According to the Baltic Venture Capital Association, the private equity and venture capital market in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has grown sevenfold during the last five years, reaching €3 billion in 2019.
“In 2013, the total volume of private equity and venture capital market in the Baltics amounted to €385 million with only a few investors,” Kristjan Kalda, the chairman of the board of the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, said in a statement.
“Today, we have grown to become a €3 billion market and a home for teams with various investment strategies. Additionally, a number of global startups have started their journey here: TransferWise, Pipedrive, Bolt (Taxify), Monese, Veriff, Citybee, just to name a few. We certainly have a solid foundation for the future growth.”
According to the association, the Nordic and Baltic countries make up a so-called New Nordics region.
“The New Nordics is becoming a region of interest for institutional investors, alongside Japan and the US. Private equity and venture capital investors consider the Baltics an attractive investment region, characterised by professional and dynamic approach,” Kalda added.
The challenge is to attract investors from different parts of the world
According to Michael Collins, the CEO of Invest Europe, the Baltics are a small market, but venture capital and private equity funds have shown excellent results. “The Baltics are an incredibly interesting region, which attracts great companies, and the local community is very strong as well. The challenge is to attract investors from different parts of the world. The sky is the limit if you can make this happen,” he said in a statement.
The Baltic Venture Capital Association held its annual conference in Pärnu, Estonia, on 21-22 August. The conference brought together institutional investors, as well as private equity and venture capital investors from across the world.
The Baltic Venture Capital Association summit is, according to the organisers, the largest event for professional investors held in the Baltic region. This year, the conference welcomed 200 participants from 13 countries, including Japan, the UK, Singapore, and the US.
