OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2014. SEB’s survey “Baltic Business Outlook” carried out among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) shows that one third (32%) of the businesses in Lithuania plan innovations this year.

The major part of these SMEs (26 %) plan innovations intend to introduce new services or products to the market, whereas just a few companies plan to develop new management models invest in the development of human resources.

According to SEB’s data, among three Baltic states it is mainly Estonian SMEs (47 %) that plan innovations in their business. The prevailing attitude of Estonian SMEs’ towards innovations is wider, for instance, one fifth (20 %) of Estonia’s SMEs plan to introduce innovations related to their company or human resources management. In Latvia, the share of companies that will allocate their investments for innovations is higher than in Lithuania – 37 per cent.

According to Virginijus Doveika, Head of Retail at SEB Lithuania, companies’ moderate plans regarding business innovations are also reflected in the official innovations ratings announced by the European Commission in which Lithuania is attributed to moderate innovative countries.

“In the innovations area, we are ahead of four EU Member States, however, we have unused potential for business innovations. It is namely small and medium enterprises, which may be considered to be the driver of Lithuania’s economy, should keep looking for new solutions in their activities. That opens new opportunities for the business – innovations help to increase a company’s competitive edge, to develop business both in the domestic and foreign markets,” V. Doveika says.

According to V. Doveika, it is important for companies to see innovations from a much wider perspective than just an offering of new products or services, introduction of information technologies, or development of scientific activities. “A step forward in business may be taken by launching of a new business model, new ways of communication with clients or creative marketing solutions. Therefore, for the first time in the Baltic countries we are organising “Innovation LAB” – an event for small and medium enterprises that will offer a possibility to share experience, get practical advice and the required knowledge about the possible innovations in their business,” V. Doveika  says.

Today, “Innovation LAB” is taking place in Vilnius. Nearly 200 SMEs from all over Lithuania participate at the event. The event participants will have a possibility to hear presentations by global advisers and lectors on the diversity of innovations and their significance, on the opportunities innovations open up as well as the competitive edge they create, also, they will get to know quite a number of success stories – the country’s well-known businessmen will share their insights. The event participants will also have workshops for applying a special business innovation methodology in practice – they will carry out tasks and create actual business management models.

“The recent five years have not been easy for the global economy. This is reflected in the companies’ activities in terms of innovations. Innovations in business must be a continuous process and what matters is that behind innovation initiatives, there is a group of people, who believe in what they are doing. Such a group can change things – and the future for their company – by merging knowledge and experience with the investments needed to build innovation capabilities and initiatives,” says the key speaker of the event Stefan Lindegaard, a consultant and an author of four books on innovations in business, who has worked not only with European, but also with the US and Asian companies.

He maintained that events of this type on innovations are more and more frequent all over the world offering businesses an excellent opportunity to find inspiration, to test their ideas and become more pro-active in launching innovations in their own activities.

SEB’s events “Innovation LAB” will take place in Riga on March 5 and on In Tallinn on March 6. Nearly 200 SMEs will participate in each of them.

At present, SEB in Lithuania is serving more than 40 thousand SMEs.