Lithuania aims to establish itself as a global fintech hub by 2028. Will its business practices, talent pool and quality of life be enough to propel this small nation to success in the competitive global fintech market?

Over the past decade, Lithuania has worked to transform itself into an attractive location for fintech companies. In many areas, it has succeeded, ranking first in the EU in terms of the number of licensed fintech companies and being listed among the 10 lowest-risk jurisdictions in the world.

But as a relatively small country, Lithuania faces some distinct challenges in its quest to become a universally recognized country. fintech hotspots by 2028objective outlined by his own Ministry of Finance.

This raises a crucial question: can a small nation become a global fintech leader? And if so, how?

Small country, unique advantages

New Releases Charts European Fintech Index suggest that smaller countries may actually be in a prime position for fintech success, as the index shows that nations such as Estonia and Luxembourg rank higher on key metrics than their larger counterparts.

Estonia, for example, excels in the corporate and fintech sectors, ranking first and second in Europe respectively, thanks to its strong presence of unicorn companies per capita and favorable regulatory frameworks.

Likewise, Luxembourg has earned a reputation for its strong financial sector and has the highest number of fintech deals per capita. These examples highlight how small nations can leverage agility, focused efforts, and supportive ecosystems to excel in the fintech arena.

“We have seen substantial progress in Lithuania,” says Marius Galdikas, CEO of ConnectPayan all-in-one financial platform based in Vilnius. “A combination of innovation-focused policies and a supportive ecosystem has provided fintech companies with a suitable environment to operate efficiently and scale services across the EU.”

Looking ahead, several key factors are set to play an important role in achieving Lithuania’s goals of gaining global recognition as a fintech hub.

Fast Track to a Dynamic and Collaborative Market

One of Lithuania’s significant advantages lies in its streamlined business registration and licensing processes, facilitating rapid entry for fintech companies. The country boasts expedited licensing procedures that can be two to three times faster than those in other EU jurisdictions. This efficiency paves the way for fintech companies seeking faster market entry and operational expansion across the European Economic Area, which is possible through Lithuania’s passport-able licenses.

For new market entrants, initiatives such as the Newcomer Programme offer direct guidance from state authorities and the Bank of Lithuania during the start-up phase, simplifying legislative and regulatory hurdles.

“The Bank of Lithuania’s regulatory bodies welcomed us and worked closely with us to ensure that we could meet the regulatory standards required to operate and complete the licensing process in a timely manner,” says Virgilijus Mirkės, country manager for Lithuania at Aereiwallexa global financial and payment platform that opened an operations/service hub in Lithuania in 2023.

There are also several non-banking organizations, such as Fintech Hub LT, Rockit and Unicorns Lithuania, that facilitate continuous collaboration, innovation and growth among fintechs operating in the country.

Knowledge is Lithuania’s IT power

Lithuania presents its talent pool as one of its strongest assets. The country places a strong emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, producing a skilled and multilingual workforce, equipped for the fintech sector.

According to Mirkės, the availability of talent was a crucial factor in choosing an operational hub. While around 2,000 IT students graduate from local universities each year, an even more significant addition comes from retraining and upskilling programmes, which produce around 2,500 new IT specialists annually.

Furthermore, over 95% of the working-age population speaks one or more foreign languages, which directly facilitates their integration into international companies.

In the latest edition of 2023 of the IT Competitiveness Indexcompiled by Emerging Europe, Lithuania and Estonia ranked first and second among the 23 countries ranked.

High quality of life without high costs

Finally, Lithuania aims to offer an attractive quality of life, balancing professional ambitions with personal well-being. Ranked 11th in work-life balance among OECD countries, Lithuania is known for its rich culture, safe environment and abundant green spaces.

Its capital, Vilnius, has been named European Green Capital for 2025.

“The quality of life here directly complements the corporate environment,” says Galdikas. “Professionals enjoy a rewarding work-life balance, which leads to better creative thinking and greater overall productivity.”

A recent study by Intelligence fDi It also recognized Lithuanian cities as some of the most affordable medium-sized and small-sized cities in the world, positioning Lithuania as a cost-effective yet high-quality operating environment for fintech companies.

The combination of these factors can paint Lithuania in a positive light as the country strives to realize its ambition of becoming a global fintech hub.

Whether it will fully achieve this goal remains to be seen, but its current trajectory shows promising signs.

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