UAtech is actively tracking and building partnerships with leading global innovation players to create new opportunities for Ukrainian founders and connect them to the global ecosystem. A strong example is UAtech’s ongoing discussions with Mastercard, a global technology company at the forefront of innovation across finance, data, and digital infrastructure.
To understand why this partnership matters for Ukrainian founders, it is worth looking at the scale and focus of Mastercard’s startup engagement.
A Global Platform for Innovation
● Global reach: Through Mastercard Start Path, the company’s award-winning startup engagement program, Mastercard has worked with more than 500 startups from over 60 countries, many of which have gone on to enter public markets, achieve unicorn status, and establish extended commercial engagements with Mastercard and its customers
● Program outcomes: Start Path portfolio companies have collectively raised more than $25 billion in post-program funding, underscoring the program’s ability to identify and support scalable companies.
Future – Mastercard recently announced an expansion of the Start Path program to advance companies providing agentic commerce and services
For UAtech, access to this ecosystem represents a shift from one-off cooperation to long-term strategic alignment.
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Insights from London
The practical value of this global network was a key theme at a panel discussion during Venture Night London organized by UAtech. The event brought together international founders, investors and corporate leaders to discuss how innovation partnerships are evolving as AI and fintech matures.
During the discussion, Yan Manka, Head of Start Path UK & Europe at Mastercard, emphasized that for growth-stage startups, engagement with a global corporation goes far beyond visibility or branding.
"We also look at it from a workshop and a product perspective. So how can we deep dive into the technology? How can we support from a go-to-market and strategy perspective?"
— Yan Manka
This approach matches with UAtech’s broader objective to create direct access for Ukrainian founders to decision-makers, expertise, and infrastructure inside global platforms.
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The Partnership Philosophy: Founder-First
One of the most common concerns among startups is that collaboration with large corporations can introduce bureaucracy or dilute founder autonomy. Addressing this tension directly, Yan outlined how Mastercard structures its engagement with startups.
"At Mastercard, we’ve designed Start Path to be founder-first and partnership-led. It’s an award-winning, global startup engagement program that gives high-potential companies access to Mastercard’s global network, expertise, and technology – without asking them to change who they are or how they build."
The objective is not acquisition or absorption, but friction removal. Thus enabling founders to scale faster while retaining control over their product and vision.
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What Are Investors Hunting For Now?
The world of technology changes daily. To understand where a global player is focusing its resources, we looked at what drives innovation at Mastercard today.
Yan noted that Start Path has moved beyond general fintech into specialized tracks:
"From blockchain and digital assets, to open finance, small business enablement, security solutions and emerging technologies like AI, Start Path offers specialized track programs that meet founders where they are."
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Can you highlight how the program has been successful — and what made that collaboration work?
We’ve seen many great success stories across the Start Path portfolio, and this year we celebrated a significant milestone — more than 500 startups have now participated in our global fintech engagement program.
We are especially proud of is the dedicated Start Path track we launched for Ukraine. The program was designed to support Ukrainian fintech startups as they scale their businesses and contribute to the country’s economic recovery. Over the six-month program, participating companies received targeted resources, mentorship, and direct access to our experts and global network. Each startup also received a $10,000 grant to help accelerate their growth.
This track demonstrated how meaningful partnership can be when we combine Mastercard’s global infrastructure and expertise with the resilience and innovation of Ukrainian founders. Creating long term opportunities that extend well beyond the initial pilot phase.
Why It Matters
This collaboration signals a broader shift in how the Ukrainian tech ecosystem positions itself globally. The narrative is moving from seeking support to building alliances.
Programs like Start Path demonstrate that global technology leaders are not only observing Ukrainian innovation, but are actively integrating it into their long-term strategies. For founders, the message is clear that scaling does not require building in isolation.
UAtech’s role in this process is to ensure that Ukrainian startups are both visible, and structurally connected to the global systems where real growth happens. Today, the most effective way to scale is not to build for global players, but to build with them.
Co-Authors: Yan Manka, Head of Start Path UK & Europe at Mastercard,
Yuliya Dmytryshyn, Strategic Advisor at UAtech, and Erika Danaikanych
