Finpro, a Lithuanian alternative finance company that has provided services only to Lithuanian businesses so far, is starting to operate abroad. The company has already begun offering leasing services in Estonia, and the same services are expected to be launched in Latvia in the near future.
 

As Dainius Vaičikonis, Head and co-founder of Finpro says, with the company’s rapid growth the decision to expand into neighbouring foreign countries was only a matter of time. He said Estonia and Latvia were chosen due to their similarities with Lithuania and the continued strong demand for small and medium-sized business (SME) financing across the Baltic States.
 
“At the moment, we manage our operations related to Estonia from Lithuania, but as our range of services expands, we will consider establishing a company branch there. In Latvia, we plan to launch our leasing service later this year. We chose to expand into neighbouring Baltic countries because, just like in Lithuania, SMEs form the backbone of the economy, yet traditional banks tend to focus more on large businesses. It automatically creates a strong demand for alternative financing. For us, that represents significant potential”, – says D. Vaičikonis.
 
According to Kęstutis Grinaveckas, co-founder of Finpro, the activity in Estonia started with leasing, as the market analysis and the SME behaviour in this country showed a very high demand for this service. In addition, he said, leasing is relatively quick to adapt to market specificities.
 
“When looking at expansion opportunities, we have noticed that Estonian businesses value speed and convenience and mostly look for financing options that don’t require a large initial investment. Well, leasing makes it possible to quickly acquire state-of-the-art equipment or vehicles essential for many business sectors such as logistics, construction or manufacturing. We started with leasing in Estonia because it is a very appropriate product when starting in a new market and to assess the true potential”, – says K. Grinaveckas.
 
In Lithuania, Finpro increased its managed loan portfolio to EUR 22.2 million last year, and plans to expand it to EUR 30 million this year. The company aims to double its total loan portfolio in Lithuania over three years.
 
Finpro, which began its operations in March 2021, is a team with over 20 years of experience in the financial sector; the team gained expertise while working at some of the largest banks in Lithuania. Finpro provides business financing from EUR 10,000 to EUR 500,000. In 2024, the company issued a total of EUR 67 million in loans, which is EUR 17.4 million more than in 2023.