PROMOTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INVESTMENT, AND FOREIGN TRADE

The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), a government agency reporting to the Ministry of Economics, was founded to promote business development by facilitating the growth of foreign investment and increasing the competitiveness of Latvian entrepreneurs in domestic and foreign markets. With over 27 years of experience in the attraction of foreign direct investment to Latvia and the promotion of foreign trade, LIAA today offers an integrated solution. The agency supports companies both in Latvia trading internationally, as well as overseas enterprises seeking business partners or locations in Latvia.

Moreover, the functions of LIAA have been expanded to include tourism promotion. As of February, 2016, LIAA has also been overseeing the responsibilities and functions of Latvian tourism policy.

Working in close cooperation with the business community (particularly with the Foreign Investors’ Council in Latvia, the National Economic Council, and industry associations), LIAA is facilitating the steady improvement of the business environment, especially administrative procedures.

Investment Facilitation: • Assistance in investment-location selection and implementation of investment projects. • Provision of all relevant information on business opportunities and investment incentives. • Identification of the best property options for manufacturing facilities, offices, and land. • Assistance in establishing and developing contacts with Latvian business partners. • Providing information on potential investment opportunities in Latvia (investor search for Latvian companies and projects). • Assistance with start up procedures.

Supplier Searches: • Assistance in finding appropriate Latvian suppliers and in increasing their competitiveness. • Provision of information on Latvian exporting companies, export products, and services. • Searches of Latvian suppliers according to buyers’ requirements. • Distribution of incoming business proposals to Latvian companies directly and via the internet. • Organization of trade seminars and foreign trade missions to Latvia. • Consultancy and foreign market studies for Latvian enterprises. • Assistance to Latvian companies at various international exhibitions and trade missions, export promotion campaigns, and business matchmaking. • Provision of information on workforce availability and skill evaluation.

Latvian Startup environment is dynamic and rapidly growing. To nurture this growth, all important stakeholders – private and public sectors, investors, academia and startup enthusiasts – joined hands together.

Nowadays Latvian Startup infrastructure consists of 400+ active startups, a pool of institutional investors and business angels, a diverse range of modern co-working spaces, dozens of incubators fuelled by government, academia and private individuals, as well as a calendar full of exciting gatherings, productive conferences, hackathons and meetups. Moreover, a unique Startup Law has been passed and Startup Visa is available for anyone who is willing to come and kick their startup off in Latvia.

Read more about the Latvian startup environment and opportunities that are available for you on the startup portal www.startuplatvia.eu.

Aerones is an industrial, tethered, heavy-lift drone that can clean, coat, de-ice and otherwise maintain hard-to-reach objects such as wind turbines. This exclusive technology can also be used in firefighting and building cleaning industry. A manpower-free solution, the Aerones drone performs the work faster and safer than anybody else giving the best quality and timing. In 2019, Aerones received investment from InnoEnergy investment platform, which will allow further development of existing drone technologies and newly invented robotics solutions for wind turbine maintenance.

Funderful is a conversational artificial intelligence platform for campuswide communications. It has been used by schools like Georgetown, Westpoint, UC Berkeley, Oxford, Cambridge, London Business School, among others. Five years after inception and a year after joining 500 Startups batch 20 acceleration program, Raimonds Kulbergs, the founder of Funderful made an exit, as Funderful was acquired by US higher education market leader Ruffalo Noel Levitz with the goal to bring the innovation and digital product to it’s 2,000+ university clients.

Asya connects mindful communication skills and relationship building, using a complex AI research. More and more people get fed up with meaningless interactions exploited by social media companies and are looking for alternative ways to have human experiences. Asya is a tool to keep track of all your conversations in real-time and the use cases are endless: working on marital improvements with your spouse, closing an important deal at work, resolving conflicts in team meetings, acing your first date, improving public speaking skills, improving confidence through bringing awareness to emotional intelligence, helping people with speech disabilities, supporting educators in the classroom etc.

Latvian government has particular interest and determination in helping the startup infrastructure develop and attract the right people to do the right thing.

The government helps the startup ecosystem development at various stages: ideation & conceptualization, initiation, development and expansion. No matter what stage you have reached – there is a support mechanism just for you!

Typical profile of support recipient: does not have a strong business idea but is determined to go down the entrepreneurial path. Usually this person is looking for encouragement to try and the right people to try it with. Find the latest news of technologies and innovation in Latvia at labsoflatvia.com/en

The program raises awareness among the wider community about innovative entrepreneurship and provides support for those who want to start. Among other things, the program organizes various hackathons, networking meetups, workshops, and other capacity building activities which help the entrepreneur to define the next steps.

The overall program budget is EUR 5 303 932: 85% is provided by European Regional Development Fund and 15% comes from the Latvian state budget.

Typical profile of Support recipient: A person has a business idea that needs to be refined and, possibly, backed up with a business plan. Usually the person is looking for mentorship from successful business people and guidance on how to test the business idea. An enterprise that needs a boost and financial support.

Business incubators were set up by LIAA in various cities of Latvia. Read more:

At the Magnetic Latvia business incubator, you’ll have all you need to focus on the development of your business. We’ll provide workspaces specifically equipped for your development needs. If you need advice, we’ll put you in touch with mentors or other entrepreneurs who have dealt with similar challenges. If an enterprise needs funding, the incubator will cover 50% of the expenses for the services, equipment, and materials you need to develop your product. The amount of funding ranges from EUR 20,000 to EUR 200,000. We also organize seminars and training in subjects that matter the most to young entrepreneurs.

Individuals and entrepreneurs who are not registered for more than three years are welcome to join the pre-incubation or incubation. The admission takes place continuously. We offer: • Assessment of your business idea and its viability; • Advice on business model improvement; • Mastering business skills and abilities; • Coworking space; • Free advice, training and workshops; • Mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs and experts; • 50 % co-financing for purchase of services required for development of business (accounting, premise lease, design, marketing, technology consultations and prototyping, certification, laboratory costs, etc.); • Grants in amount of up to EUR 10 000 for purchase of various services and up to EUR 5 000 for equipment purchase.

In the pre-incubation, the business you can use the incubator coworking space and office equipment, consultations, training and mentor support for up to six months free of charge to validate your business ideas and their viability. If you succeed, you can qualify for incubation afterwards.

Typical profile of support recipient: companies of all sizes that create innovative products and/or technologies. The Innovation Voucher Program is designed to assist innovators in overcoming some of the barriers on the path to commercialisation. It aims to catalyse new relationships between the industry and the research community.

The program seeks to support innovation in enterprises through technology transfer and attraction of highly qualified employees, thus contributing the existing Smart Specialization Strategy of Latvia.

The supported activities include: • Designer service to develop new product, service or design strategy to implement innovations in company

The supported activities include: • Feasibility study; • Industrial research; • Experimental development, including prototyping; • Development of a product’s industrial design.

The supported activities include: • Feasibility study; • Industrial research which is necessary for the development of new products or technologies; • Experimental development, including prototyping; • Development of a product’s industrial design; • Certification and testing services of a new product or technology; • Registration of industrial property rights for inventions, industrial designs and topographies of semiconductor products; • Attraction of highly qualified employees.

As described by Law on Aid for the Activities of Startup Companies – further on, “Startup Law”. The law came in force on Jan 1, 2017, and it was a powerful signal to the ecosystem that the government is fully on board. Ever since, the law has been fine-tuned, in order to work better!

The law defines the startup as an innovative scalable business with high economic potential. It also describes three support mechanisms for early-stage startups. (see Startup Law, Sections 6, 7 and 8):

• EUR 301.77 fixed payment for startup employees into State Social Insurance budget; computed as 35.09% of two minimal salaries (EUR 430 x 2) instead of the whole brutto salary; • Co-financing aid for attracting highly qualified employees (co-financing intensity 45%); • Relief of personal income tax (0%). It names all the criteria which a startup should meet, in order to qualify for the listed support (see Startup Law, Section 4), of which the most important are:

• Startup need to have an investment from a qualified investor • VC fund invests EUR 30 000 • Accelerator invests EUR 15 000 • Business Angel invests EUR 15 000 • Startup founded less than 5 years ago • Cumulative income from economic activity since registration is under EUR 5 million • Annual income from economic activity during year 1 and year 2 is under EUR 200 000 • No dividend distribution since registration • Startup company has not been reorganized: • No equity ownership in other companies • No transfer of company (Commercial Law, Section 20. Assets/employees, liabilities «change hands», etc.) • No related companies (Commercial Law, Section 184.1) • Once registered, no equity attributed to 1 shareholder who would have voting majority • At all times, at least 1 shareholder with at least 10% equity develops the business idea • Tax debt of your startup does not exceed EUR 150 • At least one innovation feature is true: • Startup owns IP related to the underlying business idea • Min 70% employees have MSc or PhD degree • Min 50% of all costs since registration directed to R&D activities • No ongoing bankruptcy

The programme is designed to encourage Latvian based startups to participate in international level conferences and seminars, as well as to visit potential business partners and customers.

Basic Eligibility Criteria: • A startup has a small (micro) or medium-sized commercial company status; • A startup founded not more than 5 years ago (the start-up company carries out commercial activity for the first five years since its registration in the Commercial

Register); • Income of the previous reporting year has not reached EUR 300 000; • De minimis aid at the level of a single commercial company has not exceeded

EUR 200 000 in last 3 years.

Eligible costs: • International transport and local inter-city transport abroad (economy class only) • Accommodation • Daily allowance • Event (exhibition or conference) entrance ticket • Costs related to booth/stand installation within the event VAT (if your company is not VAT registered or good/services are received from nonEU country supplier)

The maximum co-financing intensity is 70% and the maximum support amount for the company is EUR 4 000.

Typical profile of support recipient: a foreign citizen who is willing to come to Latvia and lead a Latvia-based start up.

Startup visa is offered to all non-EU startup founders who are willing to come and kick-off their startup ideas in Latvia, a proud member of EU since 2004. One startup can have up to 5 founders with a startup visa. The application process takes one month. The visa is given for the period of maximum 3 years and it is spouse and children-friendly.

The main criteria for getting the visa is a sound startup idea described in a freeform – save us some time and make it a 1-pager! No business plans or qualification interviews required!

The Conditions on Residence Permit, points 28, 29 and 48.1 provide further information on what documents an application package includes: • Description of the innovative product which the person is intending to create/develop/implement in Latvia; it is submitted in free form; • Passport (or valid travel document); • Application form; • 1 passport size photo; • Criminal record clearance – not needed for applicants coming from the following list of countries (e.g. USA, Australia, etc.); • Document confirming the necessary subsistence; • Document confirming the envisaged place of residence in Latvia (after positive decision for granting visa, annual health insurance policy and medical certificate confirming you don’t have tuberculosis in the active phase, also must be submitted); • Confirmation of application fee payment.

The person who applies and receives a residence permit can also avail of residence permit for his/her spouse and children.

All documents can be submitted through the Latvian Embassy`s Consular Section, serving startup founder’s residence location. Upon submission of documents, the review will take 30 days (regular process, costs EUR 100), 10 working days (costs EUR 200) or 5 days (costs EUR 400). Once review is complete and if the decision is positive, it takes 2-10 days to receive the residence permit – aka Startup Visa. For more information about Startup Visa check www.startuplatvia.eu/startup-visa There is also a PDF one-pager with all the details which you can download.

Typical profile of support recipient: scientists who are willing to further develop and commercialize the results of their research. Usually, such a person is seeking mentorship by entrepreneurs and industry experts, as well as guidance on whether the invention is demanded by the market.

The program supports commercialization of research done by public research organizations, thus contributing to the existing Smart Specialization Strategy of Latvia.

The program provides up to EUR 300 000 per project with 90% co-funding rate in the following areas: • Technical and economic feasibility study; • Development of a commercialization strategy; • Industrial research; • Experimental development; • Participation in international exhibitions, conferences, seminars abroad, individual visits and participation in trade missions and nationals stalls/booths organized by LIAA; • Registration of industrial property rights for inventions, industrial designs and topographies of semiconductor products; • Preparation of a commercialization plan and implementation in collaboration with industry experts; • Involvement of experts for dealing with intellectual property licensing.

The overall program budget is EUR 8 039 948.

Both universities and enterprises can also use consultations by technology scouts at LIAA - technology scouts can consult both sides on available support incentives for their cooperation as well as technological development.

Typical profile of support recipient: a company with strong product or service which is willing to expand into international market. Usually, this company is seeking for opportunities to build a business network abroad and to introduce it product/service into foreign markets.

The program nurtures competitiveness of Latvian companies and entrepreneurs. The provided support ranges between EUR 15 000 and 200 000 per recipient, and financing intensity varies between 80% and 100%.

Support can be provided for the following activities, among others: • Participations in nationals and international exhibitions with own stall/booth; • Participation in entrepreneurship-related conferences and seminars abroad, if participant gives a presentation about their product or service; • Participation in trade mission abroad; • Participation in international visits of Latvian government officials; • Evaluation of production and product compliance; • Consultations with LIAA representatives abroad.

There are four industries which some of above mentioned programs cannot support: • NACE G: WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND

MOTORCYCLES • NACE K: FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES • NACE L: REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES • NACE R: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

For some of the above mentioned programs, de minimis criterion applies.

The Latvian branch of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) operates within LIAA and provides information about European Union policies, legislation, regulations and trade, as well as assists in seeking business partners within the EEN network of more than 65 countries around the world. EEN is the world’s largest support network for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) with international ambitions.

LIAA is local and international at the same time. Our network of foreign representatives and cooperative network with other institutions in Latvia and abroad takes LIAA close to our clients and links them to main markets, business partners, and locations.

With representative offices in 16 countries and a network of public representatives, LIAA has a strong international presence. In addition to a well-developed network in Europe, Russia and the CIS countries, offices have also been opened in Asia. LIAA works closely with other trade institutions at home and abroad, strengthening our links to major world markets and business partners. LIAA has also developed close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take full advantage of Latvia’s diplomatic network.

LIAA foreign representatives provide information about business opportunities in Latvia, relevant legislation, the taxation system, the national economy, and external trade. Our representatives promote and facilitate cooperation between Latvian companies and businesses in the particular country or region, as well as assist in finding co-operation partners.

Dubai (AAE) Minsk (Belarus) Copenhagen (Denmark) Paris (France) Rome (Italy) Riga (Latvia) Tokyo (Japan) Almaty (Kazakhstan)

Dubai (AAE) Seoul (South Korea) Moscow (Russia)Minsk (Belarus) Warsaw (Poland)London (United Kingdom) Beijing (China) Singapore (Singapore) Shanghai (China)Copenhagen (Denmark) Helsinki (Finland)Amsterdam (Netherlands) Ningbo (China)Paris (France) Oslo (Norway) Berlin (Germany) London (United Kingdom) Stockholm (Sweden) Vilnius (Lithuania)Tokyo (Japan) Helsinki (Finland) United States of America Amsterdam (Netherlands)Moscow (Russia) Berlin (Germany) Oslo (Norway) Beijing (China) Stockholm (Sweden)

Shanghai (China)

Kyiv (Ukraine) Washington (United States of America)

More info: www.liaa.gov.lv, www.investinlatvia.org

Idea

Quality and laboratory services

Search for raw materials Production/manufacture

The opportunity to create a safe start-up for the product with balanced risks and reduced investments – for small companies to start a business or for large companies to test products A scientifi c and innovative approach to safe and e ective product development Full-cycle service – from 60 days to 9 months, depending on specifi cs Flexibility – the ability to adapt to customer needs Geographic location which provides extensive and convenient logistic capabilities

Design - Marketing Authorisation

A consistently growing manufacturing company with nearly 25 years of experience – an expert in natural food supplements, medical devices, cosmetics and OTC medicine A leader on the Latvian market that is able to fi nd natural solutions to various health problems – a versatile portfolio of natural products for solving various health problems and promoting well-being A prestigious reputation – a TOP20 company in Latvia in 2017 and TOP4 company in 2018 Punctuality and a responsible attitude – production and delivery are carried out in accordance with agreed parameters Products are available in 30 countries