This week “Contrarian Ventures”, “Startup Lithuania”, “Koinvesticinis fondas”, “TGS Baltic” and “Dealroom.co” released a study about the state of the Lithuanian Startup & Venture Capital Ecosystem. The report is based on a data study concerning the period 2013 until now. It compares different countries in the Central Eastern European & Baltic region regarding Venture Capital, Startups and growth potential of the Technology ecosystem.
Figures reveal that 2018 was a record year for Venture Capital Investments in the Baltic states. The total amount of Venture Capital raised by companies in the Baltic States hit EUR.534 million in 2018, compared to EUR.411 million in 2017 and EUR.111 million in 2016.
With an average year-to-year growth of 135%, Venture Capital invested since 2013 Lithuania shows the highest growth of all the Baltic states.
A notable insight is that compared to other countries in the CEE and Baltic region, Lithuania shows significant potential for foreign investors when looking at the investment amount per inhabitant. (EUR.18 per capita on average since 2013, which is close to the European average of EUR.21)
An important indicator to determine the maturity of Startup ecosystems is the number of Unicorns the ecosystem is able to create (a Unicorn is a privately held Startup that is valued over USD.1 Billion).
Within the Baltic states Estonia – with vastly bigger Venture Capital resources than Latvia & Lithuania – is the only country that has been able to create unicorns so far (Transferwise, Playtech, Skype, Bolt).
Looking at the so-called rising stars – companies that show the growth of a potential future Unicorn – Lithuania and Latvia show a fast-growing number of these Startups. This a clear sign that the Startup ecosystem in these countries is quickly maturing. It is expected that the first Lithuanian unicorn will be realized soon.
Other highlights from the report:
Get the full report, including insights on the potential of the ecosystem here.
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