Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Ukraine

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Feb 6, 2024

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

ESPER INC

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Education and Health
Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Equity

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 2.47 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 2.3
Converted using 2024-02-06 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 6.19 million

Bank Documents

Translation: DFF - Esper Bionics (Ukrainian)

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Jun 27, 2024

Disclosed by Bank May 28, 2024

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of an equity investment in the amount of USD 2.5m (USD 1.25m committed tranche and a USD 1.25m uncommitted tranche) in Esper Inc., a technology company producing bionic upper limb prosthesis. The proceeds of the Bank's investments will be used to finance Esper's expansion of production facilities in Ukraine including development of new products and software (the Project).

The Project's core objective is to address multiple challenges facing Ukraine by supporting an innovative R&D and manufacturing of upper limb bionic prosthetics with data-driven functionalities in Ukraine.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Category B (ESP 2019).

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

EBRD Finance Summary: EUR 2,303,404.42

Direct equity investment in the amount of USD 2.5m (USD 1.25m committed tranche and a USD 1.25 m uncommitted tranche) in Esper Inc., a US-registered, technology company producing bionic upper limb prosthesis (the "Company" or "Esper"). Esper is primarily owned by Ukrainian entrepreneurs.

Total Project Cost: EUR 5,758,511.04

The Project will be co-financed by other investors in a European health tech-focused venture capital fund and US venture capital fund focused on investments in Ukraine and Moldova.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

ESPER INC, together with its subsidiaries, is a producer of bionic upper limb prosthetics with R&D and manufacturing facilities located in Ukraine.

Esper's products will help improve mobility, independence and quality of life for the growing number of amputees and restore their economic opportunities and professional reintegration. Esper's target markets are Ukraine, the US and EU.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	ESPER INC	Client	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

nullpr@esperbionics.com
+13478899557
https://esperbionics.com/
59A Demiivska street; Kyiv, 03040, Ukraine / 1 Dock 72 Way, New York, 11205, NY, USA

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html