€73 million support program for SMEs to be introduced

The Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) will introduce a new European Union (EU) Structural Fund-backed support program worth more than €73 million for small and medium-sized Latvian enterprises for the development of innovative business, the government decided on Thursday, July 13.
The program is expected to support a total of 1,500 companies.

The overall funding of the aid program is €73.38 million and aims to ensure that financing is available to innovative businesses.

According to the Ministry of Economics (EM), the aid program will promote businesses focused on high-value-added creation in the medium-high and high-tech field, thereby contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the National Industrial Policy Latvia's Smart Specialisation Strategy.

The new aid program provides for the UAA to implement three activities: support for innovation motivation activity, business incubation support, and export support.

The program is expected to support a total of 1,500 companies developing their business projects, of which at least 300 will be the authors of new ideas. It is planned that the turnover of the supported companies will grow by 12%, while exports will increase by 20% or EUR 0.6 billion annually between 2024 and 2029.

Similarly, it is planned to support 700 exporting companies by creating 1,000 new jobs.

Source: Press release (eng.lsm.lv)
Photo: Freepik