Finding Purpose in France and Co-Founding Foundation Ukraine
Life as a refugee brought heartbreak and uncertainty. Yet Valeriia refused to remain idle. As an entrepreneur at heart, she studied marketing, finance, and business to update her skills. She explored opportunities until she connected with Richard Ohebshalom and learned about his vision for investing in Ukraine’s infrastructure and real estate. The mission aligned perfectly with her values: helping youth, driving innovation, advancing education, and supporting Ukraine’s recovery. She joined as a founder and partner early on.
Today, Valeriia Akatova serves as COO and Board Member of Foundation Ukraine. In this role, she builds and leads teams focused on sourcing investment opportunities, handling negotiations, managing public relations, and overseeing construction projects. Foundation Ukraine acquires and repositions real estate and infrastructure assets to create long-term value while contributing directly to the country’s post-war recovery. This work goes far beyond buildings. It creates jobs, fosters economic stability, and demonstrates to the world that Ukraine remains open for smart, responsible investment. You can read more about her daily responsibilities and vision in the
exclusive interview published on Foundation World.
Experts highlight the importance of such private-sector involvement. For instance,
McKinsey research on preparing for Ukraine’s reconstruction emphasizes reducing risks to attract private funding, which can accelerate rebuilding and generate sustainable growth. Valeriia’s hands-on leadership helps turn these ideas into reality every day.
Her Role as
Mentor at Foundation Incubator: Turning Personal Lessons into Guidance
Valeriia Akatova’s experiences have shaped her equally important
work as a mentor at Foundation Incubator. She brings deep expertise in marketing, business, design, and social media to help the world’s top one percent of young tech builders turn brilliant ideas into real companies.
Foundation Incubator is not a typical program with cohorts or short timelines. It offers structured execution support, global resources, and lifelong partnerships for selected genius builders, many of whom come from Ukraine or face similar challenges.
Her guidance draws directly from the interview she gave. Having lived through sudden displacement, she emphasizes practical resilience, cultural adaptability, and the ability to pivot when circumstances change. She often shares how her daughter’s quick adaptation inspired her. “Talent truly has no postcode,” she notes, “and potential deserves every chance to succeed.” At
Foundation Incubator, this belief comes alive. Mentors like Valeriia pair proven operators with rare tech talent, providing the tools and mindset needed to
build companies that solve real problems and thrive globally.
Why does this matter so much? Studies on tech startups show that strong mentorship dramatically improves outcomes. According to
SCORE.org research on entrepreneurship mentorship, entrepreneurs who work with a mentor are five times more likely to start a business and report higher revenues and increased business growth. Another analysis found that mentored startups achieve significantly higher survival rates, with 70 percent of mentored small businesses surviving beyond five years - twice the rate of those without mentors. Valeriia’s approach combines these proven benefits with deeply personal insights from her own journey of reinvention. She teaches not just business skills but the human side of entrepreneurship: humility, community support, and the power of focused execution even in uncertain times.
Through
Foundation Incubator, she helps young builders from Ukraine and beyond navigate the same kinds of challenges she faced. Whether it is adapting to new markets, building resilient teams, or communicating ideas clearly across cultures, her mentorship provides a bridge from raw genius to sustainable success. This work directly supports Foundation’s broader mission of investing in education, youth-led businesses, and Ukraine’s long-term future. You can learn more about her specific contributions as a mentor on the
official Foundation Incubator page.
