Invest Lithuania reports the country to be the EU’s largest fintech hub by licenses issued. It sees aggregate banking income up 80% in 2022 and employment up 19%. What does make it the ideal gateway for investments?

The fintech sector remains buoyant, defying a global investment downturn. The Fintech Landscape in Lithuania 2022-23 Report notes an 80% increase in the income generated from all licensed Lithuanian fintech banking activities in H1 2022 over the same period in 2021, reaching €375 million. In addition, 263 fintech companies are now domiciled in Lithuania employing 7,000 people, a 19% increase over 2021.

Elijus Čivilis, General Manager at Invest Lithuania, confirms: “While in 2022 global investment in fintech fell by almost a third, the Lithuanian fintech sector remained resilient. Put that together with an 80% increase in aggregate banking revenues and you have a picture of robust health and solid fundamentals. One of the key strengths of Lithuanian fintech is the tight-knit and lively community, which is further nurtured by the Vilnius TechFusion initiative”.

Vilnius is the fastest-growing city in CEE and the center of the Lithuanian Fintech sector. Together with other tech industry sectors, the Vilnius TechFusion startup ecosystem grew 16 times over the last five years, to a total enterprise value of €8 billion.

The Lithuanian government and regulators have played an important role in creating and then supporting an environment for growth. Its proactive approach has made Lithuania one of the lowest-risk jurisdictions globally. According to the Basel AML Index,3 Lithuania is the 8th most compliant country for protection against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Lithuania’s attractiveness to investors shows that it continues to be widely regarded as an ideal gateway to Europe by international companies, reflected in the varied range of fintech that has recently joined the Lithuanian ecosystem.

Despite the challenges, such as the war in Ukraine, the economic slowdown, and the high inflation rate, revenue growth expectations remain optimistic, with 94% of all fintech surveyed expecting their revenues to grow in 2023. One in five anticipate more than double revenue. Nine in ten respondents plan to hire additional employees. One-third of the companies indicate that the availability of relevant skills is the main advantage of Lithuania’s business environment.