval of technical documentation. 5. Property rights to a land plot are registered in the State Register of Property Rights. ❓If the owner of the share or his heir has not registered the ownership right to the land plot by January 1, 2028: what is then? According to the Law, if by January 1, 2028, the owner of an unclaimed land share (share) or his heir has not registered the ownership right to the land plot, he is considered to have refused to receive the plot. However, if the owner of an unclaimed land share (share) or his heir misses the deadline for registration of the ownership right to the land plot for a substential reason, the court may determine an additional deadline for such registration at their request. ❗️it should be noted that within 7 years from the date of state registration of the right of communal ownership of a land plot formed from an unclaimed land share, it is prohibited to transfer it to private ownership (except for its transfer to the owner of an unclaimed land share (share) or his heirs).

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Interesting read by Mikhail Mykhailo Minakov!

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Exciting to see the growing landscape of early-stage climate tech investors supporting Dutch and European startups! Connect with these any many more investors (700+) for free on the Startup Fountain website. (Feel free to tag any climate startup that is raising in the comments) This investor map from Startup Fountain highlights over 60 firms and angels investing €50K-€5M in climate solutions. Key players include: • 4impact VC • ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund  • ASIF Ventures • Cottonwood Technology Fund • Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam Many anonymous angels are also active in this space. The diversity of investors - from corporate VCs to university-linked funds - shows the momentum building in climate tech. Founders working on climate solutions in the Netherlands and across Europe, there's capital out there to support your vision! Let's connect if you're working in this space. #ClimateInvesting #StartupFunding #Sustainability #DutchStartups Jorn Eiting van Liempt Eline de Haan Sybo Zijlstra Elizabeth Kleinveld Dorus Olgers Victor Straatman Tommy Hurley Claire Tange Joyce Houterman Abdul Afridi Alex Menn Martin Schreurs Sem Foreman Stefan Bary Thorsten Wittmuetz Emily Kegels Therese Angel François-Xavier Fanard Bart van den Heuvel Filip Celen Rob Haenen Alain le Loux Andy Lurling Max Schalow 👨‍🚀 Chingiskhan Kazakhstan 🤠"

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Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will disconnect their electrical grids from the Russian and Belarussian system (BRELL) in February next year, officials from the Baltic nations have confirmed. “The desynchronization process, which has lasted for almost 20 years, will come to an end in early August when the Baltics inform Russia and Belarus that they do not want to be part of the new annual period starting next February,” Estonia’s Deputy Secretary for Energy Jaanus Uiga told national media on Tuesday. The Baltic states will join the Continental European (UCTE) grid on Feb. 9, 2025, the day after disconnecting from BRELL. Desynchronisation was previously planned for the end of 2025. Energy customers are not expected to be impacted by the switch. Decoupling from the Russian and Belarussian grid, which is largely managed by Moscow, was declared a strategic objective by the Baltic nations’ prime ministers in 2007. The three countries consider electricity dependence on Russia a threat to their national security. #baltic #brell #electricgrid #russia #continentaleuropeangrid #ucte #energysecurity #worldgrid #worldgameworkshop

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Last year, I had the opportunity to contribute significantly to the exceptional IER research concerning the landscape of medium-sized business in Ukraine. This research was presented in the report 'Medium-sized Business in Ukraine: Terra Incognita or 'Hidden' Mittelstand' (funded by the Naumann Foundation). In the article below, I shared the initial findings regarding the history of the business sector in Ukraine. The study unveiled tremendous changes in the composition of Ukraine’s business sector since 2003 when a similar business survey was conducted by the IER team. Despite economic crises and frequently unfavorable business climate, a new private business sector has emerged in Ukraine over the last two decades. As of 2023, almost two-thirds (64%) of medium-sized businesses had organically grown from small entities. Notably, 76% of medium-sized enterprises have always been private; only 19% are private but formerly state-owned. As a result, the Ukrainian business sector, with its strong self-made medium-sized private enterprises, has demonstrated outstanding resilience and contributes to Ukraine’s resistance.

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Where the excellent Hans Gutbrod answers some of the questions many are asking on the situation in Georgia, how we got there and what do protesters want. Via Civil Georgia:

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A Belarus free of Russian military entanglements and increasingly aligned with the Euro-Atlantic community instead of the developing Russia-China-Iran-North Korea axis of autocracies would contribute significantly to the security of Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states. A Belarusian geopolitical pivot toward the West could also encourage transformation inside Russia itself and compel more Russians to embrace a post-imperial identity. https://lnkd.in/dFW7V4rX

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In Europe we are really good in funding startups with innovative products. In Europe we are really bad in providing growth (scale up) capital and hence leave too many startups to die. Dual Use Capital Partners #innovation #europe #financing #funding #startup #scaleup #growth #investmentstrategy #policy #dualuse #defence #technology

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At the upcoming summit in Washington, NATO is about to repeat the mistakes of 2008-2013 - mainly due to the positions of the U.S. and Germany - by opening the first chapter of accession negotiations with Ukraine with the EU, but not concretizing Ukraine's NATO perspective. Without Ukraine's NATO membership, there will be no peace, no EU integration, and no investment in Ukraine. At the summit in 2008, NATO was unable to reach agreement on an membership action plan for Ukraine. After that, especially European politicians repeatedly tried to explain to Ukraine that European integration was possible without NATO membership. The argument was that Putin was not against Ukraine's European integration, but that NATO was a problem from the Kremlin's point of view. I myself was working in Ukraine at the time and tried to argue this way after the disappointment of the NATO summit in Bucharest. Today I know that I was wrong. The Central Eastern Europeans and the Ukrainians were right at the time, we were wrong. Because later in 2013, Putin prevented Ukrainian President Yanukovych from signing an association agreement with the EU (!). Euromaidan (!), Revolution of Dignity, Russian annexation of Crimea, and military intervention in Donbass followed. If Ukraine's accession to the EU is now being negotiated in concrete terms, the process will of course take a long time. But "take a long time" should not be used as a synonym for "won't happen". Above all, however, we know from experience that nothing is possible without security. There are very good reasons why all new EU members in Central Eastern Europe became NATO members beforehand. These reasons still apply; as Putin and Russia demonstrate to us every day. Center for European Policy Analysis

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This Monday, I kicked off a project to validate the Dutch market for Metris Energy, a London-based startup that’s reshaping solar asset management. Backed by VCs Octopus Ventures and AENU, Metris is building a powerful new platform that addresses a pain point in the solar industry. 🌞 Currently, many PPA funds and solar asset managers rely on Excel for tracking and reporting - a method that’s often slow, inefficient, and difficult to scale. 🐢💻 Metris is solving this problem with its software, automating key processes like monitoring, reporting, billing, and payments. Making solar asset management faster, easier and scalable. 📈⚡️ ️ With 240+ sites already live in the #UK, Metris is now looking to expand into new markets. And that’s where I come in. Over the next weeks, I’ll be: - Validating market demand - Assessing needs to support a potential entry 🇳🇱 Through targeted interviews and research, we aim to confirm a potential product-market fit and identify essential features for a potential launch. So, do you know anyone in the #solar asset management space? If so, tag them below or send me a DM - I’d love to connect! 💬

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The Bureau of Investment Programs has completed a cycle of workshops on the green economy 🌱 ☝️A total of 17 workshops for Ukrainians, Danes, and representatives of other European countries were held as part of the "Green Economy" course in cooperation with The European-Ukrainian Hub. The workshops were devoted to the following topics: ✔️Green Deal and how it can affect business in Ukraine; ✔️ processing waste into new products; ✔️product reuse system in Denmark; ✔️how Ukrainians in Denmark can implement their entrepreneurial initiative in Ukraine; ✔️Copenhill: Amager Bekke case study on waste energy utilization; ✔️government programs for green and sustainable business development; ✔️Too Good To Go food waste reduction solutions; ✔️environmental management: certification systems, etc. Read Bureau of Investment Programs on Facebook 👉 https://lnkd.in/evrVDqdG

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Generating $96bn. in value and minting 2 new unicorns. It is in essence great news that we are performing better than a year ago. However with future developments in the Dutch fiscal climate still casting their shadows, while it is also a worrying statistic that with a 13th place we are still the best performer from mainland Europe closely followed by Paris & Berlin at 14th and 15th place. “We are not blinded by this relative success because we see that we are falling behind in several crucial value chains due to a lack of money, people, electricity, and focus. To compete on a European and global scale and make a greater social and economic impact, our tech companies will have to grow faster.” says Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau, special envoy of Techleap. The only better peer at European Scale is London with a tied 2nd place. It means that Europe has only one ecosystem in the top 10, which is an alarming signal. It also shows that we should take great inspiration from London, in order to really strive for improvement. 12th place next year is simply not good enough, and although we may or may not want to shoot for the moon, our ambition should be no less than a firm top 10 position. Our rich heritage as an entrepreneurial country should be cherished. Noblesse Oblige as they say. This is why we have launched Co:cubed Netherlands, an initiative to help Dutch corporates to effectively work together with startups to make impact and solve the biggest problems. Feel free to reach out and discuss. Very keen to help raising the bar and shoot for the moon for the Dutch ecosystem.

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Interesting post about the difference between the big upstarts in the US versus the EU. I think regulation is indeed one of the killers. I have been setting up some new startups in the Netherlands recently. Even before we set up an entity, I got nausea from the way the tax system works. Trying to tax 'value growth' of an early stage startup, making it practically impossible to transfer shares without paying taxes is not a great incentive. Another problem besides the regulations is the mindset of Europeans. I think we're simply lazier and more risk averse than the US. https://lnkd.in/gUjkrwPm

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My newest column in Quote Magazine: Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 💡 Inspired by Andreessen Horowitz’ “American Dynamism” and the Not Boring newsletters of Packy McCormick about why tech is going to be much bigger, I realized there is a momentum in the Netherlands to become one of the European leaders to lead this new industrial revolution - if we double down. 💻 Historically, the Netherlands was strong in trade and banking. However, the country now leads in technology with companies like ASML, Adyen, and NXP Semiconductors as the top 10 most valuable companies, replacing former giants like Shell, Unilever, ING and ABN AMRO Bank N.V 💶 Fueled by capital, according to the latest report of Techleap; 48% Venture Capital investments in 2023 the Netherlands went to deeptech companies. 🤖 While the latest AI innovations have enhanced office jobs, the fusion of software and hardware, like physical robots, is set to revolutionize all types of labor, making tasks scalable and more manageable and cheaper. Two great examples of Dutch robotics companies are Monumental and family business Lely, that are automating less attractive jobs, like bricklaying and milking cows. ⚡ The insight is that the world's largest tech companies of the next decade will likely surpass today’s giants, and for the first time in a long time, tech companies have the opportunity to rebuild the world’s industrial base and tap into huge, existing pools of revenue at higher margins than incumbents can. Assuming the same revenue but structurally higher margins will create more valuable companies than the incumbent comps. 🇳🇱 In the Netherlands, we have access to incredible research institutes, top technical universities like Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research & University of Twente, (which has its own Robotics Centre University of Twente) - incredible talent and more and more hardware friendly VC funds, (incl the support of Invest-NL) and recently the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) with an office in NL, so I don’t see why we can’t punch above our weight and become one of the leaders to reshape the industrial foundation in Europe. Curious to hear your thoughts, what's needed to make this happen? Dutch Dynamism 🇳🇱 , het bekt toch lekker (Thanks Salar :-)). Link to article (for translation) in the comments. #HardTech #AI #Robotics #Innovation #DutchDynamism #AIRevolution #DeepTech #FutureOfWork #Netherlands #Technology

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