EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Innovations, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Technology

The award ceremony took place in the historical cinema Splendid Palace in Riga within the framework of the Annual Conference celebrating the AHK’s 10^th anniversary. Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma and the Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy, Uwe Beckmeyer, attended the evening event as guests of honour. Together with approx. 250 guests – among them many AHK members and other companions from the very beginning – they looked back at the past 10 years of AHK activities in the Baltic States. But they also took a glance at the future by awarding the German Business Award to an innovative and aspiring company.

Innovations are the basis of success as well as the key to sustainable business development and an overall strengthening of the national economy. This is why with the German Business Award in Latvia 2014 the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (AHK Baltic States) is focusing on „Innovation – InoVācija”. 26 innovative Latvian companies which all have been developing creative and marketable products, applied. The jury first chose six finalists which were individually presented during the evening event. Their products, services, marketing strategies and also the staff’s motivation reflect their innovative strength.

Out of these the jury in a second round chose Certes Industry SIA as the winner of the German Business Award in Latvia 2014. Under the brand PentaClass the company which is based in Riga developed wireless audio systems for classrooms and therefore offers solutions for two current problems. Firstly, the quality of room acoustic in classrooms, the distance to the teacher and background noises influence the pupils’ hearing ability. In order to not only hearing but also understanding what is said, distributing the sound evenly in a 3600 radius is essential for a comfortable and successful learning process. Therefore the young entrepreneurs of Certes Industry SIA developed the audio system PentaClass in the shape of a pentagon that promises to provide for the best sound distribution in classrooms of up to 120 square meters.

But besides an improved learning experience for the pupils the system also serves a second purpose. According to both Latvian and international studies more than 50% of teachers suffer from some sort of voice disorders at least once in their life. Thanks to PentaClass the teacher’s voice needs to be less stressed. What distinguishes this new system from similar products are a simple installation, data transfer via Bluetooth and a wireless microphone with up to 8 hours battery life enabling the teacher to move freely. It can also be used also in conference rooms or for amplifying music on mp3 players, smartphones or PCs. Crucial for the jury were the social benefits that are caused by the usage of this new product in schools and its future potential.

The award was jointly presented by Andrea Wiktorin, German ambassador to Latvia and patron of the award, State Secretary Uwe Beckmeyer, and Thomas Schöllkopf, the President of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Latvia. The award is endowed with EUR 5.000. Furthermore, the winner – as well as the other five finalists – receives free membership in the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (AHK) for one year.