{"id":14859,"date":"2024-04-26T16:14:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T16:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1406114"},"modified":"2024-04-26T16:14:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T16:14:47","slug":"why-lithuania-is-a-hidden-gem-of-europes-startup-ecosystem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14859","title":{"rendered":"Why Lithuania is a hidden gem of Europe\u2019s startup ecosystem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2022, over 20,000<\/a> Lithuanians returned to their country of birth from abroad. A high quality of life coupled with a booming entrepreneurial ecosystem and a collaborative mentality has contributed to what investors are calling a \u201creverse brain drain.\u201d Many of their minds reemerge in the country\u2019s startup scene.<\/p>\n

It was on a visit to Lisbon that I first heard someone refer to Lithuania as \u201ca hidden gem\u201d of Europe\u2019s startup ecosystem. A recent trip to Vilnius convinced me they were right.<\/p>\n

To further drive the inspiring transformation it has achieved since regaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Lithuania has been betting heavily on its homegrown tech<\/a> startups.<\/p>\n

Already home to three high-profile unicorns \u2014 online marketplace Vinted, VPN leader NordSecurity, and ad firm BCG \u2014 Lithuania is the fastest-growing ecosystem in the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.  <\/span>Last year, it reached \u20ac13.7bn<\/a> in enterprise value last year, following a seven-fold growth between 2018 and 2023.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLithuania is a startup itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Housing nearly 900 startups, Vilnius alone accounted for 91%<\/a> of the total value. Startups in the capital city raised 96% of the total funding<\/a> (\u20ac281mn), enabling Lithuania to become the second biggest VC investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe, after Estonia.<\/p>\n

Vilnius is also building Europe\u2019s largest tech campus<\/a>, set to open later this year.<\/p>\n

But what lies behind the country\u2019s exponential growth? I met with various ecosystem players to find out.<\/p>\n

A startup (-friendly) mentality<\/h2>\n

Lithuania is \u201ca startup itself compared to big countries,\u201d according to Karolis \u017demaitis, the country\u2019s Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we don\u2019t have that many resources and we don\u2019t have that many people, we need to act on this mentality to be able to compete,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

This has fostered a risk-taking, make-do-with-less mindset, which is also reflected in the mentality of the startup ecosystem. \u201cWe have to be faster, we have to be bolder in some cases, and we have to be more adaptive to the global changes that are happening,\u201d \u017demaitis says.<\/p>\n

This has built ecosystem resilience \u2014 a virtue of Lithuania not only throughout the era of the Soviet occupation, but also through its political and economic reinvention since the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"Karolis
<\/i><\/a>Karolis \u017demaitis, Lithuania\u2019s Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation. Credit: Ministry of Economy and Innovation.<\/figcaption>