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Oleksandr Yakovenko
EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2026 finalist, Ukraine
Founder and Executive Chairman, TAF Industries
Oleksandr Yakovenko is delivering proven technology during war.
Oleksandr Yakovenko spent a decade building a civilian trade and logistics business before February 2022 forced a clean break with his previous life. In the early months of 2022, Oleksandr redirected company resources to the frontline of the war in Ukraine and founded the Wave’91 charitable foundation.
By late 2023, however, the limits of charity were clear: Frontline demands required industrial-scale, speed and accountability. After his first drone manufacturing facility was attacked in mid-2023, Oleksandr invested US$5 million of his own capital to rebuild it. Later that year, he founded TAF Industries — designed for wartime tempo rather than peacetime procurement.
Today, TAF operates a distributed manufacturing network producing over 100,000 unmanned aerial vehicle units per month across more than 20 sites, employing around 2,000 people and supporting more than 200 Ukrainian brigades. Oleksandr regularly visits frontline units to validate products in combat conditions.
Recognized with state and military honors, including the Order of Merit (3rd class), Oleksandr moved into the role of Founder and Executive Chairman in early 2026 to focus on international partnerships and position Ukraine as an equal participant in the democratic world’s defense industrial architecture.
Entrepreneurship under combat conditions stripped away distractions, illusions and unnecessary complexity. When time is limited, you focus only on what is real: the people you build with, and the work that has to be done.