Considering the implementation progress of the support program “Productivity Loans for Business Innovations”—including the number of projects submitted, the available funding, and the need to ensure balanced future use of public funding—changes will be made to the program’s implementation, specifically, the acceptance of new applications will be suspended.
The support program for entrepreneurs was launched on 14 May this year, with EUR 100 million allocated for innovations, including dual-use and new product development. Companies can access ALTUM loans of up to EUR 5 million with a capital discount of up to EUR 1.5 million. Loans are available for small and medium-sized enterprise projects implemented in one of the smart specialization strategy (RIS3) sectors. The program is implemented with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The program for production innovations, including dual-use products for security and defense, is implemented in cooperation with the Latvian Council of Science and the Ministry of Defence to facilitate the implementation of dual-use projects. That is, to apply for ALTUM support, the company must submit an opinion from either the Ministry of Defence or the Latvian Council of Science certifying that the planned product is innovative. If the product is intended for dual use—both civilian and military—this use must be approved by the Ministry of Defence. This opinion is a mandatory component of the ALTUM application.
Currently, both opinion-issuing institutions have received a number of projects with a total investment volume exceeding EUR 110 million. Given the high demand for ERDF co-financing, it has been decided that companies can submit applications for opinions until 9 January 2026 (inclusive) as follows:
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Ministry of Defence – for an opinion on the product’s compliance as an innovative dual-use product;
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Latvian Council of Science – for an opinion on the product’s compliance as an innovative product.
Meanwhile, ALTUM loan applications for projects that have received the above opinions will continue to be accepted until 1 February 2026 (inclusive).
The Ministry of Economics encourages companies that have already started preparing applications or the opinion process to assess their next steps in a timely manner and, if necessary, contact the institutions involved in program implementation for additional information to complete their project applications:
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Raivis Supe, Senior Expert, Entrepreneurship Support Department, Ministry of Economics, tel. +371 67013285, email: Raivis.Supe@em.gov.lv
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Ilze Baltmane, Senior Expert, Innovations and Research Policy Division, Defense Industry and Innovation Policy Department, Ministry of Defence, tel. +371 67335234, email: Ilze.Baltmane@mod.gov.lv
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Indra Dedze, Deputy Director, Research Program Implementation and Monitoring Department, Scientific Expertise Division, Latvian Council of Science, tel. +371 26540923, email: Indra.Dedze@lzp.gov.lv
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Ilze Zandberga, Sales Director, Development Finance Institution Altum, tel. +371 26593884, email: Ilze.Zandberga@altum.lv
At the same time, ALTUM loans available for research and development are also being closed under this support program, as no applications have been received so far. In the future, these projects will have access to other ALTUM financial instruments for working capital and investments. More information about support programs for entrepreneurs is available on the Ministry of Economics and ALTUM websites.
