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B A LT I C B U S I N E S S Q U A R T E R LY | A U T U M N 2018
BalticBusiness Quarterly W I N T E R 2018
26 | Waiting for Second Wave Fintech to conquer Europe 38 | Success Story From incubator to prestigios award 42 | Future of Business Best Baltic Startups
Fintechs are coming 22 | O L D vs N E W
www.ahk-balt.org
Myths busting about future of finances
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46 | EVENTS Photo: Erik Peinar, Mindaugas Mikulenas, Kaspars Garda
Honouring the best of Baltic start-ups This year, the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce honoured the best Baltic start-ups with the German Business Awards. Five young companies from each country competed for the main prize during the ceremonies in Tallinn, Vilnius and Riga to win a trip to a business event in Germany. The pressure on the contenders was high, but the tension was even higher for everyone else present. The first happy winners were Starship Technologies (Estonia), Carvertical (Lithuania), and Mintos (Latvia). During two weeks of open voting prior to the awards ceremony, they were able to secure most of the online votes. Then, during the gala events, it was time for the jury to proceed to the final voting. All three juries were composed of representatives from the German embassies (in Estonia, the German ambassador himself, Christoph Eichhorn, was present) and high-profile guests. The audience was involved too as everyone had the opportunity to vote for his or her favourite in the live audience voting. Finally, Starship Technologies (Estonia), Oxipit (Lithuania), and Alina (Latvia) took the prize home. SG
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48 | EVENTS Photo: Kaspars Garda
The power players of the Baltic gas industry meet in Riga The Baltic gas market has great potential: its liberalization has been very successful and it has a promising future. Among the future challenges of the Baltic gas market is the promotion of natural gas consumption. These were the conclusions of the Second Baltic Gas Conference held at the beginning of December by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce. The conference in the Latvian capital on 5 December brought together leaders of the largest Baltic gas companies as well as recognized experts from Europe to evaluate and analyse the situation in the industry after liberalization, and think about its future. As the participants of the conference acknowledged, the Baltic gas market continues to change after its opening – customers demand different products, and contract terms are also changing. SG
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50 | AHK EVENTS Photo: Mindaugas Mikulenas
Be efficient, save costs The topic of energy efficiency for buildings is becoming increasingly important in Lithuania and Estonia, especially because of the lower quality of housing. While the predominant form of housing in Lithuania and Estonia is private home ownership (97% and 78%), most of the housing stock is outdated and not energy efficient. In both Baltic states, 1.8 times more energy is used to heat the buildings than in other EU countries with similar climatic conditions. As a result, the highest potential for energy and cost savings lies in the area of energy-efficient construction. As part of the business trip organized by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce, Energiewaechter GmbH and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the participants got to know the Estonian and Lithuanian market more closely and had individual talks with potential business partners in Estonia and Lithuania. One highlight was the conference in Vilnius, where business representatives and experts shared their knowledge and experience to get one step further to a future of near-zero energy building. SG
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52 | EVENTS Photo: Uli Regenscheit
Smart City – Smart Energy Even though digital solutions are still more of a Baltic game than a German one, slowly but surely there are some projects and ideas also growing in Germany, which are even of interest to Baltic specialists. For that reason, in the course of the “Smart City and Smart Energy” delegation trip on 1 and 2 November, the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce took 14 Baltic participants to Wolfsburg, Braunschweig and Hanover. The Latvian and Estonian experts from the IT and software sectors and the automotive industry were interested in German solutions for future urban development and energy supply in complex metropolitan regions. Fascinating insights were provided by the visit to VW in Wolfsburg, the Urban Mobility of the Future exhibition, the Research Crossroads in Braunschweig and the Hafen Smart City Hub in Hanover. The journey made it possible to get a firm idea of German innovations and to offer deeper insights into Germany’s top companies of the smart city and smart energy sector. SG
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Photo: Mindaugas Mikulenas, Eriks Gailis, André Altjõe
Bavarian culture in the Baltics The Oktoberfest, organized by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce, is already well known in the three capitals of the Baltic states and one of the most spectacular GermanBaltic events. This year, the traditional Bavarian culture was celebrated at the three Oktoberfests with more than 680 guests in total. After the first beer barrel was successfully tapped, guests and business partners enjoyed the Bavarian atmosphere, as well as plenty of fun attractions: the wheel of fortune, the Jägermeister photo booth, Bavarian food such as pretzels and pork knuckle, and much more. The highlight of the evening was the original Bavarian band which entertained the guests in all three countries: Harthauser Musi. SG
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