Dealroom.co Study About the Lithuanian Startup And Venture Capital Ecosystem

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:

• +900 Startups and Scaleups in Lithuania to date.
• +300 million invested since 2013.
• Fintech startups flourish in the Lithuanian regulation-friendly environment. Lithuanian Fintech startups have raised more than €360M, and Lithuania is one of the most active countries in the world of ICOs .
• The Baltic region has created one-third of the total unicorns in Central & Eastern Europe, and 3% of the unicorns in total Euro. All Baltic unicorns are from Estonia. Lithuania and Latvia show a growing number of rising stars.
• Increasing interest from foreign Investors in Lithuanian tech Startups, mainly from Western Europe and the USA. The percentage of rounds where foreign Investors have participated has increased from 10% in 2013 to 31% in 2019YTD.
• Lithuania ranks among the top 15 countries globally for ease of doing business.
• Lithuania ranks 5th in Central & Eastern Europe by the number of software developers per labour

Get the full report, including insights on the potential of the ecosystem here.