The Nearshore Innovation Layer: How External Teams Drive Product Thinking—Not Just Code

There’s a lingering myth in tech outsourcing that external teams are best suited for execution—while product thinking, design and innovation should stay in-house. In today’s world, that view is however outdated.

Nearshoring teams are traditionally located in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe in countries such as Poland, Romania and Lithuania. One of the great advantages of these countries is the lack of any breaking advancements. Meaning: in the development of their own economies, there have been very few vested interests which prevented the adoption of new technologies.

Without a vested taxi permit system it was easier to adopt ride hailing solutions and without banks with widespread branch offices, it was easy to adopt to online-only banking. As a consequence, the emerging countries within Europe have developed an impressive technological ecosystem which has outgrown their western European partners in many different aspects. Great examples are Estonia where one can both get married and divorced in full digital fashion as well as Lithuania that has become the undisputed fintech champion of Europe.

A Culture of Digital Acceleration

Nearshored teams operating within the digitally native ecosystems of eastern Europe have become challengers to the traditional approach to product development. In fact, they have become an innovation layer which projects the experiences of their digital-first ecosystem on the product development for their partners. As such, they’re challenging assumptions, proposing innovative solutions and drive product momentum.

To understand why, just look at Lithuania’s digital culture. This is a country where car sharing is ubiquitous, services like Wolt and Bolt are delivering items ranging from flowers to pet toys on demand and where Revolut is not a disruptor, but an everyday utility. Whether it’s e-banking, e-health, or government services, adoption is fast, seamless, and enthusiastic.

This high adoption rate isn’t just about consumer behavior—it shapes how Lithuanian tech talent thinks about product. Developers, designers and product people are deeply familiar with mobile-first experiences, automation and the expectation that digital products must just work—fast. That mindset translates into the way we work with out clients at HIPER.

From Specification-Takers to Innovation Partners

The best nearshore teams today don’t wait for a perfect Jira ticket or fully refined backlog item in DevOps. They ask why, challenge UX flows and bring relevant comparisons from other markets. For example:

• When a Dutch fintech brought a basic user flow for onboarding, the Lithuanian team proposed identity & KYC verification flows inspired by Baltic e-banking—reducing friction and increasing conversion.

• We helped a mobility platform with game-changing UX recommendations based on Lithuania’s fast-evolving bike and scooter sharing market—something still catching on in parts of the Netherlands.

• In e-commerce, Lithuanian teams introduced automation and personalization ideas based on their own experience using tools that haven’t yet reached mainstream use in Western Europe.

These aren’t just engineering improvements—they’re product upgrades.

Digital Fluency = Better Product Feedback Loops

A digitally native team naturally sees where a product can evolve. They're not burdened by legacy expectations. They think in terms of platforms, not pages. They understand that what works in Amsterdam may not scale internationally—and they’re not afraid to say so.

That makes nearshore teams valuable not just as builders, but as early-stage feedback loops. They can spot product debt, anticipate edge cases and push for scalable patterns from day one.

The Strategic Shift: From Cost Center to Capability Center

The forward-thinking Dutch companies among our customers have already shifted how they engage with nearshore partners. Instead of handing off a spec, they integrate external teams into their product squads. Instead of “outsourcing,” they co-create.

When done right, a Lithuanian development team becomes your:

• First line of user empathy.

• Challenger of stale assumptions.

• Source of international best practices.

• Engine of rapid experimentation.

Final Thought

Innovation isn’t a location—it’s a mindset. And in countries like Lithuania, where digital life is fast, frictionless, and ever-evolving, that mindset is everywhere. Dutch companies that embrace nearshore teams not just as coders but as product collaborators will unlock speed, insight, and an edge their competitors can’t match.