1. PUTTING KEYWORDS TOGETHER IN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM Kaunas, LITHUANIA May 28-29, 2015 Country Report LATVIA

2. EU FUNDING Entrepreneurship and Energy Efficiency 2014 - 2020 764.15 m€ INNOVATION SME COMPETITIVENESS ENERGY EFFICIENCY 193.5 m 237.1 m 333.55 m 7 31 49.5 102,3 4.8 29.9 Innovation vouchers Technology Transfer Centers of Competence Innovation Motivation Training Business Incubators 6.2 Clusters 20 Technology Acceleration 45 Venture Capital 31,8 21,7 61.4 Access to Finance (loans, guaranties) Foreign markets Industrial zones Living houses – 150m Public buildings – 97.8m Industrial buildings–32,5m Advanced heating systems – 53,2m MoE LV

3. INNOVATION SUPPORT PROGRAMMES TRL 1 Applied research TRL 2 Feasibility studies TRL 3 Technology validation in laboratories TRL 4 Technology validation in operation TRL 5 Tehnology demonstra- tion TRL 6 Prototyping TRL 7 Products ready for market TRL 8 Implemen- tation Centers of Competence and Innovation Vouchers Financial instruments to support implementation of new products and technologies Technology Transfer Platform MoE LV

4. Objective – support establishment of new viable and competitive companies and creation of new jobs - EU funding - 25 mil. €  Maximum for each planning region 5 mil. €  Duration - 5 years  Public procurement  Tender for each region  One incubator in the region (regional branches are permitted) REGIONAL BUSINESS INCUBATORS 2015-2020 MoE LV

6.  Operation management - 1,7 mil. € :  Direct and indirect administrative costs not related to incubation services - 0,5 mil. €  Incubation services provided by the operator - 1,2 mil. €  Pre-incubation - up to 1 mil. €  Incubation services provided by external experts - 2 mil. €  Incentive bonus for the operator – up to 0,3 mil. €  10 k€ for each new successful company over requested 20  Salary tax paid by incubatees in the certain taxation period exceeds the amount of the received support INDICATIVE FINANCING SCHEME MoE LV

7. GREEN INDUSTRY SUPPORT PROGRAMME Norwegian Fund (Innovation Norway) Total – 12.6 m EUR (11,3 m € - NO; 1.3 m € - LV) Duration – Sept.1, 2014 - March 31,2016 3 programmes: -Green Industry Innovation Center (Incubator) – 2.0 m € -Small Grant Scheme (10 – 140 k €) - 1.8 m € -Open call for implementation of GTs – 7.7 m € 2 activities: -Bilateral cooperation – 0.3 m € -Programme management – 0.8 m €

8. Green Industry Innovation Center (Incubator) Selected operators – RTU, LU (LV) and SIVA (NO) Supported activities -Research -Prototyping -Testing Goal – 15 new companies Actions: -Consultations -Market research -Development of business models -Small Grant scheme management -Pre-incubation activities (at least 70 potential business ideas) -Management of ~ 1800 m2 space

10. The term comes from the German legend of Baron Münchhausen pulling himself out of the sea by pulling on his own bootstraps. Definition: “The act of starting a business with little or no external funding” Bootstrapping R.Bendis, USA, Baltic Dynamics 2013, Riga, LATVIA

12. Michael Eisner “There’s No Good Idea that Can’t Be Improved U”