Success stories

New entrepreneur:
Agnė Žilionytė (Lithuania)
Age: 24
Company name: (Start-up)
Sector of activity: Health, beauty and social services

Host entrepreneur:
Anita Kokarēviča (Latvia)
Age: 55
Company name: SIA (13 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Health, beauty and social services

Anita Kokarēviča, together with her husband Ainars Kokarēvičs, runs a private veterinary clinic "Fel-Can" in Riga, Latvia. After learning about the opportunities offered by the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme, she decided to participate in the programme in order to broaden the internationalisation perspectives of her business and to host motivated new or aspiring entrepreneurs. Anita and Ainars had a great opportunity to host a new entrepreneur from Lithuania, Agnė Žilionytė - a Master's student of Veterinary Medicine at Lithuanian University from Health Sciences, who wants to start her own veterinary clinic "Healthy Tails" in Vilnius. She has applied to EYE to gain practical experience in organising a successfulveterinary clinic and to increase her expertise in veterinary practise.

During the exchange, Anita involved Agnė in the administrative and organizational activities of her clinic to show her how the company is structured and its specificities within the Latvian regulations and business environment. Agnė had the opportunity to attend meetings with business partners and learn, for example, details about taxation in Latvia. Considering the epidemiological restrictions introduced at a certain time, they also dealt with the issue of challenges and optimal solutions for human resources management in the veterinary clinic, and Agnė shared the experience of Vilnius clinics in overcoming these problems. In addition, Ainars and medical staff shared their professional experiences, and Agne was involved in clinical consultations and surgical procedures. In order to increase the visibility of the veterinary clinic "Fel-Can" on social media and digital platforms, Agnė evaluated different business strategies. She worked on the promotion and dissemination of "Fel-Can" and helped Anita to find new partners in Lithuania.

This cooperation has provided both sides with innovative ideas for more efficient organisation or management of the veterinary business; on the one hand, Agne benefited from the experience of the neighbouring country Latvia and acquired fundamental entrepreneurial skills and as a result improved her business plan and marketing strategy. On the other hand, the Lithuanian experience contributed to the development of the "Fel-Can”and increased its internationalisation. The main win-win results are improved knowledge of foreign markets for veterinary services where many similarities and some peculiarities were found, expanded business networks for both Anita who found some new business partners in Lithuania and Agne who found potential business partners in Latvia, and finally both entrepreneurs learned new medical operating techniques used in veterinary clinics in both countries. Thanks to Agne's excellent knowledge of English, "Fel-Can" has improved the quality of services provided to foreign clients.

For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:

New entrepreneur's contact point:
Kauno Technologijos Universitetas (Kaunas, Lithuania)

Host entrepreneur's contact point:
Latvijas Asociacija Eiropas Kopienas Studijam (Riga, Latvia)

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