Latvian startup community has united and officially formed Latvian Startup Association, an organization established to promote Latvian startup scene, connect it to the rest of the world, represent its interests, foster mutual respect and promote understanding about startups in Latvia. Over 250 startup enthusiasts gathered at Nordic Club House on March 9 to celebrate the event and take part in the first discussions. Some of the outcomes have been the announcement of Latvian StartUp Manifesto and the official selection of startup & tech communities hashtag: #StartinLatvia.
“I am convinced that Latvia has all necessary potential prerequisites to become a hub of Northern- Eastern European startup movement. Even though the ecosystem is rather young, however, understanding on government level is already starting to grow as well as private initiatives and interest in the sphere are growing very rapidly. After Riga Venture Summit in November 2015, the need to unite these initiatives became apparent. The purpose of Latvian Startup Association is to bring all existing stakeholders together to achieve our common goals better and faster.” – chairperson of the Board of Latvian Startup Association, Jekaterina Zaiceva.
According to crowdsourced Latvian startup funding data, Latvian startups have raised over €100 million to date. This is only the disclosed funding. Two biggest deals: Ask.fm and CoBook, as well as several other startup investments remain undisclosed but continue to contribute to the ecosystem development.
The founding members include among others co-founder of one of Latvian flagship startups Infogr.am Uldis Leiterts, World’s first action sports auto-follow drone Airdog, co-working space TechHub Riga.
Latvian Startup Association is an open initiative and founders encourage more members to join. Potential members are welcome to reach out to chairperson of the board Jekaterina Zaiceva to find out more and become part of the movement.
