E-commerce model COVID-19
About this good practice
The measure is designed to encourage enterprises to adopt IRT to manage business transactions electronically in order to increase revenue growth.
Resources needed
A total funding for the measure was €40 million. Lithuanian Business Support Agency administrated this measure and their experts evaluated potential applicants.
Evidence of success
A total of 1685 companies applied for the financial support, of which 1192 received funding. Many of the companies were related to transport sector, either transport or logistics, or transport related services and manufacturing. In total, €47 million were provided for businesses.
Potential for learning or transfer
Traditional business activities have been highly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore businesses were not able to continue their day-to-day operations. During the pandemic, opportunities for business-to-business cooperation and business-to-customer/supplier relationships were particularly severely affected. As a result, it has become crucial for companies to digitise their business methods and models in regards to their clients and partners. E-commerce became increasingly important for businesses to become more integrated and resilient, therefore this support measure is a good example how governmental support can incentivize this process. In general, e-commerce and related business activities will become business-as-usual model rather than a competitive advantage, therefore the development of similar support measures in other regions could help the development of local businesses.