[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Zego’s commercial transport insurance startup received an investment of $150 million, bringing the company’s value to $1.1 billion, writes Postimees.
The London-based startup company plans to use the proceeds to expand into Europe and beyond and to double its workforce to over 500 employees. The company also plans to invest in technology and recently acquired telematics company Drivit. Zego’s business idea is to offer hourly insurance to commercial vehicles, such as Uber drivers or Bolt drivers, so that they do not have to conclude expensive annual insurance contracts. Still, they can include insurance when they provide a service. To date, the company has offered 17 million insurance policies for more than 200,000 cars in five countries.
“It is clear that the way vehicles are used is certainly changing, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that the traditional rigid insurance model is no longer suitable”, said in a press release the co-founder and CEO of Zego Sten Saar.
The Zego C-Series round was led by DST Global, a Hong Kong-based venture capital company founded by mail.ru founder Yuri Milner and Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Their investments include Facebook, Twitter, Tswhaapp, Snapchat, Airbnb, Spotify, Alibaba, Xiaomi, Zynga, Groupon and Robinhood. Another important player was the American venture capital company General Catalyst, which also invested in Airbnb and Snapchat. General Catalyst co-founder and managing partner Joel Cutler will also serve on Zego’s board of directors.
“We very much believe in this new generation of insurance companies, and Zego is one of the most interesting and dynamic startups we have ever seen. They found that the transition from ownership to use is a huge opportunity in the insurance market”, said Cutler.
Our team can help with the development of your startup in Estonia and offer 4 options for establishing a company in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Estonian-American startup Glia, which is developing a digital client service platform for financial companies, has attracted $78 million (approximately €63.8 million), writes Postimees.
According to Glia, funding for the C series was led by Insight Partner, who also led a $20 million investment round a few years ago. The startup was co-founded by Guatemalan-born Carlos Paniagua, a graduate of Tartu University and Tallinn University of Technology, the technical director of Glia.
The company has development centres in New York, Tallinn and Tartu, and according to the employment register, Glia offers jobs to at least 50 engineers in Estonia. Last year, the company grew by more than 150 per cent due to the need to rethink ways of communicating with its customers in the digital world due to the pandemic.
“Just as Zoom has changed the way consumers communicate with colleagues, family and friends, so digital customer service changes the way they support business clients and interact with consumers. A recent Facebook deal worth a billion dollars to purchase Kustomer shows that the industry is becoming increasingly mainstream”, said Glia co-founder and CEO Dan Michaeli. According to Lonne Jaffe, the CEO of Insight Venture Partners, who led the investment round, Glia technology combines shared viewing, video chat, voice, and chat platform bots that allow companies to communicate with customers through the channels they choose.
Our professionals can help with the development of your startup in Estonia and offer 4 options for establishing a company in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Estonian startup Viveo Health plans this year to attract 7 million euro investment and in four years to offer digital health service to 1 billion people, writes Postimees.
On Monday, the company announced that it was recruiting 50,000 local doctors in India to serve Indian patients, focusing on clients with Covid-19 symptoms. “Currently, the company actively cooperates with several large investment funds but is ready to attract Estonian capital as well”, stated Viveo Health.
According to Company Advisor Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Vivo Health’s Indian ambitions show that Estonia’s success is still in creative thinking and intelligent solutions. “Viveo is an excellent thinker and performer, as evidenced by our rapid and energetic development in India”, – added Ilves. Currently, investors from Estonia include Ain Hanschmidt, Anders Anderson, Oleg Osinovsky, Indrek Kasela and Ivar Vendelin.
The target is a billion clients.
The idea of Viveo Health is to free the doctor’s consultations from restrictions on the location, saving time for both the patient and the doctor. Tele-consultations are conducted by doctors who can prescribe treatment to a person as soon as a health problem arises, regardless of their location.
India has a population of almost 1.4 billion. India’s public and private spending on health as a percentage of GDP is estimated at 3.9 per cent, well below the world average (9.9 per cent). In India, one of Viveo Heath’s partners is Dr Sandesh Mayekar, who has modernized dentistry in India and brought it to a new structural level across the country.
Viveo Health aims to attract seven million euros of investment in 2021. Founded in 2017 by Raul Kello, Viveo Health plans to provide digital health care to 1 billion people in 2025. Today the company operates in three Baltic countries, Armenia, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.
Our team can help with the development of your startup in Estonia and offer 4 options for establishing a company in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last year was a success for startups in Estonia. Total sector turnover increased by 43%; companies attracted record investment, employment, and taxes paid. Seven companies were sold during the year, and another unicorn firm was established in Estonia, i.e. it is estimated by investors to be worth more than a billion dollars.
It was a particularly good year for Pipedrive, founded in Estonia, which develops sales management software, said Rangar Sass, a company co-founder. Pipedrive sold its majority stake in Vista Equity Partners at the end of the year, making it a unicorn.
All economic indicators confirm that the sector is becoming taken seriously by the industry. According to Startup Estonia’s chief executive Eva Peterson, the sector’s total turnover increased by almost 40% to €800 million. The amount of labour taxes rose by almost a quarter to €100 million.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the entire information technology sector and several other sectors were successful last year. Ministry of Finance analyst Madis Aben stated that demand for information and communication services and goods increased due to the specifics of the coronavirus crisis. “For several years now, the sale of software and especially export has been a strong supporter of the Estonian economy. Public administration, health, education – places with more work – also have a positive impact. Wages and employment declined in areas where there was less work”, Aben noted.
Our team can help with the development of your startup in Estonia and offer 4 options for establishing a company in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Still, the company has been granted a European banking licence does not yet offer a term deposit service. Revolut has submitted a European licence for banking services in Estonia on Monday. At present, the company has 40,000 clients in Estonia, Revolut representatives said in a press release.
In addition, customers can store their funds in a bank account and convert the currency in a mobile application. At present, Revolut does not offer a fixed-term contribution but is considering the possibility of providing this banking service, Ingrid Downaravciene ERR said. Revolut Bank CEO Virgilius Mirkes noted that new products and services would be launched in Estonia shortly.
Last year Revolut started banking activities in Poland and Lithuania, and last week in Latvia. Revolut Ltd – is a British financial technology company that offers banking services including debit card, currency exchange, stock exchange, cryptocurrency exchange and peer-to-peer payments. The company began operations in 2015.
Revolut is famous for exchanging money with no hidden fees, as well as buying cryptocurrency and spending money with detailed analytics. There are more than 15 million customers worldwide.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the Department of Statistics, merchandise exports in April increased by 54% compared to the same month and imports by 51%. Both the low comparative base of the previous year and the increase in exports and imports of mineral products, electrical equipment and vehicles have had a significant impact on trade growth.
The increase in foreign trade was affected by the poor performance of last year’s trade and the rise in sales of mineral products, electrical equipment, and vehicles. Mineral exports increased by 185 per cent. According to the central bank, foreign trade turnover is growing for the second consecutive quarter and has already reached pre-crisis levels. Exports of goods are becoming increasingly diversified.
“We predicted that the volume of the commodity market should return to the level of 2019 by this time. Now we see an increase in activity everywhere, and in this sense, Estonian exports are even slightly ahead of forecasts. The Bank of Estonia’s economist Mari Rell noted that it keeps up with imports – businessmen are actively replenishing their warehouses”. In addition to solid growth in merchandise exports, services exports, particularly in info-technology, have also grown over a long period.
According to Luminor’s chief economist, Tindu Palma, Estonia was the fastest-growing exporting country in Europe in the first quarter after Slovakia. He noted that export growth in April had depended not so much on the increase in material prices and the increase in sales. “The entire European economy will also perform well in the coming months. We see that confidence in the export of services is also improving, so next month we can expect a good performance of Estonian exports,” said Luminor’s chief economist Tynu Palm. Palm added that the growth in trade shows that Estonia’s economy will grow faster this year than initially anticipated.
We offer 4 options for establishing a company in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The boom around cryptocurrencies and their fantastic returns in 2016-2017 was a crucial factor in the emergence of investment funds in the crypto sector. Then, investment in cryptocurrency against the backdrop of low returns on traditional assets looked very attractive. This was facilitated by the emerging market, relatively weak competition, a plethora of inexperienced start-up investors and the opportunity to earn hundreds and thousands of per cent per year.
Cryptocurrency funds are investment funds that invest their money entirely in cryptocurrencies or combine it with investments in other assets. Their goal is to maximize profits by managing their depositors’ coins or investing their funds in crypto projects and primary coin supply.
Large cryptocurrency funds with a high threshold of entry are necessary intermediaries for institutional investors to enter the crypto environment. Because of legislative constraints, particularly large investors in many countries cannot buy digital assets directly.
Smaller crypto funds, directed at retail investors, are suitable for those who want to make a profit but are not prepared to invest in cryptocurrency on their own. In such funds, specially trained managers and managers handle asset selection and trade. The depositor does not have to monitor the news, choose coins, worry about the course and balance of the portfolio – all for him, professional will do. Among the drawbacks of small crypto funds is that usually, money cannot be withdrawn before a certain date.
Types of cryptocurrency funds
By investor access, cryptocurrency funds are divided into:
Private — only qualified investors can buy their shares. These are the largest funds in the market, accumulating tens of billions of dollars.
Open — available to retail investors. Such funds are unregulated when the depositor simply buys the shares of the fund and regulates, or stock exchange (ETF), where the fund’s shares can be traded on the exchange.
ETF (Exchange-Traded Funds) is a crypto fund whose shares are traded on a stock exchange, which anyone can purchase. The fund itself buys crypto assets and then sells a share of the portfolio in security. This allows investors to invest in cryptocurrencies without buying them directly. To do so, they need to open a brokerage account. It is believed that the extension of ETF to cryptocurrencies would dramatically increase the number of investors in digital assets. Indeed, even those who have greater confidence in traditional investment instruments could invest in them since ETF is governed by securities law, and the fund is responsible for safeguarding coins.
By type of investment, funds can be divided into:
Venture capital — when the foundation invests money in blockchain and crypto companies. These are funds for large capital – not for a usual investor to enter them.
Hedge Funds — make profits from investments in digital assets.
Hedge funds also make money from increases in the price of crypto assets, but their shares are not traded on the stock exchange. Most often, regulated fund shares are available only to qualified investors, and the entry threshold starts at several hundred thousand dollars. For example, American hedge funds can only work with qualified investors with a capital of $5 million, and foundations in offshore jurisdictions can only work with investors with a capital of $100,000. Unlike ETF, hedge funds are much less regulated. They can be invested in almost any risky asset, including cryptocurrency.
Traditional hedge funds tend to follow active trading strategies in which they buy and sell cryptocurrencies in short periods in order to profit from fluctuations in their exchange rates.
Background
The financial world slowly recognized cryptocurrency as a viable type of investment. The first cryptocurrency fund, Metastable Capital, was launched in 2014. But until 2017, they were not very popular – in four years, only a few dozen crypto funds were released on cryptography.
But 2017 was the year of cryptocurrency among retail investors. Millions of people around the world were buying cryptocurrencies, but inexperienced newcomers needed professional help. The first institutional investors also began to emerge.
Service offers “Creating a Cryptocurrency Fund” service. The team of experts of Service is happy to accompany your project in the necessary procedures for preparing documents and obtaining a license for an Alternative Investment Fund in Estonia. Our team offers full support on all stages of developing your business, and offer a variety of services, including accounting services in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, Estonia is known as Estonia (Estonian: Eesti) or Eesti Vabariik (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik). The country’s eastern border is with Russia (324 km) and the southern border with Latvia (333 km). The northern maritime border with Finland lies in the Gulf of Finland; the northern and western maritime borders are the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Under the name «Estonia» (Esthonia), the country joined the League of Nations in 1921 after gaining its independence in 1918. The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, which joined the USSR in 1940, was renamed the Republic of Estonia after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
OECD member since 9 December 2010 and member of the United Nations since 17 September 1991. Also, a Council of Europe member since 1993. In addition to being a member of the Schengen Area, Estonia is also a Eurozone member.
Capital — Tallinn
Language of the State — Estonian
Currency — Euro (€)
Population — 1 330 068 (January 2021)
Territory — 45,227 km2
This places Estonia 129th in the world and 29th in Europe in terms of population as well as the lowest among the Baltic nations in terms of economy.
Climate — humid continental
Time Zone — UTC +02:00; summer — +03:00 Calling code — +372 Internet TLD — .ee
Brief history
Estonia became the Governorate of Estonia in 1721 after Sweden and the Russian Empire fought the Great Northern War. It was bordered to the south by the Livonian Governorate and to the east by the Saint Petersburg Governorate.
On 24 February 1918, the Soviet Union disintegrated and the Republic of Estonia was proclaimed. As a result of the Estonian War of Independence, Estonia gained its independence. A peace treaty on mutual recognition was signed between Soviet Russia and Estonia on 2 February 1920.
A new Constitution was adopted by the Republic of Estonia on 15 June 1920. Estonia is a parliament republic, according to the Constitution. The League of Nations admitted Estonia on 22 September 1921.
Estonia’s first president, Konstantin Päts, ruled the country from 1938 to 1940.
The Soviet Union incorporated Estonia on 6 August 1940. The territory of Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany between 7 July 1941 and 24 November 1944.
As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia once again confirmed its independence on 20 August 1991.
North-eastern Europe is home to Estonia. On the north, it is surrounded by the Gulf of Finland, on the west by the Baltic Sea, on the south by Latvia, and on the east by Russia. Besides the Narva River and the Peipus lakes, Estonia has a land border with Latvia and Russia along the Pskov region. There are 3,794 kilometers of coastline.
With a total area of 4,200 square kilometers, Estonia has 2,355 islands in the Baltic Sea. In square kilometers. The largest are Saaremaa (2,673 km2) and Hiiumaa (1,023 km2) and Muhu (206 km2), Vormsi (93 km2) and KihnU (16.4 km2). Even though the islands cover a large area, their population is less than 5% of the country’s total.
More than 1,100 lakes cover about 5% of Estonia’s territory, nearly all of them originating from ice. Small rivers are abundant in Estonia.
Estonia has a total of 3,923 protected natural objects. There are 231 nature reserves, 157 landscape reserves, 6 national parks, 59 conservation areas that are old or undeveloped, 512 parks and stands, 319 preserves, 1,553 permanent habitats, 23 local government protected natural objects, and 1,066 individual protected natural objects, covering 23% of the national territory as a whole.
Flora
There are almost 35% of all Estonian species or subspecies at the border of their zones of distribution due to Estonia’s proximity to the vegetation-geographical provinces of Eastern and Central Europe.
Various climates have brought relics of different climatic periods to Estonia, which are referred to as stranded species.
A major reason for the spread of weeds is agriculture and freight traffic. It is estimated that there are more than 2,500 species of algae and 680 species of lichen found on lower plants in Estonia. Estonia has 1,441 species of vascular plants and 1,538 subspecies of those species, according to the latest data.
Wildlife
It is estimated that there are about 60 species of mammals in the wild. The number of moose, roe, hares, and boars is very high. Raccoon dogs and noble deers were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s. In the largest forests in many parts of Estonia, you can find a brown bear and a lynx.
Besides foxes and martens, badgers and squirrels live in the forests. Weasels, stoats, and ferrets are the most common species, along with European minks and otters near the ponds. A hedgehog, long-tailed shrew, and mole are some of the most common.
Diverse species of birds make up the majority of the species. The species count in Estonia is 331, including 207 species nesting permanently (c. 60 live year-round). It is common for many birds to migrate in mass during the spring and autumn to summer nesting grounds or tropical countries to spend the winter. There are 3 species of lizard and 2 species of snake, including common viper, in Estonian forests.
In freshwater and coastal waters, there are more than 70 fish species. Fisheries play an important role in many of them.
Climate
North and west are bound by the Baltic Sea; Estonia is located in the temperate zone. Climate is heavily influenced by Atlantic cyclones, and the sea nearby always keeps the air moist. Gulf Stream influences the climate of the Mediterranean, making it warmer in winter than in mainland Eurasia.
Traditionally, summer is the most popular time of year for holidays. During the summer, Estonia has an average air temperature of +20°C.
The Baltic Sea is the main factor influencing temperature formation in Estonia’s inland regions. There is a much greatertemperature difference between coastal and central areas in winter.
Estonia has significantly warmer average annual temperatures than continental climates located at the same latitude to the east.
Administration
The Estonian Republic is divided into 15 regions. In total, there are 33 towns in the country. Tallinn is the country’s capital and has approximately 400,000 residents (about a third of the country’s population). There are about 100,000 people living in Tartu, the second most populous city. There are about 50,000 people living in Narva, the third city.
Government system
A democratic parliamentary republic with the people as the ultimate authority, Estonia is an independent democratic republic with a Constitution adopted in 1992.
A unicameral parliament governed by 101 deputies is known as the Riigikogu, which is elected by direct and equal elections. The country’s 18-year-old citizens can vote in four-year parliamentary elections.
The government has executive power. Whenever a parliamentary coalition or a winning parliamentary party won an election, the Prime Minister leads the government. Cabinet of Ministers are appointed by the president following the approval of the Prime Minister’s nomination.
The Chancellor of Justice oversees how the Constitution and the law are implemented by the public authorities, anindependent official appointed by parliament on the president’s nomination. Another independent body, the State Control Authority, is in charge of budget and property management for the State.
It is the Supreme Court that has the highest judicial authority. It is the district courts that decide appeals; the county courts, the city and administrative courts, as well as the prosecutorial authorities – the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the district procurators – decide cases in the first instance.
Essentially, local governments are responsible for organizing and managing all aspects of local life. They operate autonomously, have their own budget, and are authorized to levy certain local taxes and fees (e.g. advertising, street closures, pets, entertainment, parking fees).
Economy
In addition to being a member of the European Union, Estonia has a highly developed economy. Estonia has one of the highest levels of development among post-communist countries.
The minimum wage for the year 2021 will be 584 euros, with an hourly rate of 3,48 euros.
Independence period
Since Estonia gained independence, its economy has been restructured and oriented towards Western Europe according to market principles. Instead of using the Soviet ruble as its currency, Estonia introduced its own krone on 20 June 1992.
As a result of foreign aid, loans, and loans worth more than $285 million, as well as the receipt of over $100 million from the prewar republic, Estonia’s economic transformation was successful between 1991 and 1993. During the USSR accession in 1940, Estonia’s foreign banks froze its funds.
In 2000, the country established a market economy, which subsequently caused it to lose its status as a developing country. WTO membership was granted to Estonia in 1999. Finnish, Swedish, German, and Russian companies are the main trading partners of the country. Negative trade balances remain the most serious problem. Since 2004, Estonia has been a member of the European Union.
On 1 January 2011, the Estonian government implemented its updated June 2009 plan for the transition to the euro.
Business environment
As a result of Estonia’s independence, four companies have reached more than $1 billion in capitalization (unicorns): Skype, Bolt, TransferWise, Playtech. Following Estonia’s decision to invest in e-services since independence, several reforms have been implemented in the last 30 years. Estonia has also become an attractive country for startups, due to its business environment, education level, innovation environment, and e-services sector.
It is internationally recognized that Estonia is an e-country. In the world, there is no comparable digital society to that built by Estonians. Every year, more and more people are attracted to the Estonian digital ecosystem because of its uniqueness. The Estonian market offers a range of career opportunities that attract entrepreneurs and professionals from around the world to invest and start a business.
It has taken Estonia a few decades to build a digital society as a small Northern European nation. Despite having less than 2 million people, the country leads the way in IT and is considered 99% digitalised. Over the years, Estonia has become more and more popular as a prominent European entrepreneurial hub due to its unlimited tech opportunities.
Foreign policy
Estonia has been a member of the European Union since May 2004 and the Eurozone since January 2011. Estonia was the first post-Soviet country to adopt a single currency and abandon its independent monetary policy, as well as one of the three former socialist republics to integrate into the European market and Schengen area. Consequently, EU law takes precedence over domestic law when a country is a member of the EU.
Also, Estonia joined NATO on 29 March 2004. Afghanistan and Iraq are NATO missions Estonia participates in.
Membership in the Council of Europe has been in place since 13 May 1993. The UN, OECD, OSCE, and WTO are among the organizations Estonia belongs to.
Culture
Cultures from different parts of the world meet in Estonia. Estonian culture is related to Latvian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Russian north-west Russia, Belarusian, Swedish, and German cultures.
Industrialization, modernization, and rapid urban development strongly influenced Estonian culture during the 19th and 20th centuries. A marginalization of Baltic-German culture in Estonia began in the first decade of the 20th century. Architectural, literary, and musical works showed signs of national style and maturity, following world currents.
Derpt (now Tartu)’s Imperial Yuriyev University was restored in 1802 and played an important role in the development of Estonia’s culture. As a result of the French Revolution and the German romantic movement, the university became a conduit for Western European ideologies – ideals of freedom, equality, and brotherhood.
Tallinn and Tartu hosted the first independent exhibitions of Estonian art in 1909. As with music, there are signs of national style in Estonian architecture of that era along with adherence to world currents.
The Tartu University Library and the Tallinn National Library are the two largest libraries in Estonia with about 600. A list of Estonian theatres includes the Estonian Drama Theater, Linnatherater (City Theatre), Theatre Varnemuin in Tartu, Russian Theater of Estonia, Puppet Theatre, Rakvere Theatre, Theatre Endla in Pärnu, and Theatre Ugala in Viljandi. It is called the “Eesti concert” and is organized by the Estonian Concert Association. Tallinn is home to the Estonian Philharmonic and the National Opera Estonia.
Estonia made its debut at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, and three years later, the Olympic Committee was established. In the 1920s and 1930s, Estonian athletes for the years of 6 golden, 6 silver, 9 bronze medals — all gold medals in the account of wrestlers and weightlifters.
In the 1930s, the country’s chess team made significant progress, and Paul Keres was one of the world’s strongest players in the mid-20th century.
One of the world’s winter sports centres is Otepä, which hosted the 2010 and 2015 bi-at-lo events. Skiers Kristina Schmigoon and Andrus Veerpalou were among the leaders in their sport in the 1990s-2000s, the Olympic champions.
Motorists Markko Myrtin and Ott Tianak won the World Rally Championships.
Sport
An Olympic Committee was established three years after Estonia’s debut at the 1920 Antwerp Games. During the 1920s and 1930s, wrestlers and weightlifters won six gold medals, six silver medals, and nine bronze medals.
A world-class player during this period, Paul Keres, has significantly improved the country’s chess team since the 1930s.
Otepä, one of the world’s winter sports centers, held bi-at-lo events in 2010 and 2015. Olympic champions Kristina Schmigoon and Andrus Veerpalou were among the top skiers of their sport in the 1990s and 2000s.
In the World Rally Championships, Markko Myrtin and Ott Tianak won.
Paperless cabinet meetings have been held in Estonia since 2000, using a network of electronic internet documentation. A European Commission competition resulted in the transformation of the public sector into electronic documents. Almost 500 institutions have already exchanged electronic documents as a result of the project. The best in Europe, including all ministries, county offices, and almost all departments and inspectorates. Since 2000, it is possible to file tax returns electronically in Estonia.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Estonia is internationally acknowledged as an e-country. A digital society built by Estonians has no equal in the world. The uniqueness of the Estonian digital ecosystem attracts more and more people every year. Entrepreneurs and professionals from around the globe come to Estonia to either invest and start a business or take advantage of the career opportunities that the Estonian market is happy to offer.
Being a small Northern European country, Estonia has built a digital society over a couple of decades. So far, the country with less than 2 million is leading in the IT sector and is referred to as a 99% digitalised European country. Hence, unlimited tech opportunities have contributed to the fact that Estonia has drawn more and more attention as a prominent European entrepreneurial hub over the years.
Service is happy to shed some light on the term and look at some leading aspects of e-progress.
The actual ‘e-Estonia’ term refers to a movement started by the government to simplify the lives of the country’s citizens. In fact, the government seek to use IT to help people initiate contact with the government authorities themselves.
Starting from some minor but significant for its time solutions, Estonia has progressively developed fantastic innovations.
History
Digital reform followed through to the present took place in the second of the 1990s. Interestingly, during the reform, Estonia refused an offer from Finland that wanted to give Estonians its old analogue telephone exchange for free. Estonian government instead decided to build its digital phone system — and as we the results now, it was a proper decision.
Another idea to provide schools with computers was successfully implemented, and every school in the country was supplied with internet access by 1998. That was the fundamental initiative that established the path to e-Estonia. Since then, the process of e-reform has been initiated.
Let’s look at some of the most notable e-achievements.
1996
e-Banking
It was when private banks decided to act to attract people and make them go online. The first banks to introduce Internet banking services in Estonia were Eesti Forekspank and Eesti Hoiupank.
The idea worked excellently, and as a result, most of us now have a banking app on the phone.
2000
e-Tax system
The launching of the e-tax board allowed thousands of citizens to declare online many times faster than they used to. Now, 98 per cent of the Estonian population declare their income electronically.
Using a secure ID, a taxpayer logs onto the system, reviews the data using forms, makes any necessary changes, and approves the declaration form. The process usually takes three to five minutes.
2001
x-Road
It should be considered one of the significant achievements that enabled Estonia to become a digital society. x-Road is a technological and organisational platform enabling secured Internet-based data exchanging between information systems that runs the entire infrastructure.
x-Road connects the systems and allows the secured connection, encrypted and digitally signed. A good example for x-Road could be the opportunity for police to check driving licenses in the database. As new e-services emerge, they become part of the x-Road infrastructure.
2002
e-ID
The electronic ID now is something that nearly every Estonian has. What is more important – it forms the basis for many e-solutions currently existing in the digital society. In other words, they would be impossible or more complicated to use without e-ID.
So, e-ID is a digital form of the Estonian ID that enables online portals starting from e-banking and e-tax system and continuing with the internet provider.
The physical Estonian ID itself is more than just an identity document. It is also used as a health insurance card and passport equivalent. The digitalisation of the ID has added more functions – e-voting, e-document signing, e-prescriptions, e-banking and many more.
The main idea behind the e-ID – accessing different kinds of personal data and services, and as of today, 99 per cent of such public services for citizens are available online.
“Estonians trust e-solutions. This trust is based on practical experience and the knowledge that a citizen’s digital identity grants that person the necessary rights and freedoms in e-environments. A citizen can, for example, see what queries concerning them have been made from Estonia’s national information systems. However, the main thing is that Estonians have experienced that e-solutions do make their lives easier and more convenient,” said Eliisa Sau, Chief Expert of the Police and Border Guard Board.
2007
Cyber security
Since 2007, Estonia is leading international cybersecurity efforts. Since 2008, Estonia has been at the centre of global cybersecurity argument when NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (NATO CCDCOE) was established in Tallinn, the capital.
NATO CCDCOE is a military think-tank that formed outleads the world in crafting cyber defence solutions through a multinational and a NATO-accredited knowledge hub. Its main task is the analysis of various cyber issues.
The CCDCOE is ALSO responsible for identifying and coordinating education and training solutions in cyber defence for all NATO bodies across the Alliance. NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is a group of international specialists in cyber security. They include legal scholars, policy and strategy experts as well as technology researchers with political backgrounds.
As of today, Estonia is hosting both European and NATO cyber security centres.
2008
Blockchain technology
This year, Estonians have designed KSI – a blockchain technology providing high-speed and real-time authentication for global web assets. Blockchain technology makes it impossible to change the data already on the blockchain.
In Estonia, KSI is used by the government to protect government e-services and prevent cyber attacking. KSI secures the information stored in the cloud so that no one, even the government, could manipulate it.
Among the services, there is also an e-Business register that contains information regarding companies based in Estonia
2014
e-Residency
Among other e-Estonia achievements, the e-Residency programme launched in 2014 has mostly to do with the business sector and eventually has changed the Estonian business world forever.
e-Residency provides a digital ID to users, which allows them to log into different online services in Estonia, such as online banks and government portals. The primary motivation to apply is to create and run an EU-based company 100% online. This gives entrepreneurs from all over the world the opportunity to run a business remotely.
In that way, it allows every willing foreigner to set up a company in Estonia remotely by applying online. e-Residency will help those who are not Estonian citizens but want to enter or invest in the Estonian market.
So far, nearly 80,000 entrepreneurs have already joined the digital nation, many of whom successfully develop their businesses in Estonia with e-Residency.
e-Residency is a crucial thing when speaking of the country’s attractiveness to foreign entrepreneurs. Being the first digital nations for the world’s citizens, e-Residency helped thousands of entrepreneurs, therefore, contributed to the development of the Estonian business environment by attracting minds and talents worldwide.
Company formation by a foreigner has never been that easy – still, you may need professional assistance. The application is submitted remotely with the payment of a state fee in the amount of 100-120 EUR. The e-Residency kit itself is issued to the applicant personally at one of the approved points of issue. At Service , we are happy to guide our clients and help in obtaining an e-Resident card.
There are much more achievements of e-Estonia and, within this article, we haven’s covered things like e-health, e-prescription, m-parking or i-voting that, in fact, are innovative and deserve attention. However, the main focus is e-Estonia and its connection with the business sector.
As you can see, many e-solutions have contributed to the development of the Estonian business sector. Whilst some e-services as e-Residency has directly affected the growth of a business community, the development of KSI technologies and overall IT progress also played a significant part.
The most advanced digital society
As we have already mentioned, Estonia is a 99 per cent digitalised country. The list of e-solutions that country has come up with over the past decades is long and fascinating. All of that contributed to the development of e-society, and within this article, e-business.
E-business and e-company are widely and fairly used terms when speaking about doing business in Estonia. Starting from the first steps made online and continuing to a company’s fully remote management, we may say that any business established in Estonia is e-business. Let’s consider the main distinctive attributes of the e-Estonian business environment.
FinTech
We are starting with the most essential part of e-Estonia society – financial technology. FinTech intends to describe the evolving intersection of financial services and technology. Its primary purpose is to improve existing on the financial service market products and services.
By using modern technologies, applications, and software, FinTech products and services are helping companies manage their business’s financial aspects.
FinTech can be found almost everywhere: banking, management, retail, catering, hospitality, crypto industry and many others.
Gradually built unique environment of e-Estonia enhanced the rise of FinTech. The development of e-ID and blockchain makes it possible to use the financial technologies we are now using.
Estonian financial technology experts have over 20 years of greenfield development experience. They have experience in the establishment of a high-level functional financial system from scratch. FinTech products and services in Estonia are highly innovative combined with user-friendliness and simplicity.
Considering all of the above, it becomes clear that within the Estonian 99% digitalised society, most of the financial transactions occur digitally. Thus, most of the innovativeness is found within banking.
There a few globally successful startups:
Wise is an online bank/exchanger, which is also one of the four Estonian unicorns.
Monese is another popular mobile alternative to a traditional bank which turnover for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 221,7K EUR.
Paxful is a P2P platform to make payments, transactions and send money using cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange.
Fortumo is a digital enablement platform for telco bundling, carrier billing and messaging in 80+ countries.
Estonian FinTech is the most advanced globally, and it continues to evolve, so far, containing more than 150 startups.
Startups
Proceeding with the consideration of innovative technologies, we present another figure reflecting the global success of e-Estonia – startups. By means of a joint effort of the government, financial services and IT specialists, the unique e-environment contributed to the current startup bloom.
The Estonian startup scene is enthusiastic and actively developing, welcoming new ambitious individuals to its community with its very favourable conditions.
The sustainability of the market and friendly regulations attracts both smart people and smart money. As Estonia is part of the European Union, entrepreneurs can take advantage of EU funding and banking. Estonian startups have enormous opportunities for raising capital.
A quick reminder that this country with its population of 1.3 million is home to 4 billion-dollar unicorns: Skype, TransferWise, Playtech, Bolt. You may also have heard of Monese, Pipedrive, and Skeleton Technologies – every Estonian startup has something unique to offer.
Talent pool
Another distinctive feature of e-Estonian society – talent pool filled up with different specialists. Yet, nothing is surprising – advanced technologies, favourable conditions, and business opportunities attract more and more foreign professionals.
Estonia, in its turn, seeks to attract highly qualified specialists from all over the world to strengthen the IT industry with skilled professionals and the economy with high-tech companies. As the IT sector is growing, more hands are needed.
Furthermore, the startup scene in Estonia is vibrant and constantly evolving, looking for investors and ways to develop; startups need creative and intelligent people to survive in such a lively environment.
For sure, the most demanded are experienced IT specialists who are motivated enough to contribute to e-Estonia development, and they are going to be rewarded accordingly.
Our team of Service offers recruitment services – we can find proper professionals for your business to grow and develop.
To conclude
e-Estonia has built an innovative digital society and has achieved international success as a global hub for enterprising. Its startup friendliness, internet freedom and vibrant entrepreneurial environment have attracted brilliant minds from around the globe, therefore, enhancing the country’s position on the global market as an e-country.
Whether you are an investor or intend to start a business –Service is glad to offer its services.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the Department of Statistics, the share of e-commerce in the turnover of Estonian enterprises is still modest, and the country ranks 14th in the European Union in terms of the percentage of sales over the Internet.
Gathered data reflects the situation as of 2019 and does not consider the impact of the Coronavirus crisis when people have become much more active in buying goods via the Internet. Likely, the crisis has significantly increased the importance of e-commerce, but this has been equally true in all countries.
Last year, one in five firms in Estonia offered the opportunity to buy their products through a website or other electronic channels. Internet sales accounted for 5 per cent of total business income, of which 2 per cent was generated from sales to individuals and the remaining 3 per cent from sales to other firms and public sector institutions.
The specialists of Service will be happy to assist with company registration in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Zego’s commercial transport insurance startup received an investment of $150 million, bringing the company’s value to $1.1 billion, writes Postimees.
Estonian-American startup Glia, which is developing a digital client service platform for financial companies, has attracted $78 million (approximately €63.8 million), writes Postimees.
Estonian startup Viveo Health plans this year to attract 7 million euro investment and in four years to offer digital health service to 1 billion people, writes Postimees.
Last year was a success for startups in Estonia. Total sector turnover increased by 43%; companies attracted record investment, employment, and taxes paid. Seven companies were sold during the year, and another unicorn firm was established in Estonia, i.e. it is estimated by investors to be worth more than a billion dollars.
Still, the company has been granted a European banking licence does not yet offer a term deposit service. Revolut has submitted a European licence for banking services in Estonia on Monday. At present, the company has 40,000 clients in Estonia, Revolut representatives said in a press release.
According to the Department of Statistics, merchandise exports in April increased by 54% compared to the same month and imports by 51%. Both the low comparative base of the previous year and the increase in exports and imports of mineral products, electrical equipment and vehicles have had a significant impact on trade growth.
