Grant funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in Latvia has increased from EUR 915 thousand in 2021 to EUR 1.15 million in 2025.To ensure that EIT support delivers maximum long-term added value to Latvia’s economy and society in the future, particular attention in the next planning period should be given to the commercialization of innovation, international cooperation, and talent retention.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is one of the central European Union instruments for promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and knowledge transfer. It operates by bringing together higher education, research, and business through thematic Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). Latvia is a member of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (EIT RIS) and is classified as a moderate innovator. This status provides targeted EIT support to strengthen innovation capacity, broaden participation in the EIT community, and foster closer links between education, research, and business. Within the EIT RIS framework, Latvia has access to tailored instruments for the development of education programmes, business support, startup growth, and innovation commercialization.
Latvia’s Capacity to Attract Funding Is Growing
A report on Latvia’s participation in EIT activities under the Horizon Europe framework programme from 2021 to 2025 shows that EIT grant funding in Latvia has increased over time: EUR 915 thousand in 2021, EUR 1.17 million in 2022, EUR 1.26 million in 2023, EUR 1.42 million in 2024, and EUR 1.15 million in 2025. The 2025 figures reflect funding attracted or approved and may be уточened at the end of the funding cycle.
“This growth indicates the increasing capacity of Latvian organizations to attract EIT funding, as well as the growing recognition of EIT support instruments within the national innovation ecosystem,” notes Marija Plotniece, EIT National Contact Point expert in Latvia and author of the report.
The increase in funding reflects both the overall growth of the EIT budget during the Horizon Europe period and the improved ability of Latvian organizations to identify and leverage EIT opportunities, particularly within the EIT RIS framework.
22 Innovations Launched on the Market
Between 2017 and 2024, 202 unique startups and later-stage companies in Latvia were supported (243 support cases in total). During this period, EIT-supported companies attracted EUR 7.55 million in investments. Of this amount, EUR 3.54 million was raised between 2021 and 2024. Among Latvia’s success stories that attracted EIT funding are Arerones and Empyrio.
Between 2021 and 2024, 22 innovations supported by EIT were brought to market in Latvia—new products, services, or technological solutions.
The report concludes that the intensity of bringing innovations to market in Latvia is below the EIT RIS average.
This suggests that although EIT support delivers results, it is particularly important going forward to strengthen support for innovation commercialization at higher technology readiness levels (TRL 6–9) and to build closer links with national instruments such as testing infrastructures, pilot programmes, export support, and investment mechanisms.
The number of EIT-supported innovations created in Latvia lags behind Estonia, and per each million euros of EIT funding attracted, more startups and commercialized innovations are created in Estonia than in Latvia or Lithuania. Estonia demonstrates higher innovation output per unit of funding, while Lithuania shows a more balanced distribution of results across education, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The report emphasizes that Latvia’s results indicate a solid foundation but also a need for more targeted efforts to strengthen innovation outcomes, particularly the market introduction of new products, services, and technologies.
Balanced Distribution of Funding
Between 2021 and 2025, higher education institutions attracted approximately 39% of total EIT funding in Latvia. Companies—primarily small and medium-sized enterprises—attracted 36%, while the public sector and non-governmental organizations accounted for 25%.
Although the distribution is relatively balanced, funding analysis shows that EIT support in Latvia is mainly concentrated in higher education and business support activities. A significant share of funding has been directed to education programmes, professional training, and strengthening business capacity, particularly in the SME segment. This is a positive signal for long-term human capital development but also reveals underutilized potential in innovation commercialization and high technology readiness (TRL 6–9) projects.
Lower use of EIT innovation support may also be partly explained by technological readiness—many technologies in Latvia struggle to move beyond TRL 4–5 and therefore do not reach the stage where they can apply for EIT support at TRL 6–9.
An additional barrier is the required co-financing, which creates constraints for both academic institutions and companies, the report concludes.
To increase EIT’s economic impact, greater emphasis on company participation in innovation commercialization projects will be needed in the future.
Reflecting National Priorities
Thematically, EIT funding in Latvia is most actively attracted through the EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Health, and EIT Food Knowledge and Innovation Communities.
“These areas are closely aligned with the priorities of Latvia’s smart specialization strategy and reflect both academic and business interests. At the same time, the potential of other EIT communities, such as EIT Digital or EIT Climate-KIC, remains underutilized in Latvia, particularly in terms of market deployment and international scaling of innovations,” notes M. Plotniece.
Relatively lower activity in EIT Digital, Climate-KIC, and InnoEnergy programmes is partly explained by these communities’ transition to a self-financing model. In other words, direct EIT funding is no longer provided to participants, meaning that national or sectoral co-financing is required. At the same time, greater engagement is observed in EIT Urban Mobility programmes, one of the newer EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, which offers more flexible participation mechanisms.
A Driver of Innovation Commercialization
The report concludes that EIT is an important instrument for the development of Latvia’s innovation ecosystem, but unlocking its full potential requires closer coordination between the EIT Community Hub Latvia, national policy instruments, higher education institutions, and the business sector.
EIT Community Hub Latvia has the potential to become a central platform for integrating the innovation ecosystem in Latvia. With consistent strategy implementation and sufficient support, EIT could become one of the main drivers of innovation commercialization, international cooperation, and human capital development in the coming decade.
