The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) offers an opportunity for Latvian merchants to develop new products and technologies in collaboration with research organizations, as well as to implement various innovations. With the support of the "Innovation Voucher" program, entrepreneurs have already developed new food products tested with an artificial stomach, a mobile device for scent recording, a vehicle movement monitoring system, and many other products or services.
"To enhance economic competitiveness, investments in research and development are necessary. The Innovation Voucher program provides an opportunity to attract EU fund co-financing for various activities related to innovation development and research. The support of the Innovation Voucher has enabled entrepreneurs to utilize the scientific capacity of research organizations for the development of new products. In the previous planning period, 323 projects worth 4.85 million euros were implemented with the support of this program," says LIAA director Raivis Bremšmits.
Voucher support is intended for micro, small, and medium-sized merchants. A voucher serves as a guarantee letter to the service provider for the partial payment of the development of a specific product, and many research organizations are open to collaboration within the framework of this program.
In the new program, 16 companies have already applied for support, including those who successfully used the support in the previous period. Among them is the company "PeltMan," which plans to create a prototype device for hemp concrete production. Meanwhile, the company "VOZOROM" will conduct a technical and economic feasibility study for the automatic calculation of CO2 emissions generated by vehicles. The company "InPass" plans to use the funding to attract highly qualified employees to develop a new electronic printed circuit board prototype and software. These are just a few examples of the projects submitted, the implementation of which began this summer.
The Innovation Voucher program includes four types of support – introductory, classic, design voucher, and the attraction of highly qualified employees – through which it is possible to receive support for the following eligible activities: technical and economic feasibility studies; industrial research; experimental development; industrial design development; industrial property rights protection; certification and testing services for new products or technologies; attraction of highly qualified employees; designer services.
Depending on the chosen voucher type, it is possible to attract funding of up to 25,000 euros with a support intensity ranging from 45 to 100 percent. By covering only the VAT part, a merchant can receive an introductory voucher of up to 5,000 euros, which can be used for technical and economic feasibility studies, industrial research, experimental or industrial design development of a product.
The classic voucher offers several eligible activities with a support intensity of up to 85 percent. Meanwhile, with a support intensity of 45 percent, qualified employees can be attracted. The total amount of support for one product is 25,000 euros.
The total available program funding is 5.43 million euros, and applications are open until April 30, 2027, or until the available funding is exhausted.
In the previous planning period, support activities in this program were implemented in areas such as technical and economic feasibility studies – 36 projects, industrial research – 110, experimental development – 146, industrial design development – 24, certification and testing – 12, industrial property rights protection – 16, designer services – 10, and the attraction of highly qualified employees – 14.
More information about the program is available here: https://business.gov.lv
The support program is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
