This year’s event lifted the bars and raised expectations: a full house of 3500 people, 5 stages, 200 speakers, 100 volunteers, 92 accredited journalists, 40 side events, 700 investors, the size of their managed portfolios totaling at least 30 billion euros, 900 startuppers, people from 63 countries, 63 official partners from all over the world, and 3400 actual meetings via our official Latitude59 app (the most active matchmaker pulled off 45 scheduled meetings during the two main conference days). We always prioritize quality and experience over numbers, but the funny thing is that numbers tend to grow as well when you do things with a passion! We are still in awe.

Most of all, we are proud of the conversations we are sparking and the mindset shifts that begin as our community gets together. We encourage people to be bold and build the world they want. The topics we have brought to our stages continue to emphasize impact and responsibility, diversity and equality, and global connections. Estonia’s startup community continues to be incredibly connected, productive and leading conversations on a global scale. We are glad to have welcomed, once again, our President Alar Karis and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to the discussions. We will continue making Estonia bigger in the world.

As usual, we hosted speakers from all around the world. And as usual, we will continue stressing the importance of diversity and stepping up for what believe in. 80% of the speakers at our Investor Day were women, for the main program the percentage was over 40%. We also launched Estonia’s manifesto for allyship on, presented by Triin Kask on the Bold Stage, stressing the success rate of female-led companies and shedding light on the hidden bias that too often still governs our actions. We’ve been making huge progress in the last few years as a community, but there’s so much room for improvement, still.

For the second year in a row, the L59 Pitch Competition gave out 1 million euros through a syndicate investment by Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) and Specialist VC – is there any other conference in the region who keeps on pulling it off? The competition was tighter than ever, with over 500 initial applicants, and just 41 being filtered out to the semi-finals. Our sincerest congratulations goes to this year’s winners: Beholder from Ukraine, AskToSell from Lithuania and GaltTec from Estonia. 

We’ve taken on the mission of putting Estonia at the centre of the global village of tech and startups. We’re proud to see that 55% of Latitude59 participants came from abroad – from 63 countries, to be exact. We’re taking conscious action to increase our global reach and network, to make Estonia bigger and scale its impact in the world. This year, over 20 delegations visited Latitude59. And we announced the second Latitude59xKenya Edition, with more destinations on the horizon.

Finally, let’s not forget our friends, especially those who really need the support. In 2024, Latitude59 is raising funds to send a NAFO truck to the frontline in Ukraine. The donation line is accessible via our webpage until we collect the necessary sum – €18,000. Every little bit helps, so if you can, add your contribution to save lives that keep on fighting for the free world. Read more about the cause and make your donation HERE.

Head here to see all the photos of Latitude59 2024: Thinking in Billions, Investor Day & Dinner, Day 1, Day 2, The Officially Bold Afterparty. The program highlights and presentations are being uploaded to Youtube over the upcoming weeks – check them out here. 

The 12th Latitude59 is now done and archived. We’re already working on the 13th edition – Latitude59 2025 will take place on May 21-23 in Tallinn, Estonia (get tickets here). Thank you so much to all the attendees, partners and friends who helped to make Latitude59 happen; speakers who joined, media who spread the word, and our volunteers who were total rockstars. You are our tribe and together we can truly build the world we want!