Startup Stories | Sunflower Relief Is Flipping The Aid Model To Support Ukraine

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This week, we bring you the first of our series of Startup Stories. Irra Ariella Khi explains how she used her experience launching a tech startup to build a needs-first humanitarian aid network from scratch.

It can cost up to ￡4,000 for a ticket out of Ukraine. From the active warzone in the East, drivers are charging a high price for the four-day trip to the western border. Even those who can afford it still can’t, or don’t want to, leave. Many are elderly, unwell, or fear leaving their families behind.

Irra Ariella Khi started Sunflower Relief ?to support the most vulnerable people in Ukraine who can’t access foreign borders or foreign aid.?

The grassroots not-for-profit network matches donors to local NGOs so 100% of their funds go to specific?cases?– like sourcing ultrasound equipment for Odessa Children’s Clinic or raising funding to support HIV, TB, and Hepatitis C patients in Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Sunflower Relief has dedicated 100,000+ volunteer hours, matched ￡2.25m in donations to verified NGOs in Ukraine, and helped 250,000+ civilians impacted by the war since its inception.?

At Founders Forum London 2022, Irra helped coordinate?President Zelenskyy’s holographic address?to Europe’s tech community and over $1m was pledged in support of Sunflower’s aid work.

Still, as temperatures plummet, war rages in the East. Irra is now fundraising for Sunflower Relief’s Winter Campaign, with a target of ￡500k, to get basic supplies to people in Eastern Ukraine...

Click here to read the full story on our website.

Also in this week's Founders News...

We name the?climate tech startups?that should be on your radar, from breakthroughs in fusion power to lab-grown animal fat!?

We launched our latest venture,?Founders Makers, bringing a creative partner to market-challengers, scaleups, and major brands.

Two delivery giants,? Jitse Groen 's Just Eat Takeaway?and? Nazim Salur 's?Getir, have?partnered?to deliver groceries across Europe.

Climate Tech Startups to Watch

Who will be the next climate tech success story?

One trailblazing startup is? Dioxycle , co-founded by? Sarah Lamaison, PhD , turning CO2 emissions into valuable chemical assets.

?From manufacturing to electric vehicles to food, climate tech entrepreneurs in the climate tech space are discovering new sources of energy, reinventing materials, and coming closer to solving?the world’s biggest challenges.

?Click here?to discover the climate tech startups you need to know about.

FF Group Launches Founders Makers

We are thrilled to announce the launch of? Founders Makers , bringing a creative partner to the ambitious scaleups and corporate brand and marketing teams in our network.

?Founders Makers works with some of Europe’s most exciting brands – including? NOVéAL-L'Oréal Groupe ,? Little Moons , and? Zapp ?– delivering cutting-edge digital strategies, brand identities, campaigns, and content.

?Our creative agency recently launched pan-European digital campaigns for mixed reality platform,? Volta XR , and the fintech,? Plum , and also designed and managed the Ready for Rishi campaign for UK Prime Minister,?Rishi Sunak, earlier this year.

Looking for the creativity you need to fuel the reach and impact of your next innovation? Click here to get in touch with Founders Makers.

NEW LAUNCHES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nicholas Hawker 's First Light Fusion partnered with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to design a tritium extraction system for its 60 MW pilot plant.

Kimberlie Le 's Prime Roots ?launched?its breakthrough line of sliceable Koji-Meats.?

David Rosenberg 's AeroFarms ?announced?plans to build a new commercial indoor vertical farm in Qatar.

WeTransfer’s? Damian Bradfield ?released?a new graphic novel warning against short-termism and the influence of Big Tech.

FOUNDERS IN THE MEDIA

what3words ' Chris Sheldrick ?discussed?hiring international talent in London post-Brexit in?City A.M.

Wikipedia’s? Jimmy Wales ?discussed?online toxicity and Elon Musk in?CTech.

EXITS, RAISES & ACQUISITIONS

Tony Buffin 's The Tecsa Group ?secured?a $7.6m investment and entered a strategic partnership with Wesfarmers to accelerate its next gen retail and credit-decisioning platforms.

? Shaul Olmert 's KwaKwa ?raised?$7.7m in a Seed funding round led by Insight Partners.?

INVESTOR NEWS

sennder 's David Nothacker ?invested?in a $5m Seed funding round for customer support software startup, Surfboard.

? firstminute capital 's Arek Wylegalski ?invested?in a $18m Series A funding round for software developer platform, EngFlow .

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