Startup Microecosystems Map in Eastern Europe: Where to Find Partners and Support in 2025

In 2025, Eastern Europe remains a thriving and fast-evolving region for technological entrepreneurship. Despite macroeconomic fluctuations, cities like Kyiv, Lviv, Warsaw, Bucharest, and Vilnius continue to serve as anchors for innovation, attracting early-stage founders, mentors, and investors. This article explores the most active startup hubs, regional support programmes, and examples of effective cross-border collaboration.

Key Startup Hubs in Eastern Europe

Each city in the region offers a distinct environment for startup development. Kyiv remains a stronghold for tech-focused ventures, with a large talent pool and established IT infrastructure. Despite political instability, Ukrainian entrepreneurs demonstrate resilience and adaptability, making Kyiv a key player in blockchain and AI startups. The city hosts Unit.City, one of the largest innovation parks in the region, which connects founders with international mentors and venture capitalists.

Lviv has become a prominent centre for creative technologies and IT outsourcing. In addition to its universities producing skilled engineers, the city features Tech StartUp School and Lviv IT Cluster, offering business development and networking opportunities. Lviv is also strengthening connections with EU-based accelerators and hosting cross-border demo days.

Warsaw serves as a gateway for Eastern European startups into the EU market. Home to Google for Startups Campus and international investment funds, the Polish capital offers a favourable legal environment and funding access. It is particularly strong in healthtech, fintech, and enterprise SaaS sectors, with public-private support systems such as PFR (Polish Development Fund).

Bucharest and Vilnius: Emerging Growth Engines

Bucharest has significantly matured over the past five years. The Romanian capital supports a vibrant ecosystem driven by communities like TechHub Bucharest, accelerator programs such as Spherik, and funding bodies like GapMinder VC. Its lower operational costs and high technical expertise attract founders across the Balkans.

Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, positions itself as a gateway to the Baltic tech triangle. The Go Vilnius initiative and Startup Lithuania platform (government-supported) facilitate internationalisation and regulatory support. The city is known for fintech leadership, boosted by Lithuania’s e-money licences and progressive regulatory sandbox environment.

All five cities host annual innovation forums that foster investor relations and cross-border collaborations. These events offer visibility, pilot opportunities, and the chance to enter new markets without the overhead of full-scale expansion.

Programmes and Institutional Support

Founders in Eastern Europe have access to a wide array of support options. Local governments often subsidise early-stage programmes, while national and EU-level initiatives enhance startup scalability. Ukraine offers programmes like UCU Business School’s Pre-Acceleration and CRDF Global’s support for science-based startups. The Ministry of Digital Transformation continues to expand Diia.Business infrastructure, facilitating entrepreneur education and funding access.

In Poland, government-backed PFR Ventures operates public-private investment vehicles tailored to pre-seed and seed stages. Warsaw also benefits from the ScaleUP programme, integrating corporate partners and pilot opportunities for tech startups. Additionally, the Central European Startup Awards regularly highlight high-potential teams from Poland and its neighbours.

Romania and Lithuania both participate in Horizon Europe and EIC Accelerator programmes, giving founders the opportunity to scale across borders with non-dilutive funding. National agencies also run matchmaking platforms, such as Romania’s StartUp Plus and Lithuania’s Startup Visa, facilitating foreign founder integration and funding access.

Private and University Initiatives

University-led accelerators play an essential role in seeding early-stage ventures. Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and Taras Shevchenko University partner with European tech hubs to create dual-degree innovation programmes. In Lviv, Ukrainian Catholic University supports venture development through its internal incubator and international academic partnerships.

In Warsaw, SGH Warsaw School of Economics runs multiple startup contests in partnership with corporate innovation labs. Private coworking operators like The Heart Warsaw and CIC Warsaw provide mentorship and advisory services to startups from across the region.

Similarly, Bucharest-based universities collaborate with Innovation Labs and Orange Fab to support STEM entrepreneurs. Vilnius Tech offers startup development courses, access to testing environments, and an in-house acceleration pathway for deep tech researchers and engineers.

Cross-Border Collaboration and Case Studies

Startups from Eastern Europe often look for synergies across neighbouring markets to scale efficiently. Cross-border initiatives are crucial for developing joint products, validating new markets, and attracting pan-European funding. One example is the Poland-Ukraine Startup Bridge, which connects Ukrainian founders with Polish mentors, legal consultants, and seed investors. It played a critical role in supporting Ukrainian startups post-2022.

The Baltic Sandbox initiative unites Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through early-stage investments and mentoring programmes. Vilnius-based startups like Ondato have expanded into Romania through these channels. Such models show that early mobility across borders is vital for product-market fit in diverse EU markets.

Romania and Poland jointly launched innovation competitions under the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT Digital), supporting AI and healthtech ventures from both countries. These collaborations demonstrate that shared cultural and business frameworks across Eastern Europe significantly enhance the speed of startup development and funding traction.

The Future of Intercity Integration

In the coming years, more bilateral and trilateral startup programmes are expected to emerge across Kyiv, Lviv, and Warsaw, driven by Ukraine’s accession process to the EU. Founders will benefit from integrated platforms for legal guidance, pitch decks translation, and market access data.

Joint venture studios are in development in Lviv and Vilnius, targeting diaspora talent to return and invest in the region. These studios aim to reduce early-stage failure rates by offering end-to-end technical and financial backing.

Cross-border angel syndicates, especially Polish-Romanian and Lithuanian-Ukrainian, are on the rise. These investor pools provide smart capital, access to product testers across different geographies, and facilitate soft landings in new markets through shared networks.