Published on and written by Cyril Jarnias
Moving to Latvia to work, launch a project, or follow a spouse opens up a wealth of opportunities… provided you manage to get into the right circles. The country is small, the business environment is relatively closed, and trust isn’t earned over a single lunch. For an expat, successful professional integration therefore requires a much more structured networking strategy than in more “open” environments.
Latvia offers a dynamic economic and technological environment, with a growing economy, an expanding tech sector, an active startup ecosystem, modern infrastructure, and a high level of education. To successfully establish yourself, it is crucial to master local cultural codes, identify relevant networking venues, and research support structures dedicated to newcomers.
Understanding the Latvian Ecosystem Before Networking
Even before talking about events or business cards, one point is decisive: Latvia is not just a small Baltic EU member state; it is a crossroads between Western Europe, the Nordic countries, and the post-Soviet space. This geographical position makes it a hub for logistics, finance, and especially technology.
Riga concentrates more than half of Latvia’s GDP, combining economic and technological assets.
For a foreign professional, this means that the most interesting contacts—investors, founders, engineers, researchers, public decision-makers—are numerous, often accessible, but in high demand. Without a network, you quickly remain on the periphery. With a structured approach, you find yourself at the heart of an ecosystem that communicates heavily… in Latvian, English, sometimes Russian, and especially face-to-face.
Cultural Codes That Shape Networking in Latvia
The first pitfall for an expat is projecting their own networking habits. In Latvia, business culture has some very distinct traits that condition how relationships are created and consolidated.
Latvian professionals readily describe themselves as direct and reliable. This blend of tempered frankness and great importance placed on one’s word requires clarity in intentions, precision in promises, and consistency over time. The personal dimension matters enormously: it’s better to have few but solid relationships than many superficial contacts.
In the business world, especially in Latvia, access to decision-makers often goes through closed circles and requires an introduction by a trusted third party. For a foreign manager, arriving too directive, with the intention of explaining or criticizing local practices without diplomacy, risks closing doors permanently.
Within companies, hierarchy remains clear. Strategic decisions are generally made at the top of the pyramid and then cascaded down. Identifying who really decides, understanding their logic, earning their trust: this is often more rewarding than multiplying meetings at intermediate levels. At the same time, the most innovative sectors—especially IT—adopt flatter organizations and encourage more initiative, without forgoing respect for authority.
In Latvia, professional communication favors conciseness and politeness. It is appreciated to get quickly to the point, avoiding excessive digressions, categorical judgments, or overly visible displays of emotion. Small talk is limited; the focus is on content, facts, and preparation. A data-driven and precise argument is far more valued than an enthusiastic but vague pitch.
Making Contact: Forms of Approach and Professional Etiquette
The way you approach an interlocutor says a lot about your understanding of local customs. In Latvia, direct first contact by phone remains very well received, especially when preceded or followed by a clear, factual, and concise email. Email is of course omnipresent daily, but to build a relationship, the phone, and then meeting in person, remain decisive.
In a formal professional context, meetings are planned in advance with an agenda sent beforehand. Punctuality is imperative: even a slight delay is considered disrespectful and harms credibility, especially for an expat. The meeting itself is structured, starts and ends at the agreed time. Presentations must be rigorous, based on solid data, and carefully prepared.
The standard greeting consists of a firm handshake, accompanied by direct eye contact. Shake hands with every person present, both upon arrival and departure. Use professional titles and last names until you are invited to use first names. “Labdien” or “Sveiki” show respect without being too familiar. Smiles are welcome, but exuberance is avoided.
Tips for dressing appropriately in the Latvian professional context, considering first impressions and evolution once integrated.
For a first meeting, opt for a dark suit and tie for men, and elegant city attire for women. Sobriety is the norm, even if some display expensive accessories.
Once integrated into a team or startup, the dress code may relax. However, it’s recommended to dress one notch above what you think is necessary during initial contacts.
The Key Role of Language in Building Your Network
Officially, Latvia speaks Latvian. In practice, a large part of the population is multilingual: Russian is very widespread (especially among those over 25), English is very common among young people, urbanites, and companies oriented toward the West, with German and French to a lesser extent.
English is very useful, especially in Riga in tech, academic, and startup sectors. However, knowing how to pronounce a few phrases in Latvian is a major asset for breaking the ice, showing respect, and facilitating interactions with administration, small businesses, certain suppliers, and public partners.
A series of simple expressions—greetings like “Labdien”, “Sveiki”, “Paldies”, “Uz redzēšanos”—is enough to send the message that you do not consider the country as mere scenery. Learning the days of the week or numbers from 1 to 10 facilitates small daily exchanges, at a café or coworking space.
This is the cost in euros of an intensive 24-hour ‘Business Latvian’ training course in Riga.
The stakes go beyond simple linguistic convenience. Mastering even partial Latvian gives an advantage when approaching authorities, accessing local information sources, adapting marketing messages, recruiting or managing teams. It also strengthens the trust of Latvian interlocutors, who see this effort as a lasting commitment rather than an opportunistic presence.
Where to Meet the Right People: Overview of Key Structures and Venues
In Latvia, networking opportunities are plentiful but scattered among chambers of commerce, clusters, coworking spaces, industry associations, incubators, universities, expat clubs, and specialized events. For an expat, the challenge is to map these spaces and prioritize those that match your goals.
Chambers of Commerce and Leadership Circles
Several bilateral or national chambers of commerce play a pivotal role in connecting local companies and international players. They bring together executives, public decision-makers, experts, and consultants, and regularly organize conferences, breakfasts, afterworks, and company visits.
Notable examples include the American Chamber of Commerce, the British Chamber of Commerce, the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Riga Business Chamber, more focused on the capital, gathers high-level executives, collaborates with many partners, and looks toward several dozen foreign markets.
Participating in these events allows you to meet contacts who are usually hard to reach. They also offer the opportunity to grasp national economic priorities, new regulations, public support mechanisms (such as those from the LIAA agency), and current investment trends.
Professional Associations, Clusters, and Innovation Ecosystems
Latvia has developed a dense network of clusters and industry associations that function as cooperation platforms between companies, research centers, universities, and public authorities. For an expat working in ICT, advanced materials, bioeconomy, energy, environment, health, or creative industries, these structures represent top-tier contact hubs.
The Latvian ICT Association (LIKTA), for example, brings together over 160 digital players and acts as the sector’s voice. The Green Tech Cluster connects companies and organizations committed to green and smart technologies, with offices in several cities and a structured range of member services (project participation, visibility, representation, access to meeting rooms, advice, etc.).
A public agency under the Ministry of Economics, it serves as a gateway for foreign entrepreneurs, runs incubation and pre-incubation programs for startups, organizes international events like the Deep Tech Atelier, manages innovation offices in Brussels, Geneva, and Tel Aviv, and fosters links between Latvian companies and foreign partners.
The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)
These structures are not simple administrative counters: they orchestrate B2B meetings, missions, industry conferences, workshops, and matchmaking events. By actively getting involved, you give yourself the chance to meet peers, potential partners, and public sector representatives.
Physical Networking Spaces: Coworking Spaces and Hubs
The density of coworking spaces and innovation hubs in Riga is surprising for a country of this size. These spaces combine flexible offices, events, communities, and business services. They provide a logistical base for an independent expat or remote worker, but above all, they are a daily source of chance or planned encounters.
Here is a comparative overview of some iconic coworking spaces in Riga, useful for choosing your “network base”:
| Space | Location (Riga) | Indicative Monthly Rate | Positioning and Community |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double9 | Šarlotes iela 18a | ~€149 | Creative atmosphere, renovated industrial building, international community, monthly events |
| Regus (multiple sites) | City center (Tērbatas, Dzirnavu, Aspazijas…) | from ~€150 | International chain, many private offices, corporate services, good solution for established companies |
| Workland Telegraph | Old Town (Audēju iela, Roberta Hirša iela) | from ~€220 | Premium position, easy access to transport, full services, strong business orientation |
| Magnēts Coworking | Āgenskalns (Mazā Nometņu iela 31) | from ~€130 (excl. VAT) | Creative residential neighborhood, free parking, friendly atmosphere |
| TEIKUMS | Teika (Gustava Zemgala gat. 78) | from ~€170 | Designed for freelancers and small teams, many event spaces, accessible for people with reduced mobility |
| Coworking Riga | Artilērijas iela 3 | from ~€99 | 24/5, heavily oriented toward creative community (photo, video, art) |
| Startup House | Lastādijas iela 12-k-3 | €150–200 for members | Reserved for startups, investors, and ecosystem players, strong event programming |
In practice, TEIKUMS, TechHub Riga, and Startup House are particularly attractive for digital profiles, startups, and investors. They concentrate mentors, funds, accelerators, technical meetups, hackathons, and even international missions during events like TechChill or thematic conferences (hydrogen, e-commerce, fintech, etc.).
Outside Riga, Coworking Liepaja or the Green Tech HUB of Liepāja, as well as spaces supported by regional incubators, offer gateways into local ecosystems, especially for green, industrial, or maritime sectors.
Universities, Research Centers, and Youth Programs
Latvian universities—University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, Institute of Organic Synthesis, Institute of Solid State Physics, etc.—play a decisive role in professional networks, particularly in scientific and technological fields. They often have career centers organizing:
– Company days
– Career conferences
– CV / LinkedIn workshops
– Networking events with recruiters and alumni
For an expat student, researcher, or professional in career transition, these structures are strategic contact points. Getting involved, proposing a workshop, speaking in a class, or participating in a conference helps build credibility and meet both talent and decision-makers.
European programs like Erasmus+ are well established in Latvia, with thousands of participants each year. They generate a continuous flow of young professionals, teachers, social workers, and association leaders who animate a dense transnational network. For an expat, contributing to these projects or getting involved offers visibility beyond Latvian borders.
Leveraging Latvia’s Digital Culture for Networking
Latvia is among the countries with massive and very fast internet usage. The majority of the population is connected, and social media usage is particularly high. This environment favors a hybrid networking strategy: physical and digital.
LinkedIn is growing rapidly in Latvia with over 100,000 users, primarily aged 25-34. Many key profiles (tech, finance, professional services, public sector) are active on it. For an expat, it is advisable to optimize your profile in English with relevant keywords for the Latvian market, regularly publish content about your projects or Baltic trends, and engage with region-related posts to become visible before your arrival.
The local landscape also includes widely used national social networks like Draugiem.lv, as well as numerous specialized blogs and forums (technology, lifestyle, parenting, etc.). Latvian companies and institutions heavily use Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to announce their events, job offers, acceleration programs, and calls for projects.
For an expat, this means that active monitoring of these channels, in addition to LinkedIn, is essential. Expat meetups, startup afterworks, NGO workshops, and industry conferences are often promoted on Facebook or via dedicated groups, both in English and Latvian.
Expat Clubs, International Communities, and Informal Networks
Integration is not only about purely economic circles. Expat networks and international communities are powerful springboards for obtaining information, recommendations, and sometimes unexpected professional opportunities.
Explore the main communities and platforms for meeting other expats and integrating into Riga life.
Structured community with monthly events, thematic activities (gastronomy, languages, culture, sports), interest groups, and a Q&A forum about local life.
Bilingual or English-speaking groups like ‘Living in Latvia’, ‘Expats and Nomads4.0’, ‘Expat Network Latvia’ for informal postings: meetups, jobs, roommates, cultural events.
For specific communities (American, French-speaking, Nordic, etc.), associations, chambers of commerce, international women’s clubs, or cultural centers round out the landscape by organizing receptions, conferences, workshops, or charity events. These circles are invaluable for getting introductions and practical advice: English-speaking lawyer, accountant, notary, as well as feedback on OCMA procedures, international schools, taxes, or neighborhoods to settle in.
Being active in these networks, bringing value (a testimonial, a contact, a presentation, a workshop), is often more effective than a purely “business” approach for building your local social capital.
Capitalizing on Major Economic and Technology Events
On the scale of a small country, major conferences, forums, and trade shows play a disproportionate role in structuring the network. In Latvia, several key events have become highlights that concentrate in a few days a large share of local decision-makers and many foreign players.
Events such as TechChill, the Baltic Commercial Forum, and the Baltic Business Network Summit, along with thematic conferences (e-commerce, fintech, hydrogen, Industry 4.0), bring together founders, investors, large corporations, institutions, and media. Major trade fairs at venues like the ATTA Centre or the Ķīpsala International Expo Centre organize B2B meeting sessions, pitches, workshops, and demonstrations.
Participating in these events—as a simple visitor, speaker, exhibitor, or mentor—allows you to multiply targeted contacts in a short time. Public support schemes for organizing congresses and conferences, such as the MEET RIGA program, demonstrate the will to position the capital as a MICE destination (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions). For an already well-integrated expat, co-organizing a workshop, proposing a talk, or hosting a side event during one of these major gatherings is an effective way to position yourself as a connector between your original network and the Latvian ecosystem.
Concrete Strategies for Building a Strong Network in Latvia
Given the richness of the ecosystem, the temptation is great to multiply registrations for every visible event. Yet, the experience of professionals on the ground shows that a methodical approach yields better results. Several key points emerge.
Before starting your networking, it is crucial to define your primary priority clearly. Are you looking for clients, an employer, partners, investors, an academic position, or simply to understand a market? This choice will determine the relevant venues, events, and contacts. For example, a startup founder will focus on tech hubs, innovation conferences, and meetings with investors, while an executive transitioning to higher education should target universities, research centers, and academic networks.
Next, smartly combine digital and in-person. It is wise to identify on LinkedIn the key people and organizations in a sector, follow them, interact with their content, and then take advantage of a trade show, conference, or meetup to meet them physically. This dual exposure reinforces recall and trust. A well-crafted follow-up message after the meeting—reminding of the context, proposing an exchange, sharing a useful resource—consolidates the relationship.
In a professional network, adopting an attitude of selfless sharing, such as introducing a speaker to an event organizer, recommending a skilled developer, or flagging a relevant call for projects to a local SME, allows you to accumulate positive actions. These gestures, though modest, build a reputation for reliability and transform the individual into a sought-after network node, in contrast to the opportunistic ‘contact grabber’ attitude.
Finally, accept that time plays a key role. In Latvia, deep relationships are built through repeated interactions, consistency in behavior, keeping commitments, and the ability to handle disagreements calmly. Returning regularly, consistently participating in the same groups, coworking spaces, chambers, and meetups shows that you are not just passing through.
Managing Specific Challenges for Foreigners
Even with the best intentions, an expat inevitably faces several obstacles.
Administrative aspects (visas, work permits, registration, tax obligations) are complex and evolving. Certain networking activities (travel, paid speaking engagements, short-term assignments) may have legal implications that are not well known. It is essential to inform yourself precisely about what is allowed without a work permit (conference, client meeting, contract signing) and about appropriate statuses (business visa, residence permit, self-employed or digital nomad status).
Differences in communication style also generate misunderstandings. Emotional restraint, a preference for measured speech, and a relative lack of interest in “small talk” can be perceived by some as coldness or lack of interest, when in fact they are simply cultural codes. Conversely, very marked expressiveness, overly direct humor, or public criticism of the country, its history, or its institutions can create lasting discomfort.
The historical context, especially the Soviet occupation, relations with neighbors, and linguistic identity, is a sensitive topic. It is recommended to approach it with delicacy and initially favor consensual topics such as culture, nature, gastronomy, economic news, or sports.
Finally, language and the perception of foreigners can be a barrier in some sectors, especially outside major cities and internationally oriented circles. Again, working with local partners, lawyers, consultants, or Latvian managers facilitates access to information and networks.
Turning Your Network into Sustainable Opportunities
Once the first circle of contacts is established, the challenge shifts: how to transform this social capital into concrete projects while continuing to nurture it?
The first key is consistency. Returning favors when the opportunity arises, sharing relevant news, occasionally inviting contacts to events, checking in at regular intervals—all this keeps the connection alive. In Latvia, where excessive politeness formulas are not necessarily used, a simple, concrete, no-fuss message sent at the right time is often very well received.
To increase their visibility in the EU and access new markets, Latvian players seek to form consortia for European projects. A well-connected expat can serve as a bridge by identifying partners, deciphering foreign business cultures, and helping to formulate proposals suited to international calls. This role of ‘cultural translator’ is highly valued.
The third point concerns your own positioning. In a very technical environment heavily oriented toward innovation, simply “looking for business” is not enough. Bringing deep expertise (e.g., in AI, cybersecurity, biotechnologies, European project management, B2B marketing, etc.), contributing to committees, mentoring young talents through mentorship programs, giving structured talks on your areas of competence—these are all ways to be perceived as a high-value-added player.
Do not underestimate the power of cross-cutting networks, whether associative, cultural, sports, or educational. Participating in a concert, a running club, an art workshop, or an event on sustainability or diversity can lead to unexpected collaborations. In a small country like Latvia, worlds easily intersect. Engaging sincerely in multiple spheres almost always allows you to find your place.
Conclusion: Latvia—A Country Where Your Network Is Earned by Proof
Developing your professional network in Latvia as an expat is not a sprint. It is patient work, based on a fine understanding of local codes, anchoring in the right places and organizations, smart use of digital tools, and a logic of contribution first and foremost.
The country combines an ambitious economy, a thriving technology sector, dense research, dynamic clusters, a rich cultural life, and good international connectivity. To benefit from it, you need to adopt local values: punctuality, reliability, respect, modesty, and efforts to learn the language. Sincere involvement in local communities gives access to a dense, diverse, and loyal professional and social network within a very promising ecosystem in Northern Europe.
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Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.
On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.
Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.
