3rd stakeholders meeting in Jelgava municipality, Latvia
The stakeholder meeting was held back-to-back with the Zemgale Entrepreneurs' Forum. As part of the meeting, a project expert from the Jelgava Local Municipality - Āris Ādlers interviewed entrepreneurs and potential investors to find out their needs and expectations for business development in the municipality.
During the event, 15 questionnaires were filled in. Most of the respondents currently are running their business in other municipalities, including Jelgava and Riga itself. Half of the respondents (8 people) have considered investing in Jelgava county, the majority (67%) here would like to develop or expand an existing business.
Main areas of potential investment that has been identified are:
- Food production and processing
- Tourism
- Information Technology
- Social entrepreneurship
The availability of infrastructure (53%) was mentioned as the main factor important for starting a business in the Jelgava Local Municipality. Referring to environmental clean-up issues, half of the respondents believe that the public outdoor space in Jelgava county has been cleaned up and only 1 respondent believes that it has been degraded.
In addittion, 60% of respondents admit that it is important for them that the property that is planned to be bought or rented is immediately arranged or adjusted according to their needs. The fact that the municipality would provide support tools for the revitalisation of the acquired area would also contribute to the incentive to invest here.
On the other hand, when asked: who would convince you that your potential investments should be made directly in Jelgava County, the following answers were received:
- Concessions for young entrepreneurs
- Support from the municipality (mentioned several times)
- Friendly and human approach
- Location and availability of human resources