From June 3 to 5, Riga is hosting the 2026 Aftercare Forum—the world’s only international event entirely dedicated to investor aftercare. The event brings together more than 90 professionals in investment attraction, economic development, and the investment sector from 20 countries to discuss the role of technology, data, and collaboration in strengthening investor relations, promoting business growth, and enhancing national competitiveness.
The forum is organized by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) in collaboration with the international consulting firm Cities & Collaboration.
For Latvia, this forum underscores a shift in the approach to attracting investment. While attracting new investors remains essential, increasing importance is being placed on working with companies already operating in Latvia, strengthening long-term relationships, and developing investor aftercare services.
As one of Europe’s most digitally advanced economies, Latvia is already demonstrating how investor aftercare is becoming a significant tool for economic development and competitiveness. More than half of the investment volume attracted with LIAA support in 2025 came from business expansion and reinvestment projects.
In opening the forum, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis emphasized the importance of investor support throughout the entire business development cycle:
“Attracting investment does not end with a decision to invest or a public announcement. It is precisely after this moment that long-term work with the investor begins. Every issue resolved, every timely support provided, and every relationship maintained strengthens trust, which can later translate into repeat investments, business expansion, and long-term economic growth. Currently, there are more than 500 international investors operating in Latvia, and approximately half of them are considering further investments in Latvia. By combining technology, data, and close collaboration with investors, we can better identify growth opportunities, provide more targeted support to businesses, and strengthen Latvia’s competitiveness in an increasingly dynamic global economy.”
The minister’s remarks reflect a broader trend in the work of investment promotion organizations worldwide. An increasing number of countries are focusing not only on attracting new investment projects but also on fostering the growth, expansion, and reinvestment of existing investors.
For many investment promotion agencies, fostering investor growth and repeat investment is becoming just as important as attracting new projects. It is precisely existing investors who often account for a significant portion of new investments, job creation, and business development, making investor aftercare an increasingly important component of economic development policy.
LIAA Director Ieva Jāgere notes:
“Today, countries compete not only for investments—they compete for investor trust. This is precisely why investor aftercare is becoming one of the most important drivers of long-term competitiveness. The ability to help companies grow, reinvest, and develop new projects often generates greater economic returns than the initial investment decision. The unique value of this forum lies in the opportunity for investment attraction professionals from 20 countries to share their experiences on how to build long-term partnerships with investors and translate their insights into practical improvements in the business environment. This topic is particularly relevant for Latvia—more than half of the investments attracted with LIAA support in 2025 were reinvestment and expansion projects.”
As a small, open, and digitally advanced economy, Latvia views technology-based investor aftercare as an increasingly important tool for strengthening competitiveness. By developing specialized investor aftercare functions, investor analytics solutions, and teams of industry experts, LIAA is strengthening its ability to identify investor needs in a timely manner, support business development, and translate investor feedback into practical improvements to the business environment.
Commenting on this year’s forum’s central theme, “Tech-Powered Aftercare,” Carolina Arriagada Peters, founder of Cities & Collaboration, emphasizes:
“We are living in a unique moment in history. Technology is fundamentally changing the way we work, invest, make decisions, and live. The business opportunities are enormous. The pace of change is relentless. These changes are fundamental. This year’s forum theme, “Technology-Driven Investor Onboarding,” reflects the increasingly strategic role of technology in an environment of uncertainty and change, as well as the growing importance of data, analytics, and digital solutions.”
The forum’s program focuses particularly on how investment promotion organizations are adapting to the rapidly changing global environment. Discussions analyze how artificial intelligence, investor analytics systems, and data-driven decision-making are transforming work with investors and helping to identify business expansion opportunities earlier. Participants also discuss the impact of geopolitics on investment decisions, talent acquisition and workforce development, cybersecurity, collaboration among stakeholders, and the evolution of the global business services sector.
Several practical examples were presented at the forum showing how investment promotion organizations use technology and data in their work with investors. LIAA Deputy Director Laura Štrovalde presented Latvia’s approach to investor aftercare, explaining how the agency has transitioned from Excel-based record-keeping to a unified project management platform. This allows for more effective coordination of work with investors, earlier identification of companies’ needs, and data-driven decision-making. LIAA also uses artificial intelligence solutions to analyze investor profiles, visibility, and growth potential.
In discussions with international companies operating in Latvia, investors emphasized that, alongside talent, a stable business environment, and infrastructure, the ability of government institutions to respond quickly, in a coordinated and proactive manner is becoming increasingly important. Cybersecurity experts, meanwhile, noted that in the face of growing digital risks, cybersecurity is becoming not just a technological issue, but also a matter of investor confidence and business resilience.
The discussions in Riga also confirm a growing international consensus—retaining investors, business expansion, and reinvestment are becoming just as important as attracting new investment projects. Bringing together investment attraction professionals from 20 countries, the Aftercare Forum provides a unique platform for the exchange of practical solutions, knowledge transfer, and global discussion on how to build stronger, more competitive, and more resilient investment ecosystems.
Forum photo: https://failiem.lv/LIAA/u/upb53r7q5d
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)