Latvian biotechnology company “SpirulinaNord”, which specialises in producing fresh spirulina products, continues its rapid growth following an investment of more than EUR 1 million in a new production facility. Over the past year, the company has doubled its turnover, developed new products and is steadily expanding its presence in European markets. At the same time, the company is benefiting from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) support programme for attracting highly qualified specialists, helping it improve its processes and strengthen its team.
“This type of programme is very important because it allows us to look at the company from a development perspective rather than focusing solely on day-to-day issues. Continuously improving our efficiency is important to us, so we are introducing best practices, refining our processes and automating routine tasks,” says Agnese Stunda-Zujeva, founder and CEO of SIA “SpirulinaNord”.
Under the programme, four specialists have been involved in the company – two new employees and two existing team members. According to the company’s CEO, the programme has made it possible to bring experienced professionals into the team whom the company would otherwise not have been able to afford at an early stage of its development.
“It is extremely valuable to have such experienced professionals as permanent members of our team. We are only halfway through the programme, so we will see how much more we can accomplish together. Our goal is to be able to retain these specialists after the programme ends, even without state support,” says Agnese Stunda-Zujeva.
“Greater process efficiency is precisely what allows us to increase production capacity today without increasing the number of employees. Five years ago, one person could operate three bioreactors, whereas today one person can manage around 20. This has been made possible by both the new production facility and better-designed, integrated processes,” says the company’s CEO.
The CEO of “SpirulinaNord” has a very positive overall assessment of state support instruments, while noting that certain aspects of the programmes could be improved. “LIAA consultants are very responsive and provide high-quality support, although the application requirements for the programme supporting the attraction of highly qualified specialists initially seemed complicated. Some of the information that the consultants later explained very clearly could also be presented just as clearly in the programme guidelines. There are also some technical details that could be improved – for example, reports are submitted by logging into the company profile, yet the company’s details have to be entered again every time, even though this information is already available in the system,” she says.
According to Agnese Stunda-Zujeva, greater attention should also be paid to supporting the development of e-commerce in the future.
“Most support instruments are still focused on participation in trade fairs and establishing B2B contacts, but e-commerce is an effective way to reach potential customers in both B2C and B2B segments even before attending a trade fair. Moreover, the digital environment makes it possible to measure return on investment much more accurately.”
Speaking more broadly about the importance of state support, the company’s CEO stresses that it is often crucial for science-based and deep-tech companies.
“Developing innovations requires significant resources. If we relied solely on the revenue we generate ourselves, the world would simply move ahead without us. State support gives us the opportunity to grow much faster and implement projects at the time when the company needs them most.”
The programme is funded under Specific Objective 1.2.1 “Strengthening research and innovation capacities and introducing advanced technologies in enterprises”, Measure 1.2.1.4 “Support for Improving the Technology Transfer System” of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027.
