Published: 11.02.2020.

LIAA is doing its best to attract foreign investment and help companies grow, encourages new businesses and facilitates plans of government and municipalities.

When it comes to attracting foreign investment, the main sectors are metalworking and mechanical engineering, transport and logistics, IT, life sciences, healthcare, woodworking, green technologies and food industry. The work is being done to develop other industries too.

Polaris process

Polaris process is designed to attract foreign investment in a more efficient way. This is done by identifying target sectors, following the latest innovations in relevant industries, offering projects to foreign investors and coordinating cooperation between Latvian public authorities, municipalities, the private sector and scientific institutions.

As one of LIAA’s goals is growing export volume, trade missions, national stands, export workshops, B2B events, as well as individual meetings are organised.

Trade missions

Going abroad to make new contacts is a great opportunity to establish new partnerships and get to know potential markets. Trade missions might include business forums, workshops, round-table discussions, B2B events, attending fairs, visiting potential cooperation partners, as well as informal gatherings.

National stands

Being part of stands at industry fairs is an opportunity to show off products and services made by entrepreneurs and helps making new contacts and finding cooperation partners.

Export workshops

Workshops is where one can get updated on latest developments and trends in relevant markets.

B2B

LIAA helps companies finding potential cooperation partners both over individual meetings and B2B events organised as part of trade missions, fairs or other events.

Individual visits

Visiting potential partners is a great start for a new partnership. Visits are usually organised to countries where LIAA representative offices or Latvian embassies are located.

The development of Latvia's nation branding is a function of LIAA since the 1st of June 2021. The aim is to maintain the connection of all aspects of the country's image (investment attraction, tourism, exports, foreign policy and security, society, history, culture, etc.) and to promote a unified nation branding. To achieve this goal, LIAA has chosen a mission approach, starting with missionSea2030. For more information visit Latvia.eu

LIAA encourages development and competiveness of tourism products and services and promotes Latvia as an attractive travel destination.

In 2016, LIAA was merged with the Latvian Tourism Development Agency thus adding a Tourism Department to LIAA.

LIAA Foreign representative offices help bridging Latvia and its entrepreneurs to the most crucial markets. The representative offices are based in Austria, Brussels, Denmark (Copenhagen), Finland (Helsinki), France (Paris), Germany (Berlin), Italy, Japan (Tokyo), Korea (South Korea), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Norway (Oslo), Switzerland, Sweden (Stockholm), Ukraine (Kyiv), UK (London), USA (Washington and Boston), UAE, Australia, Canada (Toronto), Israel, Uzbekistan.

Turning the work of scientists into commercial success and encouraging innovation are some of LIAA’s top priorities.

LIAA organises various training and networking workshops to educate on trends, protection and management of intellectual property, technology transfer, development of new products and technologies. Consultations and funding for development of new products and technology are also offered.

Program consists of motivating and supporting activities for entrepreneurs such as technology conference “Deep Tech Atelier” Mini-MBA, masterclasses, networking workshops, hackathons, and competition “Idea cup”, student enterprises, innovation and technology portal “Labs of Latvia”.

LIAA stands for innovative ideas, supports turning ideas into products and businesses, and also raises awareness about Latvian start-up community abroad.

This means implementing Law on Aid for the Activities of Start-up Companies, supporting their participation at fairs, conferences and visits abroad. LIAA also organises informative and educational events in Latvia and abroad, gives a “start-up visa” for non-EU start-up founders who are willing to come and kick-off their ideas in Latvia.

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) is active in more than 60 countries to help raise competitiveness of SMEs worldwide.

EEN, which is co-financed under a European Union’s programme, consults on EU legislation, international markets, finance and funding, assists in finding new partnerships, providing innovation and technology audits to help carry out technology transfer.

In Latvia, EEN started working on 29 February 2008 as part of LIAA.
http://www.een.lv/

Every year, LIAA organises workshops, masterclasses, business and tourism forums, as well as other events where latest trends are discussed, people are encouraged to start entrepreneurship and where LIAA tells about what it can offer. The most significant are:

Labs of Latvia is an innovation and technology portal where one can find the latest industry developments, experience stories, events, useful support and other tools.

https://labsoflatvia.com/

The database of food and drink products made in Latvia www.foodlatvia.com is a digital platform to find potential business partners and a tool to be used by producers to present their exportable products and foreign representatives to promote food and drink industry.

Business.gov.lv is a national platform for business development. Latvian companies can register their profile, get useful information, apply for support and publish their business offers.

Latvia maintains relationship with its citizens living abroad to facilitate export, tourism, foreign investment, and technology transfer.

As the Diaspora Law directs, LIAA gets involved in activities to engage professionals living abroad to update them on current developments in economy, among them business opportunities or cooperation in Latvia.