The Largest ICT Hub In The Baltic-Nordic Region Opens In Vilnius

The Grounds of The Vilnius Tech Park – the largest ICT Hub in the Baltic-Nordic region

Vilnius Tech Park, the largest ICT hub in the Baltic-Nordic region, was opened in the Lithuanian capital on November 16.

The park is located in the grounds of a renovated 19th century hospital in the city’s Antakalnis neighbourhood, and is spread across 80,000 square metres.

Vilnius Tech Park has the capacity for over 700 working spaces for freelancers and startups. It has been designed to attract ICT talent to Vilnius from abroad, and bring them together under one roof. Its location in Antakalnis means it is just 8 kilometres from Vilnius International Airport, and a 15 minute walk to Vilnius Old Town.

Speaking at the opening of the Vilnius Tech Park, Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said: “As a fast and open city, Vilnius has a reputation for being tech friendly, and is also known for its open data initiatives. It is no surprise then, that we are now home to the largest ICT hub in the Baltic States, the Vilnius Tech Park.

“The park will bring together the enormous creative potential of local and international ICT talent, by giving them the facilities they need to develop their products and services.

“In terms of international talent attraction, the well-developed startups in our ecosystem will invite ICT students to the park from anywhere in the world, and help them develop their skills and fulfil their potential.”

Vilnius Tech Park’s financial partner is DnB bank, while other partners include startup accelerator Startup Highway, venture capital fund IMI.VC, videogame developer Game Insight, plus I.T. and telecommunications provider TEO-Omnitel.

Vilnius Tech Park is collaborating with hubs outside of Lithuania as it seeks to attract international business talent. In 2016, it already forged relations with Hubanana in Ra’anana (Israel), Hub4.0 on the Google Campus in Warsaw (Poland), and Imaguru in Minsk (Belarus).

Vilnius Tech Park Director, Darius Žakaitis added: “This is a unique project, which is already helping spread the good word about Vilnius, and it will hopefully see us become the point of contact for foreign companies and investors who are interested in becoming part of Lithuania’s flourishing ecosystem.

“By working closely together with the City of Vilnius, Vilnius Tech Park can help transform the goals of young creators from Lithuania and abroad into reality.”

In summer 2016, Vilnius Tech Park signed an exchange programme with Hubanana, which sees startups from both parties able to use each-others’ hubs and business networks free of charge for a period of two weeks. It is expected that the first exchange programme will begin before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, during the Vilnius Tech Park’s recent visit to Hub 4.0 in the Polish capital, both parties exchanged insights on the creation of coworking spaces.

At present, 90 percent of Vilnius Tech Park is occupied by around 40 startups. By the end of 2016, it is expected that it will be home to 768 work spaces.