Investor of the Year

On 23 January, most successful investments were honoured in the award ceremony "Investor of the Year '19". "Investment of the Year" award was received by a group of investors "Karma Ventures", "Practica Capital", "SuperAngel", "Imprimatur Capital" and "Revo Capital" for the investment in "Sonarworks". "Callidus Capital" won the award "Financial Adviser of the Year" 2019 and "Legal Adviser of the Year" 2019 award was presented to  "COBALT".

Investor of the Year is an initiative of LVCA and Latvian Business Angels Network (LatBAN) established in 2015 to honour investors and consultants, as well as industry supporters, who have made significant contributions to the Latvian investment environment and business development.

Kristīne Bērziņa, Chairwoman of the Board of the LVCA, said at the awards ceremony that 2019 was an active year for companies and institutional investments. “It is essential that the new generation of foundations are already up and running. A significant milestone last year was the agreement between the three Baltic States and the European Investment Fund on the creation of the Baltic Innovation Fund 2, which enables the creation of new funds in the region.” Kristīne pointed out the importance to the parties involved to operate on a larger scale because the amount of work needed to administer for both big and small scale does not differ substantially.

The "Investor of the Year '19" award winners in the corporate and institutional investors sector:

• The "Investor of the Year" award was presented to "Karma Ventures", "Practica Capital", "SuperAngel", "Imprimatur Capital" un "Revo Capital" for Series A investment in audio technology company "Sonarworks".
• The "Financial Adviser of the Year" award was given to "Callidus Capital" for advising "KOOL Latvija" on attracting different types of financing (venture capital, state aid, credit institution financing and private equity) for the development of the company and advising the buyer on the acquisition of JSC "Smiltenes piens".
• "COBALT" received the "Legal Adviser of the Year" award for advising "Marguerite Fund" in the sale process of "Conexus Baltic Grid" shares and for providing legal support to LVCA regarding amendments to the Law on Alternative Investment Funds and their Managers, which resulted in a significant reduction in fund payments to the FCMC and their reporting obligations.
• Reinis Znotiņš and Gatis Eglītis won the award "Supporter of Industry of the Year" for amendments to the Law on Alternative Investment Funds and their Managers and other issues relevant to the venture and private equity industry. 

The "Investor of the Year '19" awards given to private investor sector:

• Uldis Ūsītis, Guntars Stabulnieks and Juris Birznieks accepted the "Investment of the Year" award for the amount of investment and the most promising future forecast for the investment of EUR 76,000 in interactive shelf display manufacturer "VividTech". Investors managed to attract co-financing of "Altum" in the amount of EUR 114,000.
• Kārlis Babulis and Jānis Grīnbergs won an award "Most Environment-friendly Investment of the Year" for the most significant investment with the most positive impact on the environment. The amount of EUR 20 000 was invested in a company "Fertilizer Group", and a credit line of EUR 4 million was attracted.
• LatBAN Board award "Industry Supporter of the Year" was presented to "TechHub Riga" for its long-term support to the start-up community and establishing the start-up hub.

"Investor of the Year '19" is supported by the Ministry of Economics, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Financial Institution Altum and European Regional Development Fund. More information on the "Investor of the Year" initiative is available at http://www.gadainvestors.lv.