As previously reported, to promote innovation, startups, and technology development in Riga, the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) allocated 244,500 euros this year to various sector activities through the “Startup Ecosystem Support Program” and the “Accelerator and Incubator Support Program.” Both programs are part of support tools implemented by the agency to encourage activities of organizations whose daily work is related to the formation and growth of the startup industry. Given the high interest and number of applications, an opportunity was found to increase the support funding by reallocating resources from other programs. In total, 359,000 euros have been allocated to both programs.
Within the Startup Ecosystem Support Program, an additional 79,500 euros have been allocated on top of the previously allocated 120,000 euros. The funds will be distributed to the following projects:
- Masterclass series "Find Your Place in Space" and a matchmaking event for masterclass graduates (15,713.22 euros)
- ROBO RIGA 2024 (20,000 euros)
- “Startups & Spice & Everything Nice” – a series of 6 video interviews (9,000 euros)
- Artificial Intelligence Hackathon Hack4AI (10,000 euros)
- International Fintech Hackathon “Open FinHack” (11,000 euros)
- Start-up Boot Camp (Innovation Camp for Startups) (4,721 euros)
- Baltic Sustainability Awards 2024 (9,065.78 euros)
Within the Accelerator and Incubator Support Program, additional funding of 35,500 euros has been allocated to SIA “Helve.”