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Hi, I’m Lyuba.
I am a Ukrainian VC and community builder based in London. For the past few years, I have been on a mission to back exceptional immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs - the kind of people who are full of talent, ideas, and grit but often don’t get a fair shot.
This October, I begin a Master’s in Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge - a huge milestone for me, and for the work I do. But I need your help to make it possible.
How I got here
I was born and raised in Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine. In 2014, Russian forces occupied my hometown. I had to leave everything behind overnight - home, career, family, friends - and start again with just a backpack. I rebuilt my life in different parts of Ukraine, and finally in the UK after receiving my Global Talent visa.
London brought new opportunities - but it also came with deep challenges. I had no network, no safety net, and a constant feeling that I was an outsider in a system not built for people like me. It was hard. But I kept going.
Five years ago I co-founded Blue Lake VC to back immigrant entrepreneurs who are usually ignored by traditional investors. I then built number of ecosystem projects for immigrants which were a huge success. My latest venture, Oasis, is a physical hub and community in the heart of London where international and refugee talent can build, connect, and thrive. Today, it's the unique and largest space of its kind in the UK.
Why Cambridge? Why now?
The more I have done, the more I have realised: what we really need is a deeper change. A better system to support immigrants from the moment they make a decision to rebuild their life in a new country.
Earlier this year, after a competitive interview process, I was accepted into the MSt in Social Innovation at Cambridge. It’s a two-year, part-time programme designed for people like me - practitioners building real-world impact.
This course will give me the research tools, academic foundation, and global network to take the work I do to the next level. I will be able to:
- Build a national and then international model to support displaced and migrant entrepreneurs
- Produce actionable research that directly informs policy and practice
- Share what I learn with others building similar communities across the world
Here is the situation
The programme costs £34,200. I’ve secured 1/3 myself and I’m applying for grants to cover another 1/3. But I’m still missing around £11,000 - enough to pay my first-year tuition gap.
Because I’m not yet eligible for a UK government loan (I can apply in 2026 once I receive ILR), and both Blue Lake and Oasis are still early-stage and require more investment than they generate, I can’t close that gap alone.
On top of that, I support my parents, who fled one of the most devastated regions of Ukraine during the full-scale invasion in 2022 and now live in the UK and rely on me.
What I would like to give in return
This is not a one-way ask.
If you support this campaign, you will:
- Get exclusive regular updates on the research I produce at Cambridge
- Be the first to access my insights and practical tools for supporting immigrants and refugees through Blue Lake and Oasis
- Have access to my growing international network of exceptional international entrepreneurs and investors I work with through Oasis and Blue Lake, and now Cambridge
Know that you helped shape the future of something that could change lives at scale.
How you can help
I’m asking for £11,000 to help cover tuition fees gap this year. Any amount will make a real difference.
And if you can’t help right now, that’s totally fine. Sharing this page, spreading the word, or just cheering me on goes a long way too :)
Thanks for reading. Thanks for helping. And thanks for believing that talent is everywhere - even if opportunity is not, and I am changing that.
Best regards,
Lyuba