Call for companies to sign up for SEB’s Growth programme

Entrepreneurs can apply on or before 1 August for the SEB Growth Programme, which offers a wide range of knowledge, support from business experts and valuable business contacts. As part of the programme, training sessions are held with the participation of local and foreign experts - the – entrepreneurs receive practical advice and business and innovation experts become mentors to the entrepreneurs over a period of several months. This year's Growth Programme aims to promote a sustainable mindset and encourage a more active use of artificial intelligence in business.

In the SEB Growth Programme, which runs for six months, experienced experts help young entrepreneurs develop their business ideas by working in teams with other companies. This year, we will pay particular attention to ensuring that the participants, i.e.,14 ambitious small and medium-sized enterprises in Latvia innovate through co-creation. Throughout the programme, the company will be supported by individual programme organisers and a key mentor. Participation in the Programme is free of charge.

“The Growth Programme is now in its seventh year and is designed to unleash the potential of young entrepreneurs to create something new and innovative, learn to work as a team and build valuable connections with co-workers. The training takes place under the guidance of experienced mentors who help the entrepreneurs to develop the initial idea into a viable product or service," says Ance Āboliņa, Head of SEB Innovation, about the Growth Programme.

The Growth Programme is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises that focus on innovation and cooperation, have been operating for more than two years, have an annual turnover of more than 200 thousand euros and whose participants are proficient in Latvian and English.

After receiving the applications, teams of entrepreneurs will be formed to search for the most suitable partner companies for co-creation. This is followed by four workshops in which goals are defined, innovation and co-creation methods are explored and customer-orientated, sustainable business models are developed. The Programme culminates in the “Presentation Day", on which all teams report on their project to the jury.

The Programme mentors this year are services design strategist, consultant Liene Kupča (chief mentor); Rethink co-founder, TalTech senior lecturer Jana Kukk; Managing Director of Digitalist Finland Jussi Hermunen; Katalista Ventures innovation partner Arvydas Pleta. Partners in the Programme include Rethink and Katalista Ventures. Rethink is a strategic design agency founded in Estonia in 2019. Katalista Ventures is an accelerator company based in Lithuania.

Since 2018, eight rounds of the Growth Programme have already been successfully concluded and more than 80 small and medium-sized enterprises of Latvia have already graduated from it. Graduates include companies such as “Smiltenes piens”, “Skrivanek Baltic,” “Liepkalni” “Centrālā laboratorija” “Booking Group,” “DentalArt,” “Altas IT,” “GP Nord,” and others.