The Conference takes place on 15-17 June under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU and it will bring together financial policy-makers, financial mediators, innovation experts and businessmen to find solutions for stimulation the research, innovation and small and medium business development through financial accessibility.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle will be in Riga to sign amendments to the InnovFin agreement that will make the new financial products a reality: “Right now, small and medium-sized businesses around Europe are hard-pressed to get access to finance. Now, the EIB Group and the EC have several new solutions to tackle this problem. SMEs are the backbone of the European economy, therefore supporting them is crucial to create more jobs and stimulate growth.” 

The conference, focused mostly on the European Union investment policy and its support for entrepreneurship, is expected to be an important public event during the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The First Innovative Enterprise week will discuss the availability of EU funding for research, innovation and development of SMEs. Special attention will be given to interaction among various funds and their utilisation at national and local level.

The conference will be opened by the Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma. The list of prominent speakers also includes Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, who will introduce the audience to the EU’s financial instruments for supporting innovations. An insight into the current financial situation in the euro area will be presented by Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, and the recent efforts by the European Investment Bank in developing a new investment plan for the EU will be revealed by Vice-President of the Bank, Pim van Ballekom.

The Conference will take place in Riga, at the Hotel Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel (address: Kuģu iela 24). The Conference is organised by the Ministry of Economics of Latvia in collaboration with the Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, and the Secretariat of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Conference agenda and key speakers, as well as other details, such as information about registration for participation in the Conference are available on the Conference website: www.innoweek2015.eu.