Entrepreneurs, associations, foundations and research and knowledge dissemination organizations have access to support for process digitization, the purpose of which is to promote process digitization in commercial activities and increase productivity.

Support is given in the form of a grant:

• up to 5,000 euros 100% for small (micro) and small entrepreneurs*
• up to 100,000 euros 30% – 60% for entrepreneurs, foreign branches, farm undertaking, cooperative societies, state owned enterprises, associations, foundations, research and knowledge dissemination organizations

* A microenterprise is an enterprise with fewer than 10 employees and whose annual turnover (revenue over a certain period) or balance sheet (statement of assets and liabilities of the enterprise) does not exceed EUR 2 million;
A small enterprise is an enterprise with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet not exceeding EUR 10 million;

Eligible costs:

• costs of purchase, development, installation and adaptation of ready-made solutions, hardware, sensors, equipment, software and information technology infrastructure, including the cost of purchasing a license;
• consulting costs for specific equipment, software, solutions, strategic management of commercial activities in the field of digitization (only for micro, small and medium enterprises).

Supported activities:

• administrative processes such as finance and accounting, administration, document management, project management, collaboration, system interoperability;
• personnel management processes such as human resource management, timekeeping, work delegation, personnel involvement, evaluation and motivation;
• sales processes such as customer acquisition and transaction management, sales and transaction tracking, e-commerce, digital marketing, retail solutions, customer relationship management (CRM);
• resource management processes such as resource management (ERP, warehouse), energy resource management, more efficient use;
• data management processes such as data security, storage, communication infrastructure;
• transport and logistics processes such as the smart mobility solutions, perception systems, traffic monitoring;
• production and quality control processes such as management and automation of production and business processes, quality control systems, data synchronization, data analytics;
• operational management processes such as business management, business analytics, big data analytics, solutions for management decision-making, data automation, synchronization;
• strategic management as a digitalization (process and product) and innovation development strategy;
• making other improvements related to information and communication technology products, technologies or processes.

Before applying for support, an initial digital maturity test must be performed to determine the necessary investments for digitalization needs, and it is necessary to receive a digital development road map issued by the European Digital Innovation Center (Latvian IT cluster).

A capital company with a high growth potential the basic activity of which is related to the development, production or improvement of scalable business models and innovative products under the Law on Aid for the Activities of Start-up Companies may qualify for the following aid:

• An aid programme for the fixed payment

The start-up company has the right to apply for a fixed payment for the employee from the amount of the two minimum monthly wages set by the Cabinet of Ministers, applying the mandatory contribution rate.

• Aid Programme for Attracting Highly Qualified Employees

A start-up company has the right to apply for an aid programme for attracting highly qualified employees. The Cabinet shall issue regulations regarding aid programme for attracting highly qualified employees by determining the procedures for granting the aid to start-up companies.

Support of up to 45% (up to 200 000 EUR) of eligible costs is limited to activities in the smart specialization or RIS3 areas, which include:

• biomedicine, medical technology, pharmaceuticals;
• information and communication technologies;
• photonics, smart materials, technologies, and engineering systems;
• knowledge-intensive economy;
• smart energy and mobility.

For more information - here.

• Personal income tax relief

An employee of the start-up company is exempt from the personal income tax if regarding him or her a fixed payment has been made for the income subject to a payroll tax obtained in the start-up company.

Find more information here.

Acceptance of applications is open while funding is available.

The program is implemented with the support of the European Regional Development Fund and state budget funding. The total budget of the program is 61.16 million euros.

Directions and sub-programs of the SME Innovative Business Development Program

1. Export Support (24 million euros):

• Support for export activities that strengthen and enhance the export capability of products and services.
• Support for organizing international sports events and exhibitions.
• Establishing contacts abroad (the activity will be available in December 2023).
• Participation in national stands (the activity will be available in December 2023).
• Participation in trade missions and visits by high-level state officials abroad (the activity will be available in December 2023).

2. Business Incubation Support (33 million euros. This program will be available in early 2024)

3. Innovation Motivation Support (4.16 million euros. This program will be available in early 2024)

Program Targets (by 2027)

• Support for 700 exporting companies;
• A minimum 12% increase in turnover for program implementers;
• An annual 20% increase in export volume;
• Creation of 1000 new jobs;
• Supported merchants contributing 150 million euros in taxes annually.

The programme will be implemented by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.

LIAA) offers Latvian merchants the opportunity to develop new products and technologies in cooperation with research organizations. As a result, the innovations introduced by Latvian entrepreneurs will increase the share of innovative merchants in the economy.

The innovation voucher programme foresees four types of vouchers – introductory, classic, design voucher and attracting highly qualified staff – and supports the following supported activities:

• feasibility studies;
• industrial research;
• experimental development;
• development of industrial design of the product;
• strengthening industrial property rights;
• certification and testing services for a new product or technology;
• attraction of highly qualified employees;
• designer service.

Voucher support is intended for small (micro), small and medium-sized enterprises. A voucher is like a letter of guarantee to the service provider regarding the payment of the development part of a particular product.

LIAA will start accepting applications for the innovation voucher support programme on 8 May, which, in cooperation with research organisations, will allow the development of new products and technologies, providing support for the development of up to 25,000 euros for the development of a product or technology.

The aid is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

EEN provides free services:

• Help with international partner search:
  • Organizing business missions and contact exchanges;
  • Business Cooperation Database – an opportunity to search for current business/ technology/ research cooperation offers, as well as to place your offer in the database. The database is available here;
  • Selection of contacts of potential cooperation partners.
• Prepares information about target market;
• Provides advice on legislative and business aspects (goods and services requirements, standardization issues, CE labelling, posting of workers abroad, etc.);
• Provides advice on access to finance (Horizon 2020, Erasmus, Creative Europe, Interreg, etc.);

EEN also helps to search partners for participation in international programs.
Learn more: Go to the webpage