Baltic microenterprises to get €15 million financing boost under EIF-backed initiative by alternative lender Capitalia

The smallest companies in the Baltics will be eligible for up to €15 million in loans as a result of an initiative that alternative financing provider Capitalia is undertaking with support from the European Investment Fund (EIF). Capitalia will use an EIF guarantee to offer crowdfunded loans to microenterprises in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over three years.

Microenterprises, which have fewer than ten employees and annual turnover or total assets below €2 million, often struggle to secure funding from traditional lenders because of limited collateral or credit history.

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Originally published on 30 Mar

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Freeport of Ventspils Authority Presents a Model for Green Energy Development

From March 17 to 19, a Consortium meeting of the European Union co-funded project H2Deri@BSP took place in Luleå, Sweden. The Freeport of Ventspils Authority was represented by Kaspars Liepiņš, developer of the renewable energy cluster.

During the meeting, project partners familiarised themselves with the Port of Luleå, one of the largest cargo ports in Sweden and an important industrial centre in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. They discussed project activities and latest updates and presented interim results of their work tasks. The Freeport of Ventspils Authority presented a techno-economic and commercial model designed to assess the development potential of solar, wind, and hybrid power plants, as well as green hydrogen and its derivative production facilities.

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Originally published on 26 Mar

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AI-powered platform ECLI.ai for legal information analysis developed in Latvia

As the volume of court rulings and legal information continues to grow rapidly, not only legal professionals but also public institutions and businesses increasingly require smart solutions to efficiently process large amounts of data and make decisions based not only on statutory law, but also on case law and legal precedents.

To address this need, Latvian law firm iLaw, in collaboration with technology partners, has developed an AI-enabled intelligent database ECLI.ai, significantly improving access to court decisions and legal information analysis. It is anticipated that fast and systematic analysis of rulings will help reduce the risk of contradictory judgments and inconsistencies in legal interpretation, support the development of more coherent case law, and strengthen trust in the judicial system and public administration overall.

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Originally published on 25 Mar

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airBaltic Expands Network for Upcoming Winter Season, Adds 12 New Routes

Latvian airline airBaltic is expanding its network for 2026/2027 winter season, running from late October 2026 to the end of March 2027, with the addition of 12 new routes from Riga (Latvia), Gran Canaria and Tenerife (both in Spain), and Kuusamo (Finland). As part of the expanded schedule, the airline will further strengthen its existing Gran Canaria seasonal base, establish a seasonal base in Tenerife, and operate weekend services from Kuusamo.

Mantas Vrubliauskas, VP Network Management at airBaltic: “Winter remains an important time for our customers to travel for leisure, and decisions around new routes must be made well in advance to secure the best opportunities for them. As the current winter season comes to a close, we are already looking ahead to the next one, starting in late October 2026. With additional routes to sunny destinations such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife, alongside new connections to Kuusamo for winter sports and Nordic experiences, we continue to diversify our network and adapt to evolving travel demand.”

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Originally published on 24 Mar

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Tilde to develop an AI Assistant for Earth Observation platform

Tilde has been selected to develop the project “AI Assistant for Data Discovery on the EO Baltic Platform.” The activity is financed by the European Space Agency and will be implemented by Tilde as the Prime Contractor in close cooperation with Baltic Satellite Service (BSS) as the subcontractor.

Tilde brings proven experience in building AI assistants for the space and Earth Observation sector. This new project builds on that experience and further strengthens the company’s role in applying language AI to complex scientific and geospatial systems.

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Originally published on 18 Mar

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Another new innovative and military technology company in the Port of Riga

Ship design and construction company “Latitude Construction”, working under the Latitude Yachts brand in the Port of Riga, will establish a new company “Latitude Naval Technologies” with the aim to develop modern offshore platforms for security and defense operations.

Thus, another company will join the innovative and military technology production facilities of the Port of Riga, developing a new direction in the Latvian shipbuilding industry, combining extensive experience in shipbuilding with the growing demand for modern maritime safety technologies. In the current conditions, such a production facility will not only contribute to the economic growth of Latvia but also boost the security of Latvia and its partners.

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Originally published on 18 Mar

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Riga is set to become Europe’s audio capital – “Radiodays Europe 2026” will take place in Latvia

From March 22 to 24, 2026, Riga will become the center of the European audio industry for a few days, hosting the world’s leading radio, podcast, and digital audio conference, “Radiodays Europe 2026.”

The event will bring together more than 1,500 media professionals from over 65 countries, including executives from major public and commercial media outlets, podcast creators, technology companies, content creators, and audio innovation experts. The conference in Riga will become one of the most significant international media industry events in the Baltic region.

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Originally published on 16 Mar

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SEB Tackles Financial Technology Challenges Together with RBS Students

Last autumn, SEB participated for the first time in the Riga Business School (RBS) Computer Science and Organizational Technologies software engineering course, where students worked on real industry challenges throughout the semester. The course is led by RBS faculty member Uldis Karlovs-Karlovskis, and student teams develop software solutions based on ideas proposed by companies.

The financial sector is currently undergoing rapid transformation—technology increasingly shapes how customers perceive financial services, how decisions are made, and how companies manage their resources. To not only keep pace with these changes but actively shape them, it is essential for banks to seek new perspectives, experiment, and collaborate with environments where future ideas and talent emerge.

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Originally published on 12 Mar

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50% of survey respondents believe an offshore wind park will have a positive impact on Latvia’s economy

The latest survey data show that public awareness in Latvia about wind park development plans and energy security issues is gradually increasing. For example, 65% of respondents in a survey conducted by Norstat Latvia report that they are at least somewhat informed about the plans to develop offshore wind park in Latvia. At the same time, society increasingly supports a “moderate” development approach – more and more residents believe that Latvia should become an energy-neutral country and produce only as much electricity as it consumes domestically.

A survey commissioned as part of the ELWIND project shows that public awareness of the joint Latvian–Estonian initiative to develop an offshore wind park in the Baltic Sea has increased. This year, 65% of respondents say they are aware of the project (61% last year). Most people have heard about the project but are not familiar with all the details, while only a small share report having a very good understanding of it.

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Originally published on 9 Mar

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26 research projects funded in BioPhoT second call

The 26 highest ranked projects in the second BioPhoT call for research and innovation projects will receive funding. They will receive an investment of €4,710,859, with each project receiving up to €190,000 in funding for eight months of research and innovation activities.

Most of the supported projects – seven – will be carried out by research groups from the Institute of Solid State Physics at the University of Latvia. The University of Latvia follows with five supported projects, followed by the Institute of Organic Synthesis and Riga Technical University with four each. Two projects each will be implemented by teams from the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre and Riga Stradins University, and one each by research groups from the Institute of Electronics and Computer Science and Ventspils University College.

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Originally published on 6 Mar

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