Moscow-founded port logistics startup Marine Digital announces new pilot project after receiving Latvian Startup Visa

Hailing from Moscow, Marine Digital offers a warehouse management system for bulk terminals, as well as a system for port call automation – the process of vessels or ships entering ports. It’s also one of the first startup teams to receive a Latvian startup visa and relocate to Riga, and has now announced a pilot project with the Riga-based logistics and stevedore service provider Port Magnat Group.

The project will be carried out at one of the Magnat Group’s transloading terminals to test the warehousing management solution that Marine Digital System is building for bulk and general cargo terminals. Their product is estimated to decrease ports’ operational costs by 5 to 10%, helping them to save hundreds of millions of euros annually.

“We pay strong attention to the innovations within the maritime industry aiming to bring our clients the best service and modern practice,” said Alexey Osipkov, the representative of Group Magnat. “With this pilot we start the integration of just-in-time services model, decreasing the paper documents turnover and upgrading our customer service model with online data.”

In the case of a successful test run, at least 1,000 European terminals could become customers of this now-Latvian startup. Some of the largest ports in Europe, including Hamburg and Rotterdam, have expressed their interest in the product.

For Marine Digital System, Latvia has become their entry point to the €400 million/year European marine transportation industry.

”For our business, Riga is a very convenient location,” said Ivan Ladan, co-founder of Marine Digital System. “The local maritime industry is very active, which provides us with many opportunities to do pilot projects and shape the product. Besides that, by building our business here, we automatically have access to the EU market.”

The pilot project with Port Magnat Group is the startup’s first take to test the efficiency of their solution, which they then plan to expand throughout Europe.

”We’ve received great attention from a number of companies in the maritime industry across the EU that are waiting for our test results to come in,” said Ladan.

According to the founders, the great interest in their product is due to the fact that it’s solving actual and previously untackled problems terminal operators face. Their solution automates a lot of manual paperwork related to the management of incoming and outgoing bulk and general cargo.

The Latvian startup visa (technically – a Temporary Residence Permit) provides non-EU companies with several opportunities, including access to the EU market. And for Latvia, companies with great export potential means that more money could flow through the country’s economy.

Marine Digital System is just one of over 40 non-EU companies that have received the Latvian startup visa. And thanks to the recent changes in the Latvian immigration law, applying and maintaining the visa will become easier, opening the doors to more foreign founders.


Source: www.eu-startups.com