Latvia’s investment platform sector keeps developing as Europe’s leader

By Dāvis Ziediņš, Member of the Investment Platforms Expert Group of Fintech Latvia Association and Head of Business Development at Debitum Investments. Latvia has rapidly become the European Union’s strongest hub for licensed investment platforms, capturing a remarkable share of the continent’s fast-growing peer-to-peer and alternative investment market. There are more than a hundred regulated and unregulated investment platforms in Europe, but Latvia’s platforms account for 24% of the entire European Union and European Economic Area peer-to-peer market, which cumulatively reached €55 billion in the end of 2024.

8 biggest Latvian licensed platforms Mintos, Debitum Investments, Viainvest, Lande, Nectaro, Indemo, Twino and Capitalia are currently serving more than 700,000 international investors and have facilitated over €13.3 billion in historical investments.

The industry’s success is also reflected in its contribution to Latvia’s economy. In 2024 alone, investment platform companies employed 236 people in high-skilled roles and paid €5.2 million in taxes. As the sector expands, it continues to serve as a pipeline for specialized jobs in compliance, engineering, risk management, and cross-border financial operations. Between 2021 and 2024, Latvia’s investment platform sector grew at an average annual rate of 22.6%, placing it among the fastest-growing fintech segments in Europe. With the sector maintaining its current average growth trend, by the end of 2026 Latvia’s investment platform industry is expected to deliver:

• approximately 25% year-on-year growth in foreign capital invested into Latvian companies, further accelerating cross-border capital inflows;

• around 25% annual increase in assets under management, bringing total AUM to new record levels;

• at least 50 additional high-value fintech jobs created, continuously expanding Latvia’s specialist talent base and export-driven financial innovation capacity.

A magnet for European retail investors

The strongest investor base for Latvian platforms come from Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal due to a combination of financial literacy, prolonged low-yield savings conditions and early regulatory passporting, which allowed Latvian platforms to access these markets ahead of regional competitors.

Ziediņš explains that investors in these countries are generally more familiar with alternative investments and are actively seeking higher returns due to low interest on traditional savings, making Latvia’s regulated fixed-income products an attractive option.

“Additionally, strong local communities of financial influencers and comparison platforms, particularly in Germany and Spain, have accelerated investor education and acquisition. The focus on investing in real-economy assets (small and medium enterprises, forestry, sustainability-oriented projects) also aligns well with investor preferences in these markets, further reinforcing Latvia’s position as a hub for cross-border retail investments,” said Ziediņš.

A unique concentration of licensed platforms

“No other European Union member state hosts such a dense cluster of regulated investment platforms. This concentration gives Latvia a unique leadership position: the country is now the European Union’s largest and most active hub for peer-to-peer and alternative investment marketplaces. You can see it in numbers — Latvia has a 24% market share of Europe’s peer-to-peer lending market,” said Ziediņš.

He believes this dominance is reinforced by Latvia’s strong regulatory environment, early adoption of harmonized European Union crowdfunding rules, established operational infrastructure, and international trust earned over more than a decade of performance.

As investors increasingly seek alternative and diversified investment opportunities, and as European markets continue to mature under unified regulation, Latvia’s platforms are expected to play an even more central role in Europe’s investment landscape. Ziediņš predicts that Latvia’s investment platforms are well-positioned to scale even further.