This year, the initiative was attended by companies from various industries – finance and insurance, IT and communication, wholesale and retail, production, manufacturing, real estate, etc. The participating companies came from different cities, towns and regions of Latvia – Riga, Ķekava, Mārupe, Iecava, as well as the municipalities of Jelgava, Talsi and Stopiņi.
This year the experience-sharers, who hosted entrepreneurs, included Elektrum Enerģijas Centrs, Getliņi, Riga Airport, Balticovo, Sakret, the University of Latvia, and others.
“It is important to bring together dreamers, creators, and doers to allow them to see as many opportunities as possible for turning good ideas into reality. By organising such an event and involving such a substantial number of participants, Swedbank is making a significant contribution to the development of Latvia's business environment and economy as a whole. We also think a lot about how to foster the business environment – how to create opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop their businesses and for financiers to finance them. The opportunity to have new experiences is extremely important for both experienced and new companies and is one of the main drivers of economic development," underlines Viktors Valainis, Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia.
“Inspiration, strength, and energy are what we can give each other by organising and participating in initiatives like this. For the eighth year running, we are providing a platform that helps every entrepreneur grow – with the exchange of new ideas, troubleshooting experiences, everyday technical solutions, and simply valuable networking contacts. Over 600 applications from nearly 300 different companies were received this year for 28 experience days. I'm very happy that the Entrepreneur Experience Days have evolved into a powerful platform for growth for both new and experienced companies, and that the exchange of ideas serves as a driving force for the entire economy," says Jevgenijs Ivanovs, Head of Corporate Customer Division at Swedbank.
Inviting representatives from various fields and companies to share stories about current challenges and latest developments in business, Swedbank and its partners also organised an online conference for entrepreneurs called "Business Compass" as part of the Entrepreneur Experience Days. Recordings of videos covering the conference topics can be watched on Swedbank’s blog under “Pieredze” (Experience) and the Swedbank Latvia YouTube channel.
The Entrepreneur Experience Days are organised by Swedbank in partnership with the Confederation of Employers of Latvia (LDDK), the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK), and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).