LITHUANIAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM: EXCEPTIONAL GROWTH MARKS RECORD YEAR

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Around 1000 startups, two unicorns, and record VC investment are just a few of Lithuania's startup ecosystem achievements last year. According to Dealroom.co, Lithuania's startup ecosystem has grown 16,6 times in five years and is now valued at 10 billion EUR, placing Lithuania at the top of CEE countries for its' startups' growth in combined enterprise value.

Last year Lithuanian startups attracted 2,2 times more investments than previous records (around 430 million EUR), and revenue and export in 2021 grew by more than 30 percent.

"Even in these geopolitically and economically uncertain times this year, the Lithuanian startup ecosystem is showing great results. In 2022 the second unicorn was born - Nord Security. The largest exit so far happened - Lithuanian startup MailerLite was sold to Vercom for 84 million euros, and  Lithuanian startups managed to attract around 240 million EUR." - says Roberta Rudokiene, Head of Startup Lithuania, a national startup ecosystem facilitator.

She notes that even during the pandemic, most Lithuanian startups showed remarkable resilience and managed to grow. The number of employees in Lithuanian startups rose by 15 % in 2021, and their revenues and export volumes were up 192 percent compared to the first half of 2020.

"Considering Lithuania's size, the number of startups and unicorns, and investments that they attract per capita, Lithuania is becoming increasingly visible on the global startups' map. One of the strengths of our ecosystem is that we have a bunch of profitable startups that are bootstrapping and working globally without external investments. 2021 was a record year for the Lithuanian startup ecosystem, and seeing how the ecosystem is managing in 2022, we believe it's only the beginning of exceptional growth ", says R. Rudokiene.

About Startup Lithuania

Startup Lithuania, the national startup ecosystem facilitator, is powered by Innovation Agency Lithuania, a non-profit agency under the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, established to promote entrepreneurship, support business development, and foster export.

Startup Lithuania collects data about Lithuanian startups, consults startup founders, administrates online pre-acceleration program Startup Guide and Startup Visa Lithuania, and organizes different events and workshops, including the main international startups? event in Lithuania ? Startup Fair.

The Innovation Agency Lithuania administers a range of innovation, digitalization, and other business support measures with a total value over the next few years of more than EUR 500 million.

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