Rather than focusing on heritage or artisanal craftsmanship promoted in similar campaigns in Italy or France, Lithuania and its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Latvia are highlighting they are home to innovation.The three countries have a growing number of startups recognised worldwide, such as online reselling platform Vinted, rideshare service Bolt and videotelephony pioneer Skype.Despite a total population of just over six million people, the Baltic states possessed around 33,000 startups last year, according to data from Lursoft IT, a Latvian company specialising in business and financial databases.They raised 20 percent more in funding in 2025 at 607 million euros ($700 million), according to Practica Capital and Firstpick's annual report on the sector.The Baltic states now have 17 "unicorns" -- startups with a valuation above $1.0 billion.'Entrepreneurial spirit'Fewer than four decades ago Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence but inherited inefficient factories from the Soviet Union's command economy."Regaining independence... unlocked the entrepreneurial spirit previously suppressed under Soviet rule," said Latvian-American entrepreneur Girts Graudins, who noted that the region has a history as a science and manufacturing hub going back to the turn of the 20th century. The ruins of the Soviet command economy were also a crucible for innovation, said Kadri Ukrainski, who lectures on the subject at Estonia's Tartu University."Coming from (the) Soviet times, we didn't have very good telephone systems," she said, leading to the creation of Skype -- Estonia's first, and arguably its most famous, unicorn. The app helped the once-behind country leap forward, she argued, "helping us to solve this very backward communication system".