Following a government decision on 21 June this year, the Acceleration Funds will be extended and the acceleration process and investments for innovative start-ups with growth potential will be available without interruption until the new EU programming period. Buildit Latvia and Commercialisation Reactor will continue to provide acceleration services. An additional €1.38 million of funding is also foreseen for the Acceleration Funds.
“Acceleration funds are focused on the commercialisation phase of a start-up’s product or service, specifically in the innovation and technology-intensive segment. Acceleration helps promising early-stage businesses with high added value to get off the ground and we are already seeing first results and achievements. At the same time, it will take several years to assess how well the beneficiary start-ups are developing and how effectively they have been able to use the funding. The Government’s decision to extend the duration of the Acceleration Funds is significant and far-sighted and will ensure the continuity of the acceleration process,” explains Ieva Buka – Jansone, Member of the Board of ALTUM.
The public start-up acceleration funds, established for the first time in Latvia, have invested in 107 companies, with a total of €5.3 million from the European Regional Development Fund invested in the development of these companies in the form of pre-seed investments. The companies that have received funding so far have almost doubled their turnover, paid more than half a million euros in taxes and created more than 60 new jobs.
The average investment per company is €37,000 and the average capital utilised was 80%. Of the companies that received a seed investment, 18 have already received a follow-on seed investment with an average investment of €104,000. The average capital employed was 45%.
“Currently, around 50% of the funding has already been committed in Generation 4 Opportunity Capital Funds. We are actively working on the next generation of funds,” explains Ieva Buka – Jansone.
