Page 10 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

10
Spotlight Baltic States
Modern business nancial district, Tallinn, Estonia
The ideal environment for young ntech companies combines a dynamic ntech scene with a digitally open society. This applies to all the Baltic States.
Lithuania is making major strides towards its goal to be Europe’s most ntech-friendly country. The regulatory sandbox set up by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2017 allows startups to test innovative products in a protected environment. The Central Bank’s newcomer- friendly policies include a remote e-licensing system
that reduces the duration of the application process for e-money and payment institution licenses to less than three months (e.g. Revolut). For those looking to grow their network, the 2018 FinTech Inn Conference attracted over 1,300 delegates, with this year’s turnout expected to be even larger. Finally, according to Vilius Šapoka, Minister of Finance of Lithuania, the ntech sector also bene ts from tax holidays for startups and corporate tax deductions equal to three times R&D spending.
The Estonian government’s support of ntechs should ensure that the founders of TransferWise are soon joined by further Estonians founding global ntech agships.
Startup Estonia provides training for startups and seeks to both attract foreign investors and educate local ones while an e-residency program launched in 2014 aims to register ten million e-residents by 2025. The country also intended to issue the rst cryptocurrency, although plans for the Estcoin were put on hold in mid-2018. Despite this, however, Estonia remains a hotbed for ICOs with the €323M raised in the rst six months of 2018 putting the country 7th in the global ICO league table. And Estonia has also started an ICO Expert Forum designed to improve regulation.
The strength of Latvia’s nancial sector means that the expanding ntech scene has enormous growth potential in the country and is also starting to establish an international reputation. The Latvian Ministry of Economy has also de ned ntech as a priority sector and the country has a number of incubators and accelerators. The most important, Buildit, has already funded 70 rms.