The current unpredictable economic situation in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine forces businessmen to seek a safe haven for their money and ideas in the West. From year to year the number of companies that have moved from the CIS countries to Lithuania is increasing.
Last year the Lithuanian migration bodies issued nearly 15,000 residential permits to Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians. In most cases, foreigners ask for permission to live in Lithuania in order to work here. Svyatlana Kandratovich, head of a consulting company, notes that Lithuania is a great launching pad to enter Western markets.
In 2014, Lithuania was ranked 28th in the world ranking of competitiveness by IMD. Businessmen are not stopped by the fact that a foreigner’s company must have a minimum capital of € 14,000 and hire three Lithuanian citizens: manufacturing, logistic, wholesale firms are moving to Lithuania.
Startups are also settled in the Baltic States. Raman Ulasau began to develop computer games in Minsk, but he and his three associates decided to found the studio Jet Cat Games in Vilnius. The youngsters focused on popular tactical online games which are on trend now and created the helicopter strategy project ‘Heliborne’.
Jet Cat Games was the first who got € 100,000 from investment fund ‘Practica Capital’.
“Lithuania is young, the state helps, it is trying to build something. It is interesting, there are no things of that kind in Russia and Belarus,” Raman Ulasau says.
Only for a year and a half at least 10 computer studios from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine have come to Lithuania. The state is glad to welcome people with interesting ideas, because it brings a flow of finance and a healthy competition. At the same time, due to the lack of enabling environment Belarus keeps losing dozens of clever people who might do good for its economy.
Nastassia Yaumen
