If you're looking for a grant for website development in Latvia, the real question is whether LIAA, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, will help pay for it. In recent years it had no website programme as such, but its digitalisation grants could cover one. Both of its latest programmes have closed. Here's what they covered, who could apply and how to be ready next time.
Is there a grant for website development in Latvia in 2026?
Only if a new round opens. LIAA's most recent digitalisation programme took applications from July 2025 until 7 November 2025, when it closed because requests had reached €20.9 million against a budget of €18.55 million. The earlier Recovery Fund programme had already closed on 17 June 2025. Before you plan around a grant, check whether a new round has opened.
When the call closed, the Ministry of Economics said it was looking at ways to add funding, given the demand: 857 companies had applied. Money that frees up when an approved project is withdrawn goes to the next applicant in line.
For the Recovery Fund programme, the door is shut for good: every project had to be finished by 31 March 2026, with payment requests due by 30 April. So the sensible way to plan a new website is to make sure it makes sense on its own budget, and to treat a grant as a bonus rather than a condition.
How did LIAA's two digitalisation programmes differ?
Two programmes funded process digitalisation in recent years. The first was paid for by the EU Recovery Fund and offered a small and a large grant. The second comes from the EU cohesion policy programme for 2021–2027 and added a separate, larger grant for AI solutions. The table shows what changed between them.
| Recovery Fund programme | Cohesion policy programme | |
|---|---|---|
| Applications | Closed 17 June 2025 | Closed 7 November 2025 |
| Grant | Small: up to €9,999 (100%); large: up to €100,000 (30–60%) | Up to €10,000 for a new digital solution; up to €200,000 for an AI solution |
| Aid intensity | 100% for the small grant, 30–60% for the large one | 50% micro and small, 40% medium, 30% small mid-caps and mid-caps |
| Before applying | EDIC digital maturity test and a digital development roadmap | No roadmap needed |
| Project deadline | 31 March 2026 | 31 May 2029 |
The Recovery Fund round was popular with small projects: 83% of applicants asked for the small grant of up to €9,999, and 17% for the large one. It drew 2,908 applications worth almost €37 million in total. By 20 April 2026, LIAA had approved 2,646 of them, for €33.34 million.
In the cohesion programme, two limits work together: the cap and the intensity. If a small company ordered a €20,000 solution, the grant could be no more than €10,000, which is both half of the cost and the grant's ceiling. The company paid the rest.
Does a website count as digitalisation?
It can, when the website becomes a tool for one of your business processes. Cabinet Regulation No. 748, which sets the rules for the cohesion programme, lists e-commerce, digital marketing, sales and deal tracking, and customer relationship management (CRM) among sales processes. It never names a website as a cost a company can claim, so the question that matters is which process yours digitalises.
What the rules covered
- ready-made solutions, software and IT infrastructure, with installation, adaptation and related consulting;
- developing new solutions;
- licences, subscriptions and certification.
What they didn't cover
- support for software you already have, apart from security tests;
- adding new features to existing software, unless they're AI solutions;
- adapting existing software, apart from security improvements;
- work already finished when the contract with LIAA is signed.
Costs also count only from the day you submit the application. If you order and pay for the website before applying, the grant won't cover it.
An example LIAA gave
LIAA pointed to AMATI Projekts, a company that used its support to build a multifunctional website. Customers order products online, personalise their order and get in touch through it. The site is part of how the company takes orders, not a brochure. If you're unsure whether your idea fits, ask LIAA before you apply, since the agency makes the call.
Who could apply for a LIAA grant?
Micro, small and medium-sized companies could apply, including farms, cooperatives and branches of foreign companies. The cohesion programme also accepted small mid-caps and mid-caps, as well as associations and foundations that run a business activity and bring together at least three companies.
Some sectors were excluded. The cohesion programme's rules name, among others, the arms and ammunition trade, gambling and betting, tobacco production and trade, alcohol trade, real estate operations and most financial and insurance activities. Fintech companies were exempt from that last exclusion.
In the Recovery Fund programme, LIAA also required that a company had no tax debts above €150. The grant counted as de minimis aid, so together with other aid of that kind it couldn't exceed €300,000 in any three-year period, or €25,000 in agriculture.
How do you prepare for the next LIAA round?
In September 2025, LIAA's director expected the programme to take applications at least until the end of the year. It closed on 7 November instead, once the money was reserved. If a new round opens, the companies that already know what they want to build can apply in the first days. This list gets you there.
Before you apply for a LIAA grant
- Write down which process the website will digitalise: orders, sales, customer requests or something else.
- Check your company's size category (micro, small or medium) and that your sector isn't excluded.
- Check how much de minimis aid your company has received in the last three years. The State Revenue Service keeps the record at eds.vid.gov.lv.
- Make sure the company has no tax debts.
- Describe what the website must do, and get quotes from at least three comparable suppliers. The previous programme made this market research compulsory.
- Don't start the work or pay invoices before you submit the application.
- Decide who will look after the website after launch, because the grant doesn't cover support for existing software.
- Follow LIAA news on business.gov.lv, which is also where applications are submitted.
If no new round opens soon, you can split the build into stages. Start with the part that helps you sell or take orders, and add the rest later. You'll know exactly what the website has to do, and if a grant comes back, the next stage already has a description and quotes. A website development team can help you scope the first stage, and website maintenance is worth budgeting for from day one.
The rules can change from one round to the next. Before applying, read the conditions of that specific round on LIAA's programme page, and ask LIAA's advisers about anything unclear.
Frequently asked questions
Does LIAA pay for a new company website?
In recent years, LIAA's support for websites came through its digitalisation grants rather than a programme of its own. A website could be funded under its digitalisation grants as a new digital solution, as long as it digitalised a business process such as sales, orders or customer relationship management. LIAA decides each application, so if your case isn't clear-cut, it's worth asking the agency before you apply.
How much was the LIAA digitalisation grant?
In the cohesion policy programme, the grant for a new digital solution was up to €10,000 and up to €200,000 for an AI solution. It covered up to 50% of costs for micro and small companies and up to 40% for medium ones. In the earlier Recovery Fund programme, the small grant was up to €9,999 at 100%, and the large one up to €100,000.
Can I get a grant if my website is already built?
No. The rules don't fund work that's already finished when the contract with LIAA is signed, and costs only count from the day the application is submitted. Adding new features to existing software wasn't supported either, except for AI solutions. That's why the order matters: apply first, then start building the website.
Do I need a digital maturity test for a LIAA grant?
In the Recovery Fund programme, yes: you needed an EDIC digital maturity test and a digital development roadmap before applying. The newer cohesion programme dropped the roadmap requirement, though a digital maturity assessment could be funded as a separate activity of up to €10,000. A future round may set its own requirements, so check them when it opens.
Does the LIAA grant cover website maintenance?
Under the cohesion programme's rules, support for existing software and information systems isn't eligible, except for security testing and cybersecurity improvements. In practice, that means day-to-day maintenance, updates and hosting come out of your own budget. It's best to plan those running costs at the same time as you plan the new website itself.
Where are new LIAA grant rounds announced?
LIAA lists its support programmes and their status on business.gov.lv, which is also where you apply. New rounds are announced by LIAA and the Ministry of Economics on their own websites and on esfondi.lv, the EU funds portal. Read the rules of the specific round before applying, as amounts, intensity and requirements differed between programmes.
