Lithuania as a top destination for Russian startups
The recent years have become extraordinary for the development of Lithuanian startup ecosystems. Local projects are growing, but even more attention of the business community is attracted by the redeployment of Russian business to Lithuania. Lithuania shows itself as an attractive business environment for many well-known Russian companies, and this is not by chance.
The last year was very significant for the largest platform Game Insight . The company moved its head office from Moscow to Vilnius. And also 15 more gaming companies from Russia and the CIS countries have chosen Vilnius. This business migration has had a huge impact on many Russian start-ups looking for investment opportunities and a good strategic location. Planner 5D , DevtoDev , Kula Tech , Plag ** , 4Talk were among those who moved to Vilnius, they see this as a great opportunity for further business expansion in Western countries. “The first step into the big world,” says Alexey Sheremetyev , co-founder of the Planner 5D project.
A really favorable IT environment is what makes Lithuania attractive for foreign business. Experienced technical experts, readiness for innovations and advanced Internet infrastructure ( super-fast Internet connection level ) bring Lithuania to the first place in attractiveness among other European countries.
In the ranking of countries with favorable conditions for the business start “Doing Business”, Lithuania ranked 11th and far ahead of its closest competitors. The fact that there is a certain number of funds investing in startups and technology companies contributed to obtaining this high mark: Practica Capital , Mes Invest - fund of business angels, BaltCap , LitCapital . The annual investments of these and other companies in the IT industry exceed 100 million and constantly show growth dynamics.
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Vilnius is considered the most active start-up platform. There are hundreds of themed events that bring together an energetic start-up community. The city has several coworkings for business startups - StartupHighway X (SHX) is located in Rupert - the center of art, education and business integration. Vilnius Hub is also the first co-working and accelerator space in Lithuania. Vilnius Tech Park is another important initiative in the launch stage. This place will become the main technology hub for startups and other business initiatives in Lithuania. This technopark will bring together local and international talents from the fastest growing sectors: gaming, big data, cyber security, graphics.
Many representatives of the Russian startup community agree that Lithuania has something to offer to today's residents of the Russian Federation who are thinking about moving to more comfortable conditions. One of the most successful businessmen in international Internet business, Igor Matsanyuk , who recently moved to Lithuania, admitted that he considers Vilnius very comfortable in terms of local prices and climate. The mild climate, the advantage of a small city in being able to reach any point in 20 minutes, the absence of a language barrier, clean air, simple and fast transport links with Moscow (and also with most cities - note) are changing life for the better. Compared with the eternal Moscow rush, traffic jams, poor environment in Moscow, Vilnius can offer much more pleasant conditions for life. Ilya Zudin (one of the founders of Plag ** ) suggests: “Come to Vilnius if you don’t want to spend half your life in traffic jams”. He also adds that most things are much faster in Lithuania - company registration, issuance of permits for residency. “Due to the high level of bureaucracy in Russia, this will take 10 times longer, in Lithuania it takes about 1.5 months to get a Blue Card.”
Russian companies that have moved to Lithuania (GameInsight, Charlie Oscar) receive consulting support from leading Lithuanian institutions ( Invest Lithuania , StartupHighway ), assistance from law firms (SORAINEN) in transferring business, obtaining an EU Blue Card.
According to Invest Lithuania , the EU Blue Card is a special work and residence permit for highly qualified professionals; it also extends its effect to the applicant's close relatives. To obtain an EU Blue Card, a non-EU citizen must have a higher education, be employed by a Lithuanian company under a contract, with a salary exceeding the average salary from Lithuania at least 2 times. If the salary exceeds the average by three times or more, then the Blue Card can be issued under an accelerated procedure. To date, the average salary in Lithuania is approximately 700 euros.
In addition to receiving a Blue card, there are other possibilities for moving to Lithuania, such as a resident's permit based on working in a group, permanent work permit, permission based on management & investment, etc. Permission based on investment can be issued to a non-EU citizen who invested at least € 14,000 a Lithuanian company with a capital of 28,000 euros or more, employed at least 3 local employees and has been operating for at least six months (additional requirements may apply). In addition, there are many opportunities for obtaining residency permits for private businesses in need of development (of various start-ups), says Vite Danilechute , head of the SORAINEN Communications, Media & Technology (CMT) Sector Group in Lithuania.
The prosperity of startups in Lithuania is promoted by a low tax policy compared to other European countries. Lithuania has tax agreements with 50 major countries that are major world markets such as China and the United States. Below is a comparison of the tax environment with other European countries.
And if this is not convincing enough, here you can find the most favorable tax conditions for foreign companies .
The Mercer Cost of Living 2014 index places Vilnius among the 5 least expensive European capitals for the life of foreigners, which ranks this city as a great place to live. More about the cost of living in Lithuania in this infographic .
If you have not yet chosen where to start or how to start your business project, this is a good opportunity to choose your own path. Since Lithuania has become widely known among the Russian start-up community, as an excellent place for the development of startups, there has been a great opportunity to get initial funding, permission to live and work, as well as a unique guide to action from the largest accelerator StartupHighway . Which, by the way, is already announcing the 5th investment round and invites applications for the “Acceleration program” until the end of April 2015.
In 2014, Startup Highway, in partnership with Igor Matsanyuk, invested with two new startups - Planner 5D and DevtoDev. This year they are looking for more techno-startups, both local and from the CIS region.
“This important partnership with Igor Matsanyuk not only provided better financing conditions, but also increased the importance of accelerators thanks to a wider network and expansion of opportunities. This had a positive impact and gave impetus to a number of our competencies. That is why this partnership is of paramount importance in the success of our new acceleration program, ”said Darius Jacakaitis , co-founder of StartupHighway.
All you need to do now is to lift your head confidently and take the chance to start your own business.
The last year was very significant for the largest platform Game Insight . The company moved its head office from Moscow to Vilnius. And also 15 more gaming companies from Russia and the CIS countries have chosen Vilnius. This business migration has had a huge impact on many Russian start-ups looking for investment opportunities and a good strategic location. Planner 5D , DevtoDev , Kula Tech , Plag ** , 4Talk were among those who moved to Vilnius, they see this as a great opportunity for further business expansion in Western countries. “The first step into the big world,” says Alexey Sheremetyev , co-founder of the Planner 5D project.
A really favorable IT environment is what makes Lithuania attractive for foreign business. Experienced technical experts, readiness for innovations and advanced Internet infrastructure ( super-fast Internet connection level ) bring Lithuania to the first place in attractiveness among other European countries.
In the ranking of countries with favorable conditions for the business start “Doing Business”, Lithuania ranked 11th and far ahead of its closest competitors. The fact that there is a certain number of funds investing in startups and technology companies contributed to obtaining this high mark: Practica Capital , Mes Invest - fund of business angels, BaltCap , LitCapital . The annual investments of these and other companies in the IT industry exceed 100 million and constantly show growth dynamics.
')
Vilnius is considered the most active start-up platform. There are hundreds of themed events that bring together an energetic start-up community. The city has several coworkings for business startups - StartupHighway X (SHX) is located in Rupert - the center of art, education and business integration. Vilnius Hub is also the first co-working and accelerator space in Lithuania. Vilnius Tech Park is another important initiative in the launch stage. This place will become the main technology hub for startups and other business initiatives in Lithuania. This technopark will bring together local and international talents from the fastest growing sectors: gaming, big data, cyber security, graphics.
Many representatives of the Russian startup community agree that Lithuania has something to offer to today's residents of the Russian Federation who are thinking about moving to more comfortable conditions. One of the most successful businessmen in international Internet business, Igor Matsanyuk , who recently moved to Lithuania, admitted that he considers Vilnius very comfortable in terms of local prices and climate. The mild climate, the advantage of a small city in being able to reach any point in 20 minutes, the absence of a language barrier, clean air, simple and fast transport links with Moscow (and also with most cities - note) are changing life for the better. Compared with the eternal Moscow rush, traffic jams, poor environment in Moscow, Vilnius can offer much more pleasant conditions for life. Ilya Zudin (one of the founders of Plag ** ) suggests: “Come to Vilnius if you don’t want to spend half your life in traffic jams”. He also adds that most things are much faster in Lithuania - company registration, issuance of permits for residency. “Due to the high level of bureaucracy in Russia, this will take 10 times longer, in Lithuania it takes about 1.5 months to get a Blue Card.”
Easy moving
Russian companies that have moved to Lithuania (GameInsight, Charlie Oscar) receive consulting support from leading Lithuanian institutions ( Invest Lithuania , StartupHighway ), assistance from law firms (SORAINEN) in transferring business, obtaining an EU Blue Card.
According to Invest Lithuania , the EU Blue Card is a special work and residence permit for highly qualified professionals; it also extends its effect to the applicant's close relatives. To obtain an EU Blue Card, a non-EU citizen must have a higher education, be employed by a Lithuanian company under a contract, with a salary exceeding the average salary from Lithuania at least 2 times. If the salary exceeds the average by three times or more, then the Blue Card can be issued under an accelerated procedure. To date, the average salary in Lithuania is approximately 700 euros.
In addition to receiving a Blue card, there are other possibilities for moving to Lithuania, such as a resident's permit based on working in a group, permanent work permit, permission based on management & investment, etc. Permission based on investment can be issued to a non-EU citizen who invested at least € 14,000 a Lithuanian company with a capital of 28,000 euros or more, employed at least 3 local employees and has been operating for at least six months (additional requirements may apply). In addition, there are many opportunities for obtaining residency permits for private businesses in need of development (of various start-ups), says Vite Danilechute , head of the SORAINEN Communications, Media & Technology (CMT) Sector Group in Lithuania.
Less taxes, more business.
The prosperity of startups in Lithuania is promoted by a low tax policy compared to other European countries. Lithuania has tax agreements with 50 major countries that are major world markets such as China and the United States. Below is a comparison of the tax environment with other European countries.
And if this is not convincing enough, here you can find the most favorable tax conditions for foreign companies .
The Mercer Cost of Living 2014 index places Vilnius among the 5 least expensive European capitals for the life of foreigners, which ranks this city as a great place to live. More about the cost of living in Lithuania in this infographic .
Start your business in 2015
If you have not yet chosen where to start or how to start your business project, this is a good opportunity to choose your own path. Since Lithuania has become widely known among the Russian start-up community, as an excellent place for the development of startups, there has been a great opportunity to get initial funding, permission to live and work, as well as a unique guide to action from the largest accelerator StartupHighway . Which, by the way, is already announcing the 5th investment round and invites applications for the “Acceleration program” until the end of April 2015.
In 2014, Startup Highway, in partnership with Igor Matsanyuk, invested with two new startups - Planner 5D and DevtoDev. This year they are looking for more techno-startups, both local and from the CIS region.
“This important partnership with Igor Matsanyuk not only provided better financing conditions, but also increased the importance of accelerators thanks to a wider network and expansion of opportunities. This had a positive impact and gave impetus to a number of our competencies. That is why this partnership is of paramount importance in the success of our new acceleration program, ”said Darius Jacakaitis , co-founder of StartupHighway.
All you need to do now is to lift your head confidently and take the chance to start your own business.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/289588/
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