Latvia to receive EIB guidance on unlocking stronger tech innovation

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• EIB to advise Latvia on promoting technological innovation and high-growth companies.
• EIB experts to recommend ways to strengthen Latvian business competitiveness.
• Initiative marks new EIB cooperation with Latvian Ministry of Economics and Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will advise Latvia on accelerating the development of high-growth business sectors. Through this new cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), the EIB will help the country create the conditions for more competitive and scalable companies.

EIB experts will assess how Latvian businesses, research institutions and emerging technologies are supported and identify where policies and financing can be strengthened. The work, due to take place until the end of this year, will also explore opportunities for deeper Latvian alignment with neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania to foster strategic Baltic-wide initiatives.

“Latvia has built a strong foundation for innovation, but the next step is scale,” said Latvia’s Minister for Economics Viktors Valainis. “Our priority is to ensure that promising companies can grow faster, attract international investment and compete globally. Cooperation with the European Investment Bank gives us access to world-class expertise to sharpen our policies, strengthen our financial instruments and unlock the full potential of Latvia’s innovation ecosystem. This is a strategic step to position Latvia as a competitive hub for technology and high-growth companies in Europe.”

The Latvian market for startups is expanding rapidly, with around 560 companies generating over €600 million in turnover and employing more than 5,000 people at the end of 2025.

Nonetheless, access to early-stage and scaleup financing in Latvia remains uneven. In addition, Latvian deep-tech and science-based companies face persistent hurdles when expanding internationally. Furthermore, industry participants are calling for a stronger project pipeline and better-aligned national support measures.

As part of the advisory work, the EIB will deliver a capacity-building programme for Latvian innovation ecosystem, including public authorities involved in innovation and economic development. Riga Technical University’s development plan will be assessed within the pilot project to illustrate how major university investments can be support national innovation and economic development goals. This will strengthen their ability to design financial instruments, implement support measures, plan long-term strategic investments and attract European Union funding for technological advances.

“This cooperation builds on the strong momentum already present in Latvia’s innovation ecosystem,” said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer. “By strengthening national capacities and supporting the development of forward-looking strategies, we can help Latvia amplify its strengths, align with Europe’s most dynamic innovation networks and attract even more strategic investment.”

The result will be a set of recommendations and a roadmap to reinforce Latvia’s innovation system. The EIB work stems from the European InvestEU programme and, in particular, its “Advisory Hub”.

“This partnership allows us to take a more targeted and data-driven approach to supporting innovation and investment in Latvia,” said Ieva Jāgere, Director of Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. “Together with the EIB, we will identify the most critical gaps – from early-stage financing to scale-up support – and develop solutions that are practical and aligned with market needs. Our goal is clear: to help more Latvian companies grow internationally and to attract higher-value investments to Latvia.”

The EIB will carry out its advisory work in close collaboration with public authorities, investors, industry partners and start-ups themselves, to ensure that recommendations are practical, targeted and aligned with market needs.

Background information  

LIAA

The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) promotes the competitiveness of Latvian businesses, supports export growth and attracts investment, while also developing the tourism sector and implementing the national branding strategy. The agency acts as a government partner for business development – from idea to international markets. With an extensive network of representative offices abroad and regional business centres across Latvia, LIAA helps companies grow and positions Latvia as a safe, innovative and open economy on the global stage.

EIB Group   

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects under eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investments union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations. Latvia received record-high EIB Group financing of €381 million in 2025.

InvestEU 

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.  

EIB Advisory 

In addition to financing, the EIB Group offers advisory services that help public and private clients develop markets, build capacity and support high impact investment projects. In 2025, EIB Advisory helped accelerate project delivery and crowd in finance for 179 projects worth more than €80 billion in the European Union and beyond.     

Photos of the EIB Group’s spokespeople and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.