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Good practice Imported

Digitalisation Support Programme — Latvia's LIAA-Run SME & AI Grants

Latvia · Riga · See the Latvia profile · See the Riga profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 48% 71/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Latvia's investment agency LIAA ran a EUR 33.5 million digitalisation grant line that drew 2,346 applications and paid out EUR 5.74 million for completed projects, then relaunched in 2025 with EUR 18.5 million more and a dedicated up-to-EUR-200,000 track for AI adoption.

33.5 EUR million
Initial allocation
2,346
Applications received
1,818
Concluded support agreements
28.5 EUR million
Funds reserved against applications
5.74 EUR million
Paid out for completed projects
18.5 EUR million
Second-phase allocation (2025)
200,000 EUR
AI project grant cap
10,000 EUR
Standard digital-solution grant cap
4.28 EUR million
Funds earmarked for AI projects (phase 2)

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA)
Period
2021–2029
Region (NUTS)
LV00
Keywords
SME digitalisation, artificial intelligence adoption, digital transformation grants

Context

Latvia's Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) administers a grant line for digitalising business processes, first financed through Latvia's EU Recovery and Resilience mechanism and then continued under the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy project 'Support for the Digitalisation of Processes in Latvia.' In July 2025 LIAA opened a second, EUR 18.5 million phase requiring a digital-maturity assessment through a Digital Innovation Centre before applying, and adding a dedicated funding track for AI adoption.

Results

The initial EUR 33.5 million allocation attracted 2,346 applications, of which 1,818 led to concluded support agreements; EUR 28.5 million had been reserved against applications and EUR 5.74 million already paid out for completed projects, with implementation required by 31 March 2026. Support intensity is tiered by company size — 50% for micro/small, 40% for medium — with grants capped at EUR 10,000 for standard digital solutions and EUR 200,000 for AI development and implementation projects; of the funds reserved so far in the second phase, EUR 4.28 million was earmarked specifically for AI projects.

Conclusions

LIAA's director described the programme as the most popular EU-funded scheme the agency currently manages, and independent Latvian IT consultancy ELVA corroborates its structure, support percentages and grant caps. Public reporting documents reach, reservations and disbursement, but not measured productivity or revenue outcomes for the SMEs that received funding.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA), Digital Innovation Centres (mandatory digital-maturity assessment and roadmap)

Conditions for success

  • tiering support intensity by company size (50% micro/small, 40% medium) to widen SME access
  • requiring a digital-maturity assessment and roadmap before funding is granted, to target support
  • sequencing the scheme across two EU financing periods (Recovery and Resilience mechanism, then 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy) to sustain continuity

Commonly funded by

Recovery and Resilience Facility (national plans) ERDF — European Regional Development Fund

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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