12 Latvian Start-ups Join First National Defence Pre-Accelerator Programme DIAL
Latvia's first national defence pre-accelerator programme, DIAL, has admitted 12 start-ups working in defence or dual-use fields. Each receives funding of up to 120,000 euros and commercialisation support.
Twelve Latvian start-ups have been admitted to the country's first national defence pre-accelerator programme, DIAL, short for Defence Innovation Accelerator for Latvia. All participants work in defence or dual-use fields, meaning they develop solutions that can serve civilian as well as military purposes. The programme is the first of its kind in Latvia and aims to help early-stage companies move their solutions closer to the market.
Support for participants
Each company accepted into the programme is provided with funding of up to 120,000 euros. In addition to the money, participants receive commercialisation support, that is, help in turning ideas and prototypes into products that can be offered to customers.
Who runs it
DIAL is run by Latvia's Ministry of Defence in cooperation with "UniLab", an accelerator for science universities. An accelerator is an organisation that helps young companies grow faster, and pre-acceleration is an earlier stage of that process.
The available excerpt of the source notes that new solutions are playing an increasingly important role in modern warfare, but the rest of the quotation is not available. The excerpt does not name the participating companies or say how long the programme lasts.
