In the beginning of August Ventspils High Technology Park (VHTP) in collaboration with Kurzeme Business Incubator (KBI) organized first joint event for companies of both business incubators.   

As the main objectives to be achieved in the event were named experience exchange between companies of business incubators, getting acquainted with the newly incubated business ideas, as well as to make contacts between the companies and the experts. The topic of the matchmaking event was export, since it plays great role in successful development of business.

The participants of matchmaking listened to the presentation of VHTP Business Incubator’s company Ilstone about their successful export experience in Poland, Gunārs Grundštoks from IT House shared his company’s experience in the USA and the Scandinavian countries, and the representative of B-PHONE told about their failures and achievements in Norwegian market. The official part of the event was concluded with the lecture of Rolands Blezūrs, director of export agency 999 Design Group, on export opportunities in the Great Britain.   

Along with the official part of the event three companies of VHTP and three of KBI gave presentations to experts, in order to receive support, contacts, and advice regarding company’s challenges and business development. The expert team included both permanent cooperation partners, such as Juris Grišins (Eko Investors), Viesturs Sosārs (Real Sound Lab, LABACA), Ints Ozoliņš (SEB Bank), Igors Udodovs (Ventspils Free Port Authority), as well as new partners – Oļegs Polovjanovs (Sandlers nami), Ģirts Kronbergs (Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Liepāja Regional office), Edijs Brauners (Marketing expert), Edgars Štāls (Legal expert) and Atis Egliņš Eglītis (Liepaja University).

In the second part of the event participants had an opportunity to make contacts by taking part in different sport activities organized by Ltd. Maratona klubs, a company of VHTP Business Incubator. Several KBI’s companies gave their contribution to the event, namely, Ltd. DTT Solutions provided qualitative sound with their sound systems, Ltd. Durbes Veltes had prepared self-made vine and Ltd. Suitu Maize had baked traditional Latvian dish sklandrauši. The representatives of Ltd. Wooly World took photographs of the participants holding wool teddy bears that are made in the company.

Management teams of both business incubators hope that such events will become a tradition and will gather business people and experts of Kurzeme region further on, in order to jointly increase the competitiveness of companies in local and export markets.

The matchmaking event was organized within the BalticSupply project that is financed from the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013, since one of the project’s objectives is to help companies to access supply chains of large manufacturers, thus encouraging export in the Baltic Sea region.

For further information:

Salvis Roga, BalticSupply Project manager
Ventspils High Technology Park
Phone number: +371 2 8663400
E-mail: salvis [dot] roga [at] vatp [dot] lv
www.vatp.lv
www.balticsupply.eu

Videos of presentations from the matchmaking event can be viewed here:

Experience in exporting to the USA, Great Britain and Sweden / by Gunārs Grundštoks from IT House
http://vimeo.com/27435158

Export – where to begin / by Normunds Frīde from Ilstone
http://vimeo.com/27395100

Road to Norway / Imants Martinsons from B-Phone
http://vimeo.com/27403475

Presentation of export agency 999 Design Group

http://vimeo.com/27978207