“The pandemic a couple of years ago, followed by even two lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, rising prices for energy and other raw materials, a spike in inflation, and geopolitical problems have had a severe impact on Lithuanian business, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises. In order to accelerate business recovery and strengthen business immunity to crises, Lithuanian companies have the opportunity to benefit from EU funding and invest in economic risk management solutions,” says Iveta Paludnevičiūtė, Chancellor of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation.
Companies could apply for funding under the “SME recovery” measure from November last year until the end of February this year. A total of 99 project implementation plans were received and the Innovation Agency, which assessed their compliance with the selection criteria, selected 64 for funding.
This measure was limited to SMEs operating in Western and Central Lithuania. Out of 64 project implementation plans that were positively evaluated, 38 were submitted by enterprises registered in Kaunas county, 6 in Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties each, 4 in Marijampolė, Alytus and Klaipėda counties each, and 1 in Tauragė and Utena counties each.
In terms of sectors, this measure turned out to be the most relevant to enterprises involved in the restaurant and catering sector (15 project implementation plans). The second were travel agencies (7), the third – organisation of conventions and trade shows (4) and the fourth – hotels and similar accommodation (3). Notably, these are the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the estimates of the Innovation Agency, the total amount of funding for the selected project implementation plans is EUR 622 742.5, with the majority of applicants requesting the maximum possible amount of EUR 10 000.
One of the two priority selection criteria was the average drop in self-produced products and revenues generated in 2020 and 2021, compared to 2019.
“As it turned out from the evaluation, the revenues of some Lithuanian enterprises decreased by up to 95.3 per cent during the pandemic, while the lowest drop in revenues in the applications that passed the selection accounted for 26 per cent,” says Sigita Skrebė, Head of the Business Productivity Projects Division of the Innovation Agency. “All applicants have committed to start applying anti-crisis performance management and cost optimisation plans, acquired with the help of funding under the “SME recovery” measure, by the end of project implementation. We hope that the investments will help struggling businesses to regain stability and withstand the challenges that the Lithuanian economy has been currently facing.”
The selected applicants will shortly sign funding agreements. During the project, the Innovation Agency will provide advice to enterprises and organise training for project promoters. The projects will have to be completed within 12 months.
To strengthen the Lithuanian economy, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation plans to implement measures totalling almost EUR 1 billion by the end of 2023. Of this amount, EUR 365 million has been earmarked for business, innovation and investment.
All current and forthcoming calls with detailed descriptions and terms are available on the website of the Innovation Agency. The Innovation Agency also provides free advice on starting and growing a business and on choosing the right financing instruments.
